First one of these I've seen pop up here in Clarksburg so far thos year.
Abundant growth on an old, fallen hickory. This was taken after two days of rain so the fruiting bodies with bright and colorful.
Just a stab, but I think so… on Rhododendron maximum
Possibly B. inquinans, but uncharacteristically this was smaller and found growing 5 feet or more above ground in the crevices of a living oak tree with no obvious signs of decay. The asci seem to be a mix of the order of spore development… first four, last four, or even middle few underdeveloped. Some of the mature spores appear multi- and not just uniguttulate. Open for suggestions!
With guttation drops on the tips of leaflets and the spathe
First Observation of this exotic species in the Eastern United States of America
I learned the rhyme "Sedges have edges, Rushes are round, Grasses have nodes all the way to the ground" (most of the time): joint-like nodes (where the leaf sheath ends) are found along round, hollow grass stems, stems of sedges & rushes are solid; in cross-section the stems of rushes are round, sedges are triangular (giving them edges, but they have no nodes, & triangular-stem sedges have 3-ranked leaves, leaves arranged on all 3 sides of the stem; like sedges, rush stems also have no nodes)... common names (some of the time) can confuse: Broomsedge is a grass, not a sedge; Bulrush and Woolgrass are sedges, not a rush, nor a grass
I like the neat rhyme "Sedges have edges, Rushes are round, Grasses have nodes all the way to the ground" (most of the time): joint-like nodes (where the leaf sheath ends) are found along round, hollow grass stems, stems of sedges & rushes are solid; in cross-section the stems of rushes are round, sedges are triangular (giving them edges, but they have no nodes, & triangular-stem sedges have 3-ranked leaves, leaves arranged on all 3 sides of the stem; like sedges, rush stems also have no nodes)... common names (some of the time) can confuse: Broomsedge is a grass, not a sedge; Bulrush and Woolgrass are sedges, not a rush, nor a grass
Found indoors (on my wrist cuff), carried it to the great outdoors, where the tiny creature is enjoying life now
For the Black Snakeroot (Sanicula canadensis), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/208203877
For the adjacent Dryad's Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/206307078 & inaturalist.org/observations/206329227
For the Trametes aesculi, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/206308145
Thought this was interesting, it's cap kinda looks like a soup pot.
A few growing by a sick black cherry tree. Only seen 3 but lots of undergrowth here
For the adjacent Dryad's Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/206329227 & inaturalist.org/observations/206329215
For the Trametes aesculi, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/206308145
On a sweetgum seedball in muddy leaf litter; differentiating characteristics, many thanks to @pycnoporus: color and geography, plus N. niveotomentosa has white hairs, not orange, a west coast distribution, and brown periodoles (eggs), while the periodoles of C. laeve are white (not visible here in my images)
A mystery puzzler to me (every photo I test-uploaded gave different top suggestions, none plausible to me);
for the suggested Rusty Brook Lichen, Ionaspis lacustris, last photo inaturalist.org/observations/200858102
First photo close-cropped, then full size, same for the rest of the photos
For the Bacidia suffusa lichen, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137676
For the Ant-like Longhorn Beetle (Cyrtophorus verrucosus), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137684
Confidence to Suggest thanks to @mhodges1957, Notes adapted, thanks to @bertharris: On a slender snag, the young tree barely still standing, near where a small stream feeds into Sugar Creek; thallus mint green and lumpy; beautiful huge (slightly) purplish lecideine apothecia that start plane and heavily pruinose but end up convex and slightly or not pruinose; 1st photo close-cropped, then full size, same for 2nd photo (admittedly where I found this after I got home, the internet was down, & studied photo perimeters as I couldn't upload)
For the other lichen, the Ciliate Wreath (Phaeophyscia ciliata), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137667
For the big Ant-like Longhorn Beetle (Cyrtophorus verrucosus), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137684
For nearby Bacidia suffusa I went looking for and found lots, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205421248 and inaturalist.org/observations/205458504
For the Ciliate Wreath (Phaeophyscia ciliata) lichen, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137667
For the Bacidia suffusa lichen, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137676
An adjacent Ant-like Longhorn Beetle (Cyrtophorus verrucosus), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137690
An adjacent Ant-like Longhorn Beetle (Cyrtophorus verrucosus), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/205137684
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata) 3 more consecutive visits to same log, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/153675690, inaturalist.org/observations/153814996, & inaturalist.org/observations/153817731