While helping with environmental survey work at Blue Lake a couple of summers ago, this alder branch broke along where we had cut a trail through an avalanche path brush field adjacent to Blue Lake Creek. I am not sure what created the bore hole, but my guess is a beetle of some sort. It seems likely that the branch broke where it did because it was weakened by the hole. I may be that the hole provided an opportunity for decomposing fungi to get started, which would have further weakened that location. It’s probably not easy to get the identity of the borer based only on these excavations, so I suspect this will remain a mystery for quite some time.

Sickle Moss (Sanionia uncinata) infected with Eocronartium muscicola)

Last summer I noticed these white growths while doing some plant surveying work along Blue Lake Creek. At first glance I thought maybe they were rootlets coming from the trunk of the tree (either Red Alder or Sitka Willow, I can’t remember which). Closer examination revealed that they were actually growing directly from the moss. The only thing I have noticed growing out of a moss like that is sporophytes, but there are also sporophyts present and they seem different enough to make me think that the white growths are not a stage in the development of the sporophytes (though perhaps I’m wrong about this?).

I believe the moss is a species of Hypnum though I am not sure which one. So far, this is the only time I have noticed anything like this, so I am tempted to say it must not be very common. However, experience has taught me that I overlook many things, so I don’t really know how common it might be. In any case, I would appreciate any suggestions as to what might be going on with these growths.

A note on the photo: the image seen here was created from 3 initial images, each focused at a slightly different point. They were then stacked in the computer to give a greater depth-of-field.
It didn’t work perfectly, so there is a little bit of a funny look to some parts of the photo.