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by Kevin Strauss
The thunderstorms of July provide the moisture for a strange group
of "plants" to grow and show themselves in
yards and forests. Often we see them a small white or tan or brown
mushrooms growing on dead stumps or rich soil. What you may not
know is that mushrooms, with their stalks and caps, aren'
t the whole organism. A mushroom is actually only the fruit of
the fungus " plant," holding the spores that
will spread the next generation of fungus. The actual fungus "
plant" consists of millions of tiny hairlike "
hypha" fibers underground or in the trunks of rotting
trees. Scientists are clear to point out that while we often think
of mushrooms in the same way we think of plants like trees and
flowers, they aren't really plants. Mushroom are from a
completely different group of organisms that, rather than making
their own food through photosynthesis like plants, breaks down
(decomposes) plant and animal material for food.
While we may dislike funguses in our houses that cause athelete'
s foot, green mold on old bread or carpet damage in the basement,
funguses in the natural world are absolutely essential. Funguses
are nature's recyclers, taking dead animal and plant material
and turning it into nutrient-rich soil.
While there are field guides to mushrooms, the hobby of mushroom
identification isn't nearly a popular as flower identification
or bird-watching. The guide below will get you " in the
ballpark" with mushroom identification.
Cap Mushrooms:
This is the largest group of mushrooms in most field guides. This
group of mushrooms has the stereotypical stalk and cap are are
what most people imagine when they think of mushrooms. Inky caps,
the light brown mushrooms of our lawns, the edible yellowish chanterelle
and the deadly white " destroying angel" amanita.
Shelf Mushrooms:
Rather than having a stalk to hold up their spore cap, the shelf
mushrooms grow straight out of the trunks of trees, forming a
"shelf" that sticks out. Common shelf funguses
include the brownish, feathery "turkey tail fungus"
and the thick, woody, tan or white "artists fungus"
Coral Mushrooms:
Coral mushrooms are a group of mushrooms that have a wide base
and many coral-like stalks sticking up in the air. These mushrooms
got their name because they resemble the appearance of saltwater
corals. They are much less common than the cap or shelf mushrooms,
but they are intricate and beautiful to find.
All of these mushrooms have just one job in life: to spread spores.
Each mushroom has spore-filled gills or pores that release the
almost invisible spores into the environment. If a sport lands
on damp soil or wet wood, it may grown into a new fungus plant.
In many cases, funguses live in the soil or in rotting wood all
year long. When rains fall, they quickly sprout their mushrooms,
some of them appearing overnight to take advantage of damp soil
conditions.
The next time it rains, go for a walk and look for these overnight
mushrooms in the woods.
A note on mushroom safety:
While more than 99.9 percent of mushrooms are harmless and some
are edible, a handful of mushrooms are deadly poisonous. Don'
t eat wild mushrooms unless you have been trained by an edible
mushroom expert. The only mushrooms I eat come from the grocery
store.
The Ely Timberjay |