Multiclavula mucida
Multiclavula mucida on a damp decorticated balsam fir log in the forest.
Multiclavula mucida is a lichen although some contest that since the algae and fungus do not form a "typical" thallus. On top of that, the mycobiont its a Basidiomycete whereas in all "true" lichens the mycobiont is an Ascomycete (ignoring for now the Bryoria with its Ascomycete mycobiont and Basidiomycete yeast mycobiont living together with an algal partner). Recent studies have shown that the Basidiomycete and its algal partner are not merely coincidental but intimately connected.
I've been observing several logs in my forest with Multiclavula mucida on them and it appears that the colonies persist for years.
Multiclavula mucida is a fungi in the Multiclavula genus. It is usually found scattered or grouped on algae-covered, wet, rotting wood; July through September. It appears as white, slender, cylindrical clubs; simple or rarely forked.
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