Fungus Fact Friday

Category: Fungus Fact

#084: Mushroom Paper 4

Fungus Fact

#084: Mushroom Paper

Believe it or not, you can use mushrooms to make paper! Mushroom paper uses the same process as normal paper making and only differs in the type of fibers used.

#083: Hypomyces lactifluorum: The Lobster Mushroom 0

Fungus Fact

#083: Hypomyces lactifluorum: The Lobster Mushroom

Lobster Mushrooms are the strangest mushrooms you will ever eat. Yes, these mushrooms are even stranger than edible stinkhorns, which are foul-smelling and sometimes gelatinous.  What makes Lobster Mushrooms truly weird is that they are actually a fungus (Hypomyces lactifluorum) growing on top of a mushroom.  It is this parasitic relationship that gives Lobster Mushrooms their shape and makes them edible.

#082: Biscogniauxia atropunctata 0

Fungus Fact

#082: Biscogniauxia atropunctata

This fungus is one of a number of ascomycetes that form hard, flat fruiting surfaces on dead or dying hardwood trees. Most fungi with this fruiting habit are black, making the tree appear as though it were burned in discrete spots.  However, at a certain stage in its fruiting body development, Biscogniauxia atropunctata is light gray or white and covered in small, black dots.

#079: Tips on Mushroom Collection 0

Fungus Fact

#079: Tips on Mushroom Collection

Are you interested in collecting and identifying mushrooms on your own? If so, read this post to learn the basics of mushroom collection!  What you will need: notebook, pen, pocket knife, wax paper (bags or pre-cut squares), and a basket, box, or fish and tackle box to hold your collections.

#078: Evolution of Mycorrhizae 1

Fungus Fact

#078: Evolution of Mycorrhizae

Arbuscular mycorrhizae have been around since plants began to colonize the land and were probably instrumental in that transition. Ectomycorrhizae and ericaceous mycorrhizae evolved during the time of the dinosaurs and were successful because of their ability to extract organic nutrients from the well-defined soil.  Orchid mycorrhizae were the last to evolve.  This probably happened around the same time as mammal lineages started to diverge.  Despite the tens to hundreds of millions of years of symbiosis, coevolution does not appear to play a large role in the evolution of modern mycorrhizal partners.

#077: Ericaceous Mycorrhizae 0

Fungus Fact

#077: Ericaceous Mycorrhizae

Many plants in the order Ericales (which includes blueberries, rhododendrons, heaths, heathers, tea, and Brazil nut) form unique mycorrhizae. These plants are frequently found living in harsh conditions, like acidic or highly acidic soil.  Their aptitude for these types of habitats is likely due to their unique mycorrhizae.  There are actually three types of mycorrhizae formed by these plants: ericoid, arbutoid, and monotropoid.

#076: Orchid Mycorrhizae 0

Fungus Fact

#076: Orchid Mycorrhizae

Orchid seeds do not contain sugars, so the seeds take sugars from a mycorrhizal fungus. All orchids are parasitic on fungi while they are seedlings.  Because of this unusual relationship, orchids form unique mycorrhizae that differ from both ecto- and arbuscular mycorrhizae.

#075: Ectomycorrhizae 4

Fungus Fact

#075: Ectomycorrhizae

Ectomycorrhizae are mutualistic relationships formed between trees and fungal species in both the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The main difference between ectomycorrhizae (abbreviated EM or ECM) and arbuscular mycorrhizae (discussed last week) is that in ectomycorrhizae the fungus never penetrates the host plant’s cells.

#074: Arbuscular Mycorrhizae 3

Fungus Fact

#074: Arbuscular Mycorrhizae

Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are the most abundant type of mycorrhizae on earth. In AM, fungi from the phylum Glomeromycota (FFF#015) penetrate plant root cells and grow arbuscules (tree-shaped structures designed to facilitate nutrient exchange).