Kretzschmaria deusta (Hoffm.) Martin, syn.: Ustulina deusta (Hoffm.) Lind, Hypoxylon deustumBrittle cinder, DE: BrandkrustenpilzSlo.: rnea ogankaDat.: Feb. 27. 2016Lat.: 46.33499 Long.: 13.69911Code: Bot_934/2016_IMG9669Picture file names: from Kretzschmaria-deusta_raw_10 to Kretzschmaria-deusta_raw_17.Habitat: light, mixed woodland Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica dominant; slightly inclined mountain slope, south aspect; calcareous, skeletal ground; half shade, quite humid place; exposed to direct rain; average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 6 - 8 deg C, elevation 715 m (2.350 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.Substratum: mostly debarked places of a heavily decayed, still standing trunk of Fagus sylvatica.Place: Vrsnik valley, below 'Na skali' settlement, above Pod Vriem place, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC.Comments: This is a quite a common fungus in Upper Posoje region, not really among the most beautiful, but still interesting. This species is much brighter when young, becoming black as charcoal when old. Growing on several places of a still standing trunk of large Fagus sylvatica. Ascomata confluent into patches up to 25 x 10 cm, with bumps from 3 to 10(15) mm in diameter, 2 to 6(10) mm thick, perithecia about 1 mm in diameter; very brittle, so it can't be cut even not with a sharp surgical knife without breaking it into pieces; no smell; SP none, spores found within crashed perithecia; these were rather old sporocarps.Spores smooth, dark, seems much flattened on one side (which probably explains large variability of their measured width compared to stable length), some with small drops. Dimensions: 28.3 [30.3 ; 31.2] 33.1 x 8.8 [9.9 ; 10.5] 11.6 microns; Q = 2.5 [2.9 ; 3.1] 3.5; N = 30; C = 95%; Me = 30.7 x 10.2 microns; Qe = 3. Olympus CH20, NEA 40x/0.65, magnification 400 x; in water. AmScope MA500 digital camera.Herbarium: Mycotheca and lichen herbarium (LJU-Li) of Slovenian Forestry Institute, Vena pot 2, Ljubljana, Index Herbariorum LJFRef.:(1) R. Phillips, Mushrooms, Macmillan (2006), p 377. (2) M. Bon, Parey's Buch der Pilze, Kosmos (2005), p 336. (3) J. Breitenbach, F. Kraenzlin, Eds., Fungi of Switzerland, Vol.1., Verlag Mykologia (1984), p 272.
