Vinalhaven Sightings

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report – October 25^th 2019

Brought to you with pleasure by MCHT and VLT

Blip - #3 coral, jellies, clubs, and an earthball.

PSA – You should be wearing orange when out in the woods these days – it is deer hunting time in Maine. Currently we are in archery season and while there are certainly less of these hunting types, youth day is approaching quickly (October 26), with fire arm season (Nov 2-30) and muzzleloader/expanded archery extending the season until mid-December (Dec 14). Exciting times in the woods, for sure. Good idea to get in the habit of orange hats, jacket, vest, gloves, etc. just to announce your presence a little more. Especially when close to deer habitat which is pretty much the entire island.

There is no hunting statewide on Sundays and never hunting on the Lane’s Island Preserve.

this is the earthball - poisonous pigskin puffball.
not a puffball at all really

And so…..it’s been a while, the entire staff at the VSR was gone, outta state, outta mind for a stretch. To make a long story short, the VSR was placed on the royal “backburner” maybe a dozen times over the last two months. Things collected – piled up really, some good stuff too. We have now come to the conclusion that we won’t have enough time in one “fell swoop”, so instead we will be making “little swoops” – kind of blips and bleeps, “shorties” for those Aqua Teen Hunger Force fans – and so here they come.

here's another view

Thanks of course to all those who have shared and continue to share sightings – natural and beyond – because sharing is what the VSR is all about. Send your photos, stories and emails to vinalhavensightings@gmail.com – it’s what the cool kids are doing!

yellow tipped coral - Ramaria formosa

New stuff – What a late summer/fall for Coral Mushrooms – Clavariaceae. Bunches of coral could be found along trails, clumped along roots and underground wood the Coral fungi were/are decomposing.

Maybe I did not find “all the colors of the rainbow” in the coral mushrooms over the last month (and maybe you did), but there was quite a variety of shades and shapes to be found simply walking down the trails…

White Coral – Ramariopsis kunzei -

love clustered coral

Clustered Coral (Ramaria botrytis) –

Crested coral

As of late - Grey Coral - Clavulina cinerea -

Crested Coral (Clavulina cristata)

violet branched coral

Violet-branched Coral (Clavulina amethystine) –

spindle-shaped coral

Spindle-shaped Yellow Coral – Clavulinopsis fusiformis -

irregular earth tongue
not a pleasant name necessarily

Earth Tongues (Family Helotiales) are sometimes referred to as “coral mushroom wannabes”, but not when I’m around! They are cool, oddly shaped (judgment), and are pretty much the only representative of the Ascomycetes in this post, and probably the rest of the current wave of blips. The kingdom of Fungi is divided in two groups – the Ascomycetes (Subdivision Ascomycotina) and Basidiomycetes (subdivision Basidomycotina) – and the difference is in the development of spores. Ascomycetes’ spores develop in round, saclike microscopic structures called “asci”. Basidiomycetes’ spores develop “on appendages protruding from variously designed(usually club-shaped) microscopic structures known as basidia. Anyway, the photos and discussion often focus on Basidiomycetes.

Current on the trails (10/23) – and with all that here is a ascomycetes – Irregular Earth Tongues – Neolecta irregularis. On most trails – in most trails! Decomposing roots, usually smaller and less clumpy than the spindle shaped coral mentioned above.