at last, a fungus!

I spent most of last week down in Dunedin, where my field sites are. I had a great time - Dunedin rocks! It's really pretty with lots of old buildings and houses perched precariously on hills. It's a bit bigger than Rotorua and full of students so it has a really nice feel. Dunedin weather is known for being a bit random - the first two days in the field we had 4-6 degrees with rain and hail, then the next two we had sun and 15 degrees! At least it didn't snow I guess...
I'm including a few pics of the fungus I'm studying, for those wondering what I'm doing in remotest NZ. The fungus causes damage to the wood of pine trees (the main plantation tree here) by cauing long flutes or cankers in the bark. And that means the wood loses its value.
This is what the trees look like when they are badly affected:

And here are a few pics of the fungus - tiny little red, grape-like fruiting bodies, each about the size of a pin-head.












Well, I couldn't have a blog without a few pics of fungus in somewhere.....