280 days of Urbpandemonium #178
This tiny mushroom has been a favorite of mine since I first saw the eighth-of-an-inch purple bells protruding from the bark of a crabapple at Drumlin Farm. They appeared on a rainy day, and when I checked later on a sunny day there was no sign of them. They have the ability to practically disappear in dry weather and reappear to release more spores in wet weather. The fungus that produces them lives and feeds in the outermost bark, probably not causing much harm to the tree that hosts it. When fresh, Mycena corticola* is purple, but over time fades to tan and orange colors.
*Little bark mushroom