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Fomitopsis lilacinogilva?
What appears to be a weeping polypore fungi. Mostly pink, but some parts red. Grew in distinct blobs. Quite firm to touch and exuded some fluid and what appeared to be a fecal substance through large pores. Liquid mostly pale pink, although there were a couple of yellow droplets as well. At first I thought they were rain drops. There were no snails or slugs that I could see, and certainly no evidence of anything feeding on the fungi at the time of spotting. Faeces weren't found on the log, only on the fungi. This substance was a dark plumish colour. Since then, I've been in touch with the Queensland Mycological Society and was told that "some jelly fungi are parasitic on other fungi. The pink one looks a bit like a Fomitopsis lilacinogilva. That is a decomposer of large logs and it is called a "Brown cubical rotter", as it causes the timber it is breaking down to disintegrate into rather square/cubical brown fragments". As it's a parasitic fungus, it grows over another species (photo #6). Some of the specimens were a reddish colour, and that explains the fecal matter that is being exuded - It appears to be the breakdown of the host fungus. An interesting process.
Found on rotting log at Ravensbourne National Park, at an elevation above 500 mtrs. Dense foliage and canopy, mostly native trees that I could see. Lots of leaf litter and quite damp due to recent rains or thick mist. The park is situated on a spur of the Great Dividing Range between Toowoomba and Esk. It contains remnants of rainforest and wet eucalypt forest along the slopes of the range, and areas of dry eucalypt forest along the ridges.
Another species which is found in Queensland and considered as a contender for this spotting ID was Bleeding Tooth Fungus (Hydnellum peckii).
Spotted on Mar 15, 2014
Submitted on Mar 17, 2014
10 Comments
Thanks, Mark. Has anyone ever thought of making a super-sized, liqueur-filled, dark chocolate freddo? OMG I would be a happy man if they did. I'd probably be dead after a day of binging.
(changed 'a' for 'o')
Excellent. Can I get a strawberry filled one to go with this spotting?
Looks like you were right on the money, Mark, with Fomitopsis lilacinagilva. It's a parasitic fungus. I've been in touch with the Queensland Mycological Society, and they reckon this to be a likely species. Obviously the fluid drops and poo stuff is the host being broken down. You've earned yourself a freddo frog :-)
Here's F lilacinogilva on a vertical dead tree though (quite different) http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/114...
I was just looking at that page a short while ago, Mark. Fomitopsis lilacinogilva is certainly the right colour. And thanks, Leuba. Very interesting spotting you have there.
Interesting fungus, Neil. I do hope someone can help with an ID. I had a similar spotting about a year ago. The fungus hugged the wood a little more but definitely had a pale pink surface with fine pore surface..
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/299...
H pecki is mycorrhizal anyway (with conifers) The only other thing I've seen slightly like this is Fomitopsis lilacinogilva - http://www.blueswami.com/australian_fung...
Thanks, Mark. This one has to go to the mushroom people. Let's watch them squabble over it. I didn't think to check if this spotting had an odour, perhaps like a stinkhorn.
Hydnellum peckii - not recorded in Australia ? Bleeding tooth fungus... maybe a relative then. ?? Fabulous find. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:c...