Moss and Mushrooms! 10/15/25
I have posted quite a few times in the past with pics of the starry bristle moss, and various lichens, on a tree on my commute. There are now two trees with really good moss and lichen colonies on them, about 10 feet apart, that I pass. Normally unremarkable-looking, when it rains and is still humid, all of the moss plumps up to this gorgeous, velvety bright green. I always make a point to say hi to it.
Yesterday, after like 4 straight days of rain/mist, the moss was again all plumped up, but I was REALLY surprised to see VERY TEENSY mushrooms sprinkled amongst the moss. (The tip of my index finger in the last photo will give a sense of just how tiny.) They turned out to be bark bonnet, or bark mycena (mycena corticola), and as you can see from my other collections of photos of these trees over the years, I have never seen them there before.
According to mushroomexpert.com:
Mycena corticola is a gorgeous little mushroom, common in eastern North America but rarely noticed by collectors since a specimen measuring a centimeter across is a virtual Goliath. Like most species of Mycena it is a wood rotting saprobe--but it thrives on bark rather than wood. As a result it is only found on fallen wood early in the decomposition process, when the bark is still attached--or, quite frequently, on the bark of standing trees. In the latter case Mycena corticola is probably harmless to the tree, like Aleurodiscus oakesii, since its mycelium does not invade the crucial water-conducting phloem or sapwood beneath the bark.
That site also notes that it "has the ability to shrivel up in dry conditions and then come back to life with the next rain", which we will certainly test! Because even on my commute home that evening, the moss had dried up, and all of the mushrooms were apparently gone (but perhaps they are laying in wait, and will come back!).
These seem to spread by having their spores land on suitable host trees. After all these years without seeing them there, I wonder where the spores came from to establish these little colonies. There are plenty of possible sources in the surrounding area, I guess; I don't tend to examine the other area trees quite this closely.
Anyway, I'm just so charmed and delighted by this new development! More little friends!
