Saprophytic Gallery

Ghost orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) flowering in leaf litter on forest floor, Roncal Valley, Navarre, Spain, Europe

Ghost orchid (Epipogium aphyllum), Roncal Valley, Navarre, Spain, Europe

An orchid (Cyrtosia septentrionalis), that is parasitic on fungi and bears no leaves. It grows about 50 cm tall and in autumn produces large cherry red fruits 6 to 10 mm long. Japan

Porcelain mushrooms (Oudemansiella mucida), rowing on a beech (Fagus sylvatica) to which it is specific. A layer of transparent mucus covers the caps

Violet birdas nest orchid (Limodorum abortivum)
Violet birds nest orchid (Limodorum abortivum) relies for nutrition on its relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, mostly of the Russulaceae family

Common stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) fruiting body. Despite its foul odour, this mushroom is edible and is edible when young

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Birds Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) flowering, growing in mossy woodland, France, May

Ear fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae), typical growth on dead stump after rain. Eastern Australia; occurs worldwide

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Birds Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) flowering, growing amongst leaf litter in deciduous woodland habitat, Holt, Norfolk, England, May

Bird's Nest Orchid - Saprophytic orchid - in beech wood (Neottia nidus-avis) Date:

Lacandonia schismatica plant C016 / 6144
Lacandonia schismatica plant specimen. This saprophytic plant is only found in the Lacandon rainforest in southeast Mexico. Natural History Museum, London, UK

Mould growing on tomatoes C014 / 1426
Mould growing on tomatoes. The white strands of fungus, called hyphae, make up the mycelium, and are breaking down the tomatoes to obtain nutrients for growth

Earthstar (Geastrum sp.) fungus C014 / 0950
Earthstar (Geastrum sp.) fungus in leaf litter. This fungus releases its spores from the central spherical structure. Photographed in Rio Bigal Biological Reserve, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Strangled stinkhorn fungus (Staheliomyces cinctus). This is the fruiting body of this fungus. It produces an unpleasant aroma from a slimy area called the gleba (brown)

Oyster mushrooms on a tree C013 / 9918
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) on a tree in woodland. These bracket mushrooms are edible fruiting bodies of the fungus, formed as it acts on dead and decaying wood

Mould fungus, SEM
Mould fungus (Penicillium expansum), coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). This fungus, also called blue mould, is a pathogen of plant material

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Striped Coral-root - in dense woodland, Canada

Fungi on dead wood in a beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest. Photographed in Plitvice National Park, Croatia, in autumn

Penicillium mould colony. Penicillium is used to produce the antibiotic penicillin. Magnification: x60 when printed 10 centimetres wide

Penicillium mould, light micrograph
Penicillium mould. Light micrograph of a section through an orange rind infected with Penicillium sp. blue mould fungus, showing fungal hyphae and conidiophores (pink and purple) with spores (red)

Striped Coral-root (Corallorhiza striata) flowering in dense woodland in Canada

Forest lichen and fungus. Cup lichen (Cladonia sp. left) and wolfs udder fungus (Lycogala epidendrum, right), growing on a dead Scots pine tree stump (Pinus sylvestris)

Crimson waxcap mushrooms, artwork
Crimson waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea) mushrooms, artwork. This fungus is found in northern Europe. The mushrooms (fruiting bodies) have a bell-shaped cap (lower right)

Many-coloured polypore fungi
Many-zoned polypore (Coriolus versicolor) bracket fungi. Wiltshire, UK November 2010

Podoscypha fungus, New Forest, UK October 2009

Psathyrella mushrooms after forest fire
Psathyrella pennata mushrooms growing one year after a forest fire. This fire took place in a clear-felled area in the Tiveden forest, in Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden

Geopyxis elf-cup fungi after forest fire
Geopyxis carbonaria elf-cup fungi growing one year after a forest fire. This fire took place in a clear-felled area in the Tiveden forest, in Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden

Reishi fungus
Reishe fungus (Ganoderma lucidum) growing on a dead tree. Photographed in Narke, Sweden

Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) growing on a tree trunk. Photogroahed in Narke, Sweden

Myxomphalia mushroom after forest fire
Myxomphalia maura mushrooms growing one year after a forest fire. This fire took place in a clear-felled area in the Tiveden forest, in Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden

Peziza cup fungus after forest fire
Peziza cup fungus (Peziza lobulata) growing two months after a forest fire. This fire took place in a clear-felled area in the Tiveden forest, in Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden

Plant regrowth after forest fire
Plant regrowth one year after a forest fire. The plants and fungi seen here include Pholiota highlandensis mushrooms (lower left), the common liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha, white-green, centre)

Pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea )
Pinedrop (Pterospora andromedea ) flowers on a pine forest floor. Photographed in Oregon, USA

Pinedrop (Pterospora andromedea ) flowers. Photographed in Oregon, USA

Coralroot (Corallorhiza mertensiana)
Pacific coralroot (Corallorhiza mertensiana) orchid in flower. Photographed on Mount Ashland, Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, USA

Mouldy bread. The white areas are fungal mycelia, masses of thread-like structures (hyphae) that absorb nutrients. The blue-green areas are the fungal spores (reproductive structures)

Bleeding mycena mushrooms (Mycena haemotopus). Bleeding mycenas are so called because they release a reddish juice when cut. They grow on rotting wood, reaching about 3-8 centimetres in height

Cramp balls fungi (Daldinia concentrica) on a dead ash tree (Fraxinus sp.). This species is inedible

Scarlet elf cup fungi (Sarcoscypha austriaca) on dead wood. This edible fungus grows in spring on dead rotting branches and in boggy alder wood areas

Toadstools growing on moss-covered wood

Myxococcus xanthus bacteria, SEM
Myxococcus xanthus bacteria, coloured scanningelectron micrograph (SEM). M. xanthus is a rodshaped Gram-negative bacterium that resides inthe soil

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Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum) flowering, growing in pine woodland, Chios, Greece, April

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Birds Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) flowerspike in seed, Norfolk, England, July

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Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum) close-up of flower, Causse de Gramat, Massif Central, Lot, France, May

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Banded Polypore (Trametes versicolor) common polypore saprophyte fungus, on a wood stump in autumn

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Birds Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) flowerspike, growing in woodland, Buckinghamshire, England, May

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Birds Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) flowerspike, growing amongst leaf litter in shady woodland, Oxfordshire, England, June

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Birds Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) close-up of flowerspike, growing in woodland, Buckinghamshire, England, May

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