Good evening.

Today, I have found a nice place with more then one hundred specimen of Mitrula paludosa.
I would like to know if it's common or rare ? I think I have seen somewhere that this specie is protected in many countries. Is it right or not ?

Yannick

We have recently (May 2008) collected this species from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA. It had a fascinating habitiat - growing only on dead leaves in a stream. It has previously been collected from this park before. I may not have the correct species, but I believe it is a Mitrula. It does look very similat to your specimen.

Andy

Hi Yannick,
This species is on the Netherlands red list as endangered species but has no legal protection status, none fungi have in the netherlands. You should ask Regis he is amember of the European Council of Conservation of Fungi. (hypelink to the ECCF) http://www.wsl.ch/eccf/

Amitiés
Stip

Hallo,

Mitrula paludosa grows on litter in very wet places. Sometimes even in the water, but not truly submerged. Main biotops in Germany are either the borders of peat bogs, especially when there are channels to drain them and on the other hand Alnus swamps which go along small rivulets or which surround lakes or other biotops with standing water. Itz occurs on litter of conifers as well as on broadleaf litter. In Germany it has a clear preference for acid soils and for nutriant poor water. Therefor it is quite common in the areas with acid ground, but is lacking nearly totally in the lime stone areas.
Last year I have also observed a group of three albinotic ascocarps - purely white - amongst hundreds of normal coloured exemplaires.

In the german Red List of 1992 the species was classified as category 3, which means "vulnerable" and is the lowest category in the Red List. In the new version Mitrula paludosa will fall out of the Red List and is classified in a category outside hte List which means something like "not yet endangered, but its situation needs tol be observed".

best regards,
Andreas

Pour donner un avis limité à ma région, le sud du Morvan, (Saône et Loire, France), c'est une espèce courante et très abondante, tous les ans, dans les milieux qui lui conviennent, les dépressions tourbeuses acides avec sources et ruisseaux, de 400 à 800 m d'altitude.
J Pierre

In Spain it's a very common species, with restricted habitat, from 500 to 2000 m of altitude