Could this eventually be Ascotremella faginea? A was unable to find mature asci with spores. Alternatively this could be Exidia recisa, but I was also unable to find globose basidia. Spores shown are probably contaminant. There were only 12 of them found after long searching and could be easily from somewhere else. Sorry for poor microscopy of surface of sporocarps. Can it help at all?

Habitat: modestly southeast inclined mountain slope, mixed wood, dominant Fagus Sylvatica, Picea abies; overgrown calcareous ground composed of old alluvial and glacial moraine scree, rocks and boulders, relatively warm and dry place, in shade, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-8 deg C, elevation 595 m (1.950 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.

Substratum: fallen Fagus sylvatica trunk; mostly still in bark; in its (late) initial stage of disintegration.

Place: Lower Trenta valley, East Julian Alps, Poso?je, Slovenia EC

Comment: Three sporocarps found growing close together; fresh fruitbodies pinkish-brown, after two days in refrigerator becoming olive-brown; fruit body dimensions up to 5 x 4 x 2.5 cm; clumps spreading flat over the substratum and attached to it only at isolated spots resembling rudimentary short 'stalks'; context quite firm, gelatinous; taste indistinctive, smell none; SP not obtained.

Many thanks for your help in advance.
Amadej

Chris Yeates, 27-02-2016 15:05

Re : Ascotremella faginea?

The spores are surely basidiospores, many show a clear apiculus; but as you say they may well be strays from elsewhere, they don't look like the spores of any Exidia I know.

best wishes
Chris

Amadej Trnkoczy, 29-02-2016 17:27

Re : Ascotremella faginea?

Thank you Chris and Hans for your kind response. Spores seem to be definitely unrelated to the find. They don't fit to Exidia. On the other hand I know no other genus within basidiomycetes, which would fit to my observation macroscopically. Also the Hans' picture seems to me very similar to my pictures. Could I conclude from the information you provided that Ascotremella faginea actually seems a more probable option than Exidia?
Regards
Amadej