Some winter fungi

 Not many big fungi around in my neck of the woods at this time of year, but plenty of interesting smaller ones.

This is yellow brain fungus Tremella mesenterica, a parasite on another fungus called Peniophora that grows on dead gorse stems.

I first saw crimp gills Plicaturopsis crispa (upper and lower-side views above) near Durham city ten years ago (original post here), and since then they have become very common, growing on fallen dead birch and hazel branches

Candle snuff Xylaria hypoxylon is very common on dead wood.

These are ivory coral Ramariopsis kunzei, growing in a local Scots pine plantation

Exquisite variable oysterling Crepidotus variabilis, on a dead twig.

Coral spot Nectria cinnabarina exists in two forms. The orange pustules are the asexual stage, producing conidiospores. Eventually, they give way to the cinnabar-coloured sexually reproducing form, that introduces genetic variability into the population. 

Coral Spot

Some dead twigs on our pear tree have been colonised by this coral spot fungus Nectria cinnabarina. 

Coral spot is an interesting fungus because it exists in two forms. One is saprotrophic, only growing on dead twigs, but there's also a parasitic form that actively attacks and kills live plants that are already in a weakened state. I'm hoping it's the former rather than the latter, otherwise our pear tree's days are numbered.