Bird's Nest fungi
I think I'd always overlooked this rather small, but interesting fungi until I knew what I was looking for, but even after I started noticing it, the instances were pretty scattered and usually only a few cups at at time - well this time I found a whole downed tree totally covered on one side in a large colony. I've never seen so many in one place before. The "eggs" were mostly already dispersed and I'd guess these were probably from the fall, but the mild winter we've been having has preserved them.
Nidula is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Their fruit bodies resemble tiny egg-filled birds' nests, from which they derive their common name "bird's nest fungi". Originally described in 1902, the genus differs from the related genera Cyathus and Crucibulum by the absence of a cord that attaches the eggs to the inside of the fruit body. The life cycle of this genus allows it to reproduce both sexually, with meiosis, and asexually via spores. Species in this genus produce a number of bioactive.. more
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