Octospora humosa – a high-pressured fungus

Description

Small fungus with vivid, fleshy fruiting bodies.

Ecology

This bright, reddish-orange fungus is one of the Ascomycota – the spore-shooting fungi. These fungi produce microscopic spores inside special, elongated sacs. As the spores mature, pressure builds inside until eventually the top bursts off, "shooting" out the spores. Octospora humosa is thought to live within with certain types of hair moss. The connection between the two species is not clear, but the fungus does not appear to harm the plant.

Distribution

There are scattered records from sites in every country of Britain and Ireland. It occurs from sea level to mountain plateaus but always in sandy soil and alongside Polytrichum moss.