14 October 2007 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. Common Name Ear pick fungus Cap Disk or kidney shaped, covered with fine bristles, dark brown to dark chestnut brown, margin paler, to about 1 cm wide Spines Cylindrical with a sharp tip, whitish then brown with age, to about 3 mm long Stem Attached centrally or laterally to the cap, equal, covered with fine bristles, dark brown, emerging from a bulbous base Flesh Whitish, tough Smell Indistinct Taste Indistinct Season All year Distribution Frequent Habitat On Pine cones. There are also a small number of records on Abies and Larix cones. Spore Print White Microscopic Features Spores globose to broadly ellipsoidal, amyloid, cyanophilous (4.5-5.5) x (4-5) µm2 Edibility Inedible 
27 October 2006 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
27 October 2006 Surrey. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. |