fungi in december

this is my contribution to FungiFriday by @ewkaw

it being December i wasn't expecting to find much on my walk to the driftwood beach. but when expectations are low it is easier to be surprised

this was the first time i have seen dog vomit Fuligo septica on the driftwood, and the fallen leaves added a nice touch to the image

as you probably know dog vomit is not a species of fungus but rather a slime mold, a completely different life form. now because of the leaves i didn't get a real good look under them

but then, not far away i spotted this and realized this is not dog vomit. it is to shiny and gelatinous. i presumed it is orange jelly, which i had only seen in books, not in real life so i had to check my ID app to make sure. sure enough it is what i thought. Dacrymyces chrysospermus

i thought it unlikely that i would find both dog vomit and orange jelly so close to each other so i began to doubt the dog vomit, but it was not shiny and jelly like.

i don't know much about either of these so i'll have to do a little research

here's one covered with ice.
in this and the previous photo there are small white globs. i don't know what they are but i guessed they are immature fruiting bodies that will soon be yellow, weather permitting. a quick check on AI confirmed the newly formed ones may be white. this was all new to me, what i had expected was to see how my favorite log with the rusty gilled polypores was doing

these have grown a lot and they still have the orange edge but unlike many polypores, they won't last the winter

so i'll be back in the spring and see what new growth has developed.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. and have a nice winter if you are in the northern areas