Heavy showers.
The Parrot Waxcap - Hygrocybe psittacina - has perhaps the most stunning colouring I have seen. But the bright green colour of the cap lasts for only one day, so timing has to be good. On day 2 (third image) the intense green begins to fade to olive. Many fungi are like this, and I suspect the amount of pigment is fixed, becoming more dispersed as the fungus grows.
I showed a young Cordyceps militaris last week.
This is a more mature specimen, about 6 cm. tall. The fascinating
spores are shown on the right. At x100 we can see the tangled
network of spores - a net ideal for catching caterpillars. At x400
the individual sporelets can be seen.  |
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