Fungus Fact Friday

Author: Thomas Roehl

#136: Inonotus obliquus, Chaga Mushroom 1

Fungus Fact

#136: Inonotus obliquus, Chaga Mushroom

Chaga (produced by the fungus Inonotus obliquus) is considered by many to be the most potent medicinal mushroom. Its popularity is on the rise and a quick internet search returns mostly websites offering to sell Chaga or sites touting its medicinal benefits.  Chaga purportedly has cancer-fighting properties, stimulates the immune system, reduces inflammation, and prevents aging.  The part of the fungus that people use is not quite a mushroom.  Instead, it is a sterile conk that looks like a large block of charcoal stuck to a birch tree.  This structure can be chopped off the tree, ground up, and steeped in hot water to make a tea.  Chaga tea is the usual way to take advantage of the fungus’s medicinal properties.

#135: Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, Ash Dieback Disease 1

Fungus Fact

#135: Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, Ash Dieback Disease

This emerging fungal disease of ash trees was first reported in 1992 in Poland. Over the past 24 years, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus has spread throughout Europe and (with the help of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle) is now poised to eradicate ash trees from the entire continent.

#134: Auricularia auricula-judae, the Jelly Ear Mushroom 3

Fungus Fact

#134: Auricularia auricula-judae, the Jelly Ear Mushroom

This distinctive, ear-shaped mushroom is brown in color and gelatinous in texture. Auricularia auricula-judae is a common find in North America and Europe and has a close relative in Asia.  As a result, the fungus has accumulated a variety of common names.  The two most commonly used names in English are “Jelly Ear,” “Wood Ear,” and “Tree Ear.”  Other popular names for this mushroom include “Judas’ Ear” or “Jew’s Ear.”  In most European countries, the regional common name translates to “Judas’”  Indeed, the species name for this mushroom translates to “Ear of Judas.”  English translations of Asian names for this mushroom include: “Wood Ear Mushroom” and “Cloud Ear Mushroom.”

#133: Russula virescens species group 3

Fungus Fact

#133: Russula virescens species group

Mushrooms come in all different colors, even green! Although green is an unusual color for mushrooms, certain mushrooms sporting green colors are common.  The most frequently-encountered green mushrooms are from the Russula   Of these, my favorite ones are the Quilted Green Russulas (also called Greencracked Brittlecaps), which belong to the Russula virescens species group.  R. virescens can be found in North America, Europe, and Asia.  However, preliminary DNA studies suggest that specimens found in North America actually belong to a few different species and should not be lumped in with R. virescens.  Unfortunately, mycologists have yet to formally classify these American species.  As a result, the North American species in the group can be called R. virescens for now.

#132: Microbotryum spp., the Anther Smuts 0

Fungus Fact

#132: Microbotryum spp., the Anther Smuts

Of all the sexually transmitted infections in the world, the anther smuts are probably the most bizarre. Fungi in the genus Microbotryum infect plants in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae) as well as a few other species.  When a plant infected with an anther smut tries to produce flowers, the fungus hijacks the process and forces the plant to make anther-like structures filled with fungal spores instead of pollen.  The spores are primarily transmitted to new flowers by pollinators, but can also be spread by wind or splashing raindrops.

#131: Class Ustilaginomycetes, Smut Fungi 0

Fungus Fact

#131: Class Ustilaginomycetes, Smut Fungi

These fungi are obligate plant pathogens with life cycles similar to the rust fungi. Thankfully, the smut fungi have much simpler life cycles: only one host and only two spore types.  To make matters easier, smut fungi only infect flowering plants (angiosperms), with just five known exceptions out of the over 1,400 described species.  Wondering about their common name?  Although the word “smut” has come to mean “something obscene,” it originally meant “dirt” or “excrement.”  Smut fungi produce copious amounts of powdery, black spores, which look like dirt en masse.  “Smutted wheat,” therefore, is wheat that has had its seeds replaced by the dirt-like spores of a smut fungus.

#130: Order Pucciniales, the Rust Fungi 7

Fungus Fact

#130: Order Pucciniales, the Rust Fungi

Rust fungi – which are so named because of their characteristic, rust-colored spores – have the most complex life cycles of any fungi. These fungi are all obligate plant parasites and most have two hosts.  To successfully cycle from one host to the other over the course of a year, rust fungi produce up to five different types of spores.

#129: Phellinus igniarius and its use as a Tobacco Additive 7

Fungus Fact

#129: Phellinus igniarius and its use as a Tobacco Additive

Phellinus igniarius is probably the most dangerous regularly-consumed mushroom. By itself, the mushroom is pretty much useless.  However, many Native American groups discovered that the ashes of igniarius will increase the buzz of chewing tobacco.  Today, this practice is particularly widespread among Native Alaskans.  Despite attempts by health agencies to discourage this practice, usage rates are still above 50%.

#128: Anastamosis 3

Fungus Fact

#128: Anastamosis

Anastomosis is the process by which fungal cells fuse together. This process is very important for filamentous fungi because it allows them to form networks and is a key part to sexual reproduction.

#127: Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, causal agent of Snake Fungal Disease 2

Fungus Fact

#127: Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, causal agent of Snake Fungal Disease

Snakes of the Eastern United States are dying of a disease called Snake Fungal Disease (SFD). Recently, the cause of SFD was identified as the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola.  This fungus normally contributes to the decomposition of dead animals, but has for some reason been infecting live snakes since the early 2000’  SFD is primarily characterized by a severe rash on the snake’s skin, although it may also affect the snake’s eyes or even liver.  The infection often results in death and in some species the mortality rate appears to be 100%.