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Dist:0.2km<br/>The photograph was taken from the foot of [[914876]], a track leading uphill. From the viewpoint of someone looking uphill from that point, there are two other tracks leading away from there. The first is the one shown in this photograph, leading to [[359397]] (see also [[366004]]). The other one leads in the opposite direction, towards the [[1661480]]. For a view across the field that can be seen to the left of the track in the present photograph, see [[2125472]].
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This specimen was not only ear-shaped, but roughly ear-sized as well. These fruiting bodies are fairly tough, and are often able to survive harsh winter conditions. The species occurs on branches of broad-leaved trees, often on those of elder. The British Mycological Society publishes a list of recommended English names, and it recommends the name "Jelly Ear" for this species (in some works, it is also sometimes referred to as "Jew's Ear Fungus", or as "Judas' Ear Fungus"). A number of different forms of the scientific name are also encountered; however, at the time of writing, Auricularia auricula-judae is the preferred name: http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=102281
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>Looking north from the station platform.
©Stephen Sweeney
Dist:0.2km<br/>This species is widespread but rare (I had never encountered it before); distribution map: http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NHMSYS0001500016 The specimen shown here might not seem very typical in appearance, but this is simply because it is such a large example of its species; as a result, the distinctive lobe margins are smaller, as a proportion of the entire lobe, than in most examples. The fungus was growing on the eastern side of the base of a tree stump; I measured the fruiting body to be about 10 cm wide by 10 cm tall, and projecting about 7 cm from the surface of the stump. It has therefore attained the maximum size for this species (which is said to range from 3 to 10 cm in diameter). The book "Fungi without Gills" (Ellis & Ellis, 1990) describes this species as follows: "fruitbodies tufted and made up of a number of broad, leafy lobes 3-10 cm long, gelatinous, brown or reddish brown. .... Mostly on dead branches and stumps of deciduous trees, rarely on conifers"; coverage of this species in more popular works is patchy.
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This specimen was about 4cm wide, and encrusted onto blades of grass; it was found beside the footpath that is shown on the map, and can be seen to be a convoluted mass of tubules (as is also well exemplified in [[2110088]], another contributor's photograph of a specimen at a similar stage of development). The present photograph is the third of a series of four images showing different stages of the slime mould's development. See the other stages for more information. Previous stage: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/950061 Next stage: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/961149
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This creamy-coloured crumbly mass, the fruiting body of a slime mould, was about 7cm long, and covered in tiny finger-like projections. It was found encrusted onto blades of grass (a very typical habitat for this species), and it is at an early stage in its development (compare another contributor's photograph, [[2110103]], showing a different specimen at a similar stage of development). Beneath the outer covering (the cortex), this slime mould contains a complex mass of tubules with cross-connections. Another example of the same species was found growing next to this one; it was at a later stage of development (about a day older), and it shows the internal structure more clearly; see the "next stage" link below. This is the second of a series of four images showing different stages of the slime mould's development. Previous stage: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/967666 Next stage: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/950062
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This specimen was growing among mosses on an earthbank that flanks the upper end of a footpath through the woods. This location is usually in shade, but here the low winter sun is briefly shining through the translucent flesh of the fungus. Its irregular cup is 4-5 cm wide, is smoother on the inside than on the outside, and is attached to the soil by a short stalk. This is an uncommon species, which occurs singly or in groups, growing on soil in woods.
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This gall, caused by the fungus Puccinia urticata ("nettle rust", or "nettle clustercup rust") is very common on nettles, and can appear on the stem, leaf stalk, leaf, or flowers of the plant. This example was found beside a path through the woods. For a more detailed explanation, and another illustration, see: [[947367]].
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>The footpath here passes through dense woods, with a little stream flowing alongside it. The resulting damp shaded conditions are ideal for liverworts. As for the species shown here, its surface is strongly marked: it is covered with an irregular hexagonal pattern, each hexagon containing a pore. It is not really a moss, although liverworts do have a similar life-cycle; mosses and liverworts are sometimes grouped together as 'bryophytes'.
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This fruiting body (apparently two, fused together) was found growing on a fallen log, on what would originally have been the underside (in this item, I will write as if the fungus is still growing on the underside, but the log shown here had in fact been turned over at some point, exposing the Common Mazegill to view). The fallen log was located at the edge of some woods, only a few metres from a footpath. The pores in this species are fairly large, spaced almost 1 mm apart. The fungus shown here measured about 8 cm from left to right (a much larger patch was present on the same log; shown on the same scale, it would more than fill the image). As is usual with poroid fungi, the pores develop strictly vertically, regardless of the slope of the surface on which the fungus is growing. In general, fungi cannot simply be identified by comparison with photographs; in some cases, an examination of microscopic features is required. However, this species has some distinctive features that allow identification to be made without use of a microscope (I made an examination of a very small fruiting body located near the ones shown in the photo); for example, a cross-section revealed one very helpful aid to identification: there is a distinctive thin black line (visible through a hand-lens) between the creamy flesh and the dark brown upper surface. This is a common species, found all year round on dead wood (almost always of deciduous trees); it causes white soft-rots. [For identification, and details of habitat, I largely relied on "Fungi of Switzerland (Volume 2: Non-gilled fungi)", by Breitenbach & Kräntzlin].
