The location in Vrachanski Balkan is the species’ second for Bulgaria; it has also been recorded in the surroundings of Blagoevgrad.
The fruiting body of Dendrocollybia racemosa appears in the autumn among dead leaves and needles, respectively in broadleaf and coniferous forests. Typically the species grows on rotting remains of larger fungi, e. g. members of the Russula and Lactarius genera. Such behaviour – one fungus growing onto another, is an extreme rarity. The Dendrocollybia has many unique growths on the side of its stalk, and thus it resembles a branching twig. The fungus’s reproduction is also intriguing; it produces two types of spores – the first are located under the main cap; the second are located under the numerous stunted caps at the tip of the ‘branches’. The incredible ability to produce two types of spores simultaneously enhances the survival of the species and its wider distribution. The fungus’s small size – along with its successful camouflage in its surroundings, – explains why amateur mycologists and mushroom pickers rarely encounter it in the wild.
A new species of fungus discovered in Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park
