I joined Wendy on a walk down Sassafras Gully at Springwood, and we had a most fascinating outing.
I was hoping to see some orchids – we did. We spotted two nice species not long after setting out down the track from Sassafras Gully Road. We saw Small Tongue Orchids and Bonnet Orchids.
This area is one I have been observing the fungi and slime moulds in for a few years now, but I didn’t expect to see very much this early in the year. Its had been raining recently, but the rain has been quite light, especially when comparde to the year before. So it was a pleasant surprise to see quite a few species of fungi out, including some waxcaps. Waxcaps are cold weather fungi. They generally only appear during May – August. Last year I spotted some out in January, and the year before in March and the same in 2014. But only in certain locations along the gully. I am not sure why – but in a few places the waxcaps seem to produce fruiting bodies early.
We also spotted a few other species of fungi – ones that you do often find early – boletes and some Cyptotrama asprata. We also saw a nice Aseroe rubra –
Wendy also spotted some nice slime moulds in the rainforest.
We also saw quite a few cordyceps out.
But the most interesting finding was a beetle wandering through the leaf litter. It had a pink growth on it, and it looks like it had been infected by a fungus. I posted a photo of it on the Australian etymology page and asked if anyone knew what was going on. I had feedback that it was infected with a Laboulbeniales fungus. This group of fungi infect arthropods but do not kill them. This is an example of a commensal relationship. Both Wendy and myself had never seen anything like this before.
At the lagoon, at the junction with Glenbrook Creek, we stopped for lunch, and I had a swim (Wendy was still getting over the flu). The pool was very pleasant.
We then continued downstream along the track. On the way, Wendy spotted a very nice Diamond Python. On a previous trip, she had spotted one in the same general area.
Our way out was via the track up Magdala Creek and Fairy Dell. Before heading up, I enjoyed another nice swim in a big pool, just downstream of the Magdala Creek junction – the Perch Pond.
More photos from the walk are online on my website here.