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>This species is one of the so-called cup-fungi, though its cups gradually become more irregular and flattened as they develop. The initial form is well seen in these photos: [[961026]] and [[274612]] All three photos also show a very typical habitat of this species: sandy or gravelly grassland, of the sort that might lie beside a path. That was the case with the example shown here, which was several centimetres across. This is a common species, occurring from early autumn to early winter. [Roger Phillips, "Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe"] It is unlikely to be confused with any other species, except perhaps for [[2852763]] (Sarcoscypha species), but the latter occurs on dead wood, not soil, and is not really very similar.
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.2km<br/>The galls were on a tree beside a path: [[914876]]. They are caused by a gall wasp, Andricus kollari. One of the galls in this photo shows the hole where the wasp that developed inside it has emerged. [Oak marble galls are occasionally the subject of popular confusion with "oak apples", which are caused by the cynipid gall wasp species Biorhiza pallida; see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/785900 for a picture of some correctly-identified oak apples.]
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.3km<br/>(Syn. Hyphoderma radula. "Toothed Crust" is the common name recommended by the British Mycological Society.) This toothed fungus was growing on a fallen branch beside a footpath through the woods. The fruiting body on the left is 2 cm across, while the other is 1.5 cm across; they have large blunt teeth, which were arranged in concentric patterns (very much like the photograph in "Fungi of Switzerland &#8211; Volume 2", Breitenbach and Kräntzlin). This not particularly common species is found all year round, and "grows on the bark of dead attached or fallen branches and trunks of hardwoods, more rarely on conifers" [work just cited]. [Coverage in other works on fungi is patchy: the description in Michael Jordan's "Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe" is accurate, but the accompanying photograph is of an altogether different vivid yellow species. The species is not covered in Roger Phillip's "Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe", but it is listed in Stefan Buczacki's "Fungi of Britain and Europe (Collins New Generation Guide)".]
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.3km<br/>The field is associated with [[359397]] (also shown in [[366004]]). The viewpoint is the top of [[914876]]; the same field can be seen in that photograph, on the right. In the present photograph, the Hundred Steps (a footpath) is behind the trees at the right-hand edge of the field. Running along the far edge of the field is a [[2125351]]. - - &#8226; - - The top of the Hundred Steps is a good viewpoint from which to survey this part of the Vale of Leven, and the hills on the far side of the valley. In the larger versions of the photograph, many locations can be picked out. In the right-hand side of the image, these include the [[1153230]]; standing alone behind the right-hand half of the estate is [[1058768]]; the area of housing arranged in an arc behind the other half is Strathleven Estate. The rightmost part of the skyline is taken up by the escarpment of the Kilpatrick Hills, with Doughnot Hill standing separately just to the left: [[1796929]]. Prominent near the centre of the photo is a large housing estate spreading up the hillside, with the wooded Pappert Hill ([[NS4280]]) behind it: the estate is divided up into Pappert, O'Hare, Ladyton, Braehead, Redburn, and Nobleston; extending from its upper-right corner is the newer Beechwood and Wheatcroft Estate. To the left of Pappert Hill is the lower Auchincarroch Hill ([[NS4281]]). On a day with decent visibility, it is easy to pick out, just to the left of Auchincarroch Hill, [[1083873]], about 48km (30 miles) away. A little further to the left, on more level ground, Alexandria is mostly hidden by trees, although part of the [[1649584]] can be seen; Bonhill and Jamestown are behind it. Near the left-hand edge of the photo, part of the Haldane is visible.
©Lairich Rig
Dist:0.3km<br/>This short ascent, between fields associated with Upper Dalquhurn Farm, is known as the Hundred Steps; until recently, it was a rather narrow winding little path, with many stones set into it, and it did more closely resemble an ascent by steps. In 2006, this popular stretch of footpath was given a smooth new surface, and the overgrown vegetation surrounding it was cleared away, but the evocative old name has been retained. The little stream that used to crisscross (and frequently share) the course of the footpath has been diverted into a little channel that can be seen to the right of the path in this photo.
©Lairich Rig

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