| Stat' | Notes | Thumbnails: 140. 42 native species listed, with 23 from Ellura |
| Bacteria (Bacteria) - Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria) - Blue-green bacteria (Cyanophyceae) | ||||||
| Algae Nostocales | Blue-Green Algae Nostocaceae | Witch's Butter Nostoc commune | Na em | Interesting stuff that if you try and pick up when wet, barely sticks together. Very slimy. It seems to be 99% water because it dries out soon after the puddle it's in dries up. The colonies shown here are around 10 to 50mm across. The colonies can be quite thin and look translucent. Overall a very dark green colour. | ||
| Crust (Crust) - Crust (Crust) - Crust (Crust) | |||||||
| Crust Crust | BioCrust Biocrust | Crust Microphytic crust | Na em |
The Microphytic Crust is an incredibly important structure. While not a single species, this seemed to be the best place to highlight it's value to Ellura. Our friends at Entwood have a nice write up on it: On this photo you can see a chunk has been dug out and turned over (by an animal we assume). It's difficult to see normally, but this highlights how thick it is. You can see how lacking in nutrients the soil underneath is, and how rich in life the Microphytic Crust is. While the common name of Duricrust is also used, it's a bit of a misnomer on Ellura. Technically duricrust contains more minerals and is harder, while the crust we have at Ellura (and seen in the surrounding area) appears to be mainly organic. | |||
| Crust Crust | Duricrust Duripan | Crust Duripan | Na em |
This is here to show the difference between the organic Microphytic crust & the calcrete layer (duri-crust) formed when calcium/limestone leaches up from below. A millenia ago Ellura was under the ocean and a limestone shelf was created from dead shellfish, etc. This limestone shelf is up to 60m below. The calcium from the limestone shelf leaches up and crystallises around rocks and branches near the surface creating another shelf, this time calcrete. Same minerals, different process There is also another form of calcium deposits here called Stromatolites which is created from a different process again. | |||
| Fungi (Fungi) - Sac Fungi (Ascomycota) - Cup Fungi (Leotiomycetes) | |||||||
| Earth Tongues Geoglossales | Earth Tongue Geoglossaceae | Earth Tongue Geoglossum sp | Na a | Thank you Robert Lawrence for identifying this species for us | |||
| Cup Fungi Helotiales | Cup Fungus Helotiaceae | Orange Cup Fungus Discinella terrestris | Na a |
Thank you Michal Dutkiewicz for identifying this species for us | |||
| Fungi (Fungi) - Sac Fungi (Ascomycota) - Disk Fungi (Pezizomycetes) | ||||||
| Disk Fungi Pezizales | Cup Fungus Pezizaceae | Brown Cup Fungus Peziza cf repanda | Na a | These are small examples, ~35mm across. | ||
| Disk Fungi Pezizales | Disk Fungus Pyronemataceae | Smooth Disk Fungus Aleurina cf ferruginea | Na a | This example is ~10mm wide | ||
| Fungi (Fungi) - Basidio (Basidiomycota) - Mushroom-forming Fungi (Agaricomycetes) | |||||||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Agaricaceae | Bird's Nest Fungus Cyathus stercoreus | Na em | The little black seed like things in the middle are actually spore casings. And they rely on a rain drops hitting them, bouncing them out of the parent cup to spread the spores and reproduce. That's just cool. | |||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Agaricaceae | Puffball Lycoperdon scabrum | Na em | ||||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Agaricaceae | Puffball Vascellum pratense | Na ema | ||||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Amanitaceae | Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria iNaturalist | If a | Similar Species: Vermilion Grisette (Amanita xanthocephala) | |||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Amanitaceae | Golden Mushroom Amanita sp | Na a |
This species is in the Grisella Group According to fia-3-basidio-agarico-I.pdf "The species in this group are difficult to separate using macroscopic features" We were able to monitor this specimen daily to record it's rapid growth, as well as see the earlier stages of the one next to it once the first was found. As such, the photo's are in chronological order. Unusually (compared to other mushrooms we've found), this one wasn't eaten by springtails. So many other species we saw one day and were gone the next. | |||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Amanitaceae | Vermilion Grisette Amanita xanthocephala | Na a | Similar Species: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) | |||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Hygrophoraceae | Red Mushroom Hygrocybe miniata | Na a | Thank you Karin Elizabeth Dawson for identifying and Michal Dutkiewicz for helping with the id of this species for us | |||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Split Gill Schizophyllaceae | Split Gill Schizophyllum commune | Na em | ||||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Tricholomataceae | Red Mushroom Laccaria sp | Na a | Thank you Karin Elizabeth Dawson for identifying this species for us | |||
| Gilled Fungi Agaricales | Mushroom Tricholomataceae | Nargan's Bonnet Mycena cf nargan | Na a | Thank you Karin Elizabeth Dawson for identifying this species for us | |||
| Gloeophyllales | Bracket Gloeophyllaceae | Brown Bracket Gloeophyllum sp iNaturalist | Na em | Thank you Mark Ridgeway for identifying this species for us Probably the most beautiful fungus we've found; beautiful ochre colours. These photos are of different specimens in (what we think is) age sequence. | |||
| Gomphales | Coral Gomphaceae | Cauliflower Coral Fungi Ramaria capitata var capitata | Na a | ||||
| Pored Fungi Polyporales | Pored Fungus Polyporaceae | Scarlet Bracket Pycnoporus coccineus | Na em |
Thank you Karin Elizabeth Dawson for identifying this species for us | |||
| Sebacinales | Sebacinaceae Sebacinaceae | Ground Hugging Fungus Sebacinaceae sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Tom May for identifying this species for us Dr Tom May said "This could be a Sebacina or related genus". But microscopic examination is required to differentiate | |||
| Fungi (Fungi) - Basidio (Basidiomycota) - Ball Fungi (Basidiomycetes) | ||||||||
| Ball Fungi Boletales | Earth Ball Sclerodermataceae | Horse Dung Fungus Pisolithus arhizus | Na m | |||||
| Ball Fungi Boletales | Earth Ball Sclerodermataceae | Earthball Scleroderma citrinum | Na a | |||||
| Coral Fungi Cantharellales | Coral Fungus Clavariaceae | Yellow Club Ramariopsis simplex | Na a |
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| Fungi Cortinariales | Mushroom Cortinariaceae | Spectacular Rustgill Gymnopilus junonius | Na a |
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| Fungi (Fungi) - Basidio (Basidiomycota) - Rust Fungi (Pucciniomycetes) | ||||||
| Rusts Pucciniales | Bluebush Rust Aecidium | Bluebush Rust Aecidium sp | Na em | Thank you Dr Tom May for identifying this species for us It is growing on Rosy Bluebush (Maireana erioclada) Graham Patterson said "This is one of the spore-producing life cycle stages of a rust fungus. The different stages have in the past been given different names and this would be called a species of Aecidium. But now that the names are beginning to be sorted out this would probably be a Puccinia species." | ||
| Fungi (Fungi) - Chytridio (Chytridiomycota) - Rust Fungi (Chytridiomycetes) | ||||||
| Rusts Chytridiales | Crowfoot Rust Synchytriaceae | Common Crowfoot Rust Synchytrium papillatum | If em | This rust is growing on Common Crowfoot (Erodium cicutarium) which is an introduced species. We believe each species of this type of fungus evolves to only grow on one plant species. As such, this species of fungus must also be introduced? | ||
| Protozoa (Protozoa) - Amoebas (Amoebozoa) - Plasmodial Slime Molds (Myxogastrea) | |||||||
| Slime Molds Liceida | Slime Mold Tubiferaceae | Red Raspberry Slime Mould Tubifera cf ferruginosa iNaturalist | Na a |
Thank you Teresa Van Der Heul for confirming the id of this species for us We thought someone had dropped a lolly on the ground, and it turned out to be one of the most primitive life forms we've discovered. | |||
| Slime Molds Myxogastrea | Slime Mold Myxogastrea | Black Slime Mould Myxogastrea sp | Na em | Thank you Teresa Van Der Heul for helping with the id of this species for us This is the only slime mould we've seen on Ellura, but until we see it again and get a microscopic examination of it, we won't be able to identify it further. Teresa said "I do not believe this is Tubulifera sp. due to the way it is dehiscencing on the right; nor do I think its Lamproderma sp. as there is no clear iridescence showing, which leaves me to think it may be a Badhamia sp. but without microscopic examination I am not prepared to name it" | |||
| Slime Molds Physarida | Slime Mold Physaraceae | Sulphur Slime Mould Fuligo septica iNaturalist | Na a |
As you can see from the photo's, transitioning from fruiting bodies to "dried up" is incredibly fast. 15 hours, from 19:40 one evening to 10:40 next morning. | |||
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