Life at the bottom …
Many organisms take part in the nutrient cycle, working quietly to transform animal dung into the dark, life-giving richness we call humus. Chief among these recyclers are insects, most notably flies and beetles, and an extraordinary diversity of fungi that thread themselves through decay.
One such fungus is the Cowpat Gem, Cheilymenia granulata, a small ascomycete that arrives early in the life of a cowpat, often as soon as a thin surface crust has formed. Cowpats host an entire community of micro and macro-fungi, but this species is among the first colonisers.
C. granulata appears as tiny discs, usually just 1-2 mm wide and 0.5-1.5 mm tall, flat or slightly cupped, yellow-orange when fresh, deepening in colour as they dry. They sit directly on the substrate, without stems, gathering in clusters that can swell into astonishing, almost radiant swarms. Their fertile upper surface glows bright orange: smooth at the centre yet delicately granular around the rim, as though dusted with fine pigment. Often unnoticed by passers-by, this vivid little ascomycete is in fact a common inhabitant of dung across Britain and Ireland.
Distinguishing the roughly fifty known British and Irish species of Cheilymenia and Scutellinia, the latter famed for their eyelash-fringed discs, requires microscopic study of their asci, spores, and the subtle hairs or ‘lashes’ that adorn their infertile surfaces. Only under magnification do their true identities reveal themselves.
I must admit, despite their ecological importance and microscopic elegance, they always remind me, quite endearingly, of sliced carrots.
References:
O’Reilly, P. (2016). Fascinated by Fungi – exploring the majesty and mystery, facts and fantasy of the quirkiest kingdom on Earth. Llandysul: First Nature, p. 372.
Skidmore, P. (1991). Insects of the British cow-dung community. Shrewsbury: Field Studies Council. Occasional Publication No. 21.
Sterry, P. and Hughes. B. (2009). Collins Complete Guide to British Mushrooms and Toadstools. London: HarperCollins, p. 344, fig. p. 345.
www.first-nature.com/fungi/cheilymenia-granulata.php [Accessed, 6th December 2025].