Onygena equina growing on the horns of a ram's skull, Resolven
...I know you lot have eclectic tastes.
We saw this on a walk on Resolven Mountain this afternoon. Growing on the horns of this ram's skull is a fabulous colony of Horn Stalkball (Onygena equina), an ascomycete in the Onygenaceae. I've only ever seen it once before. It only grows on the horn tissue and not on the bone of the skull. Unlike bone the horn is made of keratin (hair), which is a fibrous structural protein. Keratin is not easy to break down and few organisms can use it as a source of food - several fungi can do it. The reward for being able to break it down is the availability of a rich source of organic carbon and nitrogen in the form of amino acids.
There is a bryophyte in the photograph!
Nice ... Think I only seen it once or twice in Wales and in much smaller quantity than in your pic
ReplyDeleteWow - very nice! I saw it in my first year with CCW (winter 1999-2000), but neither Graham nor I can remember where I found it.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty scarce in Wales, only 2 unconfirmed records in the NBN database as far as I can see.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's lovely. I'll have to keep an eye out for it, though probably unlikely to find it by the sound of things.
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