Funguary - Blog Posts
Really quick and dirty warm ups for funguary bc I don’t think I can mentally allow myself to put too much effort into it (also I know that the first week is “celestial” but my brain did decide that that meant “high fashion” instead)
Silly for day 2 of Funguary 2024: lilac coral fungus!
This guy is Zolli (he/him, one/ones), who has uhh funny symbiotic fungus. The fungus makes little weird fruits as it processes environmental toxins; the fruits are a way to store extra energy and are nutritious :]
prettyy
Dewdrop Bonnet mushroom
ooh pretty :D
Day 2 of faebruary and funguary respectively =) today's fairy is based on lilac coral mushrooms. Enjoy ~
My contribution to funguary! I'm doing one per week sooo, a little behind. But here's my mycena subcyanocephala as a celestial doggie
it's also very shiny
i was a little late with the first week, but I liked the idea of the challenge and the result. so why not
February is right around the corner, which means it’s soon time for Funguary 2025! The drawing event where we draw a bunch of mushroom based characters during the month of February.
Rules are super simple, just draw art related to mushrooms! No need to complete all the prompts, just pick and choose from the ones you feel inspired by🍄
Funguary 2025 Day 25: Trumpet of Death
technically still a wip? but i have exams soon so im posting this early. remains to be seen if i actually finish this
you can see where i was going with the literal trumpet of death :))
originally my friend suggested something should be blowing the trumpet. so basically…
friend 1: you shld draw a squirrel blowing the trumpet
friend 2: no a skeleton
friend 1: no a squirrel skeleton
friends 1n2: YEAHHHHHHHH
and i tried drawing the squirrel skeleton but my references were all kind of bad and i started screwing it up real bad so i ditched the squirrel and went with regular skeleton
Funguary 2025 Day 6: Inky Cap
had no idea funguary was a thing until two days ago and then this hit me and my brain went brrrrr
this was so fun to do :D
So I did the Funguary challenge from @feefal and I kind of turned the angel wing mushroom into an entire oc.(btw I know this isn’t my best work and the colors are dirty - I’m planning to redraw this digitally)
Her name is celestie (celeste -y) and they are the child of an angel. Celestie fell in love with a demon (who I will draw later next week) and because of that, she was cursed to grow mushrooms. (like reverse hanahaki but not lethal-just shameful) they use their wings to hide the mushrooms from their mother who would not be so happy if she found out.
Had so much fun with this so I might make a few more + a demon mushroom next week!
I'm the happiest I could be with this spread
All lore under the cut (