Beware The Ides Of March!

Mushroom fact of the Week!

Lichens are extremely durable. In 2005 NASA sent lichen to space to test how it stood up in the freezing cold vacuum. It was left outside in space for a period of time, and within 24 hours of rehydration had resumed all normal photosynthetic activity

Cross section of Xanthoria elegans, one of the two lichens sent to space!

Funguary Day 2: Chicken of the Woods

The chicken of the woods is most commonly known for being highly sought after for its edibility, but it is also a tree killer. 

This mushroom infects trees causing a brown rot within the heartwood. The rot is primarily in the main trunk, but can extend into branches as well. It infects both living and nonliving trees, usually making its way into living trees through injuries in the bark or roots. Once mushrooms show up, there's nothing you can do to rid the tree of the fungi.

It also tastes like chicken

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Funguary Day 28: Caesar's Mushroom

The Caesar's mushroom is one of the very few fungi of the Amanita genus. It is close relatives with fungi such as the death cap (see that post here), however it is edible and reportedly delicious. That doesn’t stop it from having many poisonous look-alikes, as every year there are poisonings of people who thought they were eating Caesar's mushroom but were rather eating a poisonous species. 

One of the most famous poisonings involving this mushroom took place in ancient Rome. emperor Claudius had ascended to the throne after the assassination of his nephew. He had many wives in his life but finally married his fourth wife Agrippina. Agrippina had a son, Nero, whom she had big plans for. She persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, putting him in line for the throne, but she was not a patient woman. You can see where this is going. She decided to speed up the time it would take for her son to take the throne by feeding Claudius his favorite meal, the Caesars mushroom, laced with extracts from the death cap fungi. When the symptoms set in the next day a co-conspirator doctor administered a toxin from a plant called the bitter apple, finishing him off. Nero became the emperor, and the rest was history. 

And that is funguary officially finished! One post per day on mycology for 28 days! Started preparing back in January, still finished the research for this post last night. Regardless, I loved it so much, and more importantly, now I have EVEN MORE mushroom facts to force upon my poor unassuming friends. If you're interested in seeing the rest of my posts for funguary you can find them all here!

And from now on, I will have a mushroom post every Saturday so if you're interested in that keep an eye out for it :)

Thanks for listening to my rambles!

Funguary Day 24: Purple pinwheel

Pinwheel mushrooms are often overlooked not because of their size but because of their tendency to completely shrivel up and dry out in dry conditions, blending into the leaf litter. They can fully dry out over the course of the day, appearing dead, and restore completely to their original state just a few minutes after being submerged in water. 

The image below left was taken of a pinwheel mushroom (though not a purple pinwheel) just after a rain and the image below right was taken around noon the following day

This property was named “marcescence” by Elias Magnus Fries. The purpose has not been fully explained but it is possible that it is to maximize spore release when conditions are more favorable.

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Thanks for the art inspo I'm off to draw these as lollipops :)

*checks to-do list*

Maybe later this month.

Funguary Day 3: Spotted Cort

This is a lovely mushroom, and also a perfect example of mycorrhizal fungi!

The mushroom’s mycelium surrounds the roots of the tree and helps the tree to absorb water and nutrients. In exchange, the mushroom is provided with food and amino acids produced by the tree.

See the rest of my posts for Funguary here!

What do you think of The Last of Us and many of humans very.. fungal fate, so to say

I think they should be honored for the opportunity to become one with the mycelium 😌

no but seriously I loveeeee this game, it has to be one of my favorite games out there :) The tv show is great too

*Dances in your inbox* I was waiting for this

New moot!! :DD

o/

NEVERMIND I HATE FUNGI NOW TOO

-plant hate anon

D:

I-

I have no words-

how could you 😭

@overwhelmedfernfrond heeeeelp 😭😭

Witches Cap Fungi

Mushroom of the Week No. 1

The witches cap mushroom, or Hygrocybe conica, starts off a vivid red-orange with patches of yellow. As it ages it slowly turns black naturally, or bruises black due to injury. This is actually one of the most helpful factors in identification, though the fungi itself is not sought after for its edibility. It cannot be cultivated in labs presently, suggesting that it requires something special from its environment, possibly a mycorrhizal relationship. For this it needs to be investigated further.

Funguary Day 1: Veiled Lady

This mushroom has an intense stink that attracts insects and gives the mushroom its several other names, including “basket stinkhorn”, “longnet stinkhorn”, and “crinoline stinkhorn”. The insects attracted to the smell help spread the spores of the mushroom after coming into contact with it.

I've also made an art piece for this day you can see here!