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.
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).
Generally speaking, mycorrhizae are mutualistic interactions between the hyphae of a fungus and the roots of a plant. In most cases, the plant gives the fungus sugars in exchange for hard-to-get nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Although there are exceptions to these rules, fungi that are described as “mycorrhizal” usually in the manner described above.
This small, yellow, parasol mushroom is a tropical species but can be found throughout the world in greenhouses and indoors among potted plants. These mushrooms often surprise people by appearing suddenly indoors at any time of the year. birnbaumii is a mostly harmless mushroom. It does not damage your plants at all, but it should not be eaten. The Yellow Houseplant Mushroom is mildly poisonous, but symptoms appear only when it is eaten in large quantities. If you are worried that a pet or child may eat the mushrooms, then you may want to pick the mushrooms and throw them out. This will not get rid of the fungus, so you will have to check the pot regularly. The mushrooms may also spread to other pots in your house through airborne spores. If you want to get rid of them forever, then you will probably have to throw away your...
Note: This is an archived post. The current version of this post is available here. This edible mushroom can be found in specialty markets under the names “Enokitake” and “” It can also be found in the wild in temperate areas across the Northern Hemisphere, but the wild mushrooms look nothing like the cultivated versions. Flammulina velutipes has many common names, including: Velvet Foot, Enokitake, Enoki, Winter Mushroom, Velvet Stem, Velvet Shank, Golden Needle Mushroom, and others. I am using the name Velvet Foot because it is among the most commonly used names and it sounds the most poetic. According to Wikipedia, Enoki is the Japanese name for the Chinese Hackberry Tree, a tree in the hemp family on which F. velutipes is often found. Thus, “Enokitake” means “Chinese Hackberry Tree Mushroom.” Wikipedia also says that the Chinese names for this mushroom translate to Golden Needle Mushroom or Golden Mushroom. ...
Note: this is an archived post. You can find the current version here. Ganoderma applanatum is unique among fungi in that it is primarily used by humans as an artistic medium. This large, woody bracket fungus features a flat, rapidly-staining, white pore surface, which readily becomes a natural canvas for an artist. By lightly scratching the pore surface, an artist can produce beautiful sketches without using a pen, pencil, or paint. The pores stop growing once the mushroom is removed from its substrate, so the stains remain on the pore surface. Conks produced by applanatum are woody and therefore decay very slowly. As a result, artwork produced on the Artist’s Conk can last for many years when kept indoors.
Note: This is an archived post. You can find the current version of this post here. You are undoubtedly familiar with this mushroom, even if you recognize neither its scientific name, Amanita muscaria, nor its common name, “The Fly Agaric.” If the word “mushroom” does not immediately bring this fungus to mind, then the word “toadstool” probably does. You have certainly encountered Amanita muscaria’s distinctive red cap with white spots in a wide variety of visual art forms. This toadstool frequently pops up in paintings, cartoons, video games, movies, and decorations. It is because of the artistic over-use of the Fly Agaric that I referred to it above as “The Type Mushroom.” When describing a new taxonomic division or species of fungi, mycologists collect a “type specimen” which best exemplifies the characteristics of that taxon. This ensures that future mycologists know exactly what the original author intended to include in...
Frosty Pod Rot, caused by the fungus Moniliophthora roreri, is one of the most significant pathogens of cacao trees (Theobroma cacao). The disease has been around a long time: it was first recognized in Ecuador in 1917 and first described in 1933. roreri likely evolved in Columbia, where the greatest diversity of the species is located and where cultivated cacao trees grow near closely related trees. Up until the 1950’s, Frosty Pod Rot was limited to northwestern South America. Since then, it has spread throughout Central America and into Peru and Venezuela. In these areas, Frosty Pod Rot is the most destructive cacao disease, resulting in the loss of about 30-40% of total production. The disease has not yet made it to Asia or Africa, where most of the world’s chocolate is produced, but it may just be a matter of time.
Note: This is an archived post. What if you could grow biodegradable packing materials… or a surfboard… or maybe even a drone? It turns out you can, thanks to the unique properties of fungi. One thing that fungi are especially good at doing is knitting things together. This can be seen particularly well on the forest floor. By the end of summer, most of the leaf litter has been stitched together by microscopic fungal cells. If you reach down and pick up a leaf, you will likely find that a few others come up with it. The same is true with garden mulch. If you pulled up any dead annual plants recently, you probably noticed that your mulch was glued together in chunks by white stuff. This white glue is actually a network of fungal cells (called a mycelium). At this point, I should probably mention that you want the...
This fungus parasitizes caterpillars in the Himalayas and produces small, spike-like mushrooms. These mushrooms are highly prized for their supposed medicinal properties and have brought a lot of new wealth and new problems to the people living in the Himalayas. Ophiocordyceps sinensis fruiting bodies are known as “Yartsa Gunbu” in Tibetan and “Dōng Chóng Xià Cǎo” in Chinese, both of which translate to “winter worm, summer grass.” The English names for the fungus are much less colorful: “Caterpillar Fungus” or (more recently) “Himalayan Viagra.” sinensis (Fungi, Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes, Hypocreales, Ophiocordycipitaceae) is native to the meadows of the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau and can be found from 3,000m to 5,000m above sea level. The parasitic fungus infects a variety of species of ghost moth larvae that live underground. It initially infects the caterpillars in the late summer. By winter, the fungus is ready to kill its host. At that time, it...
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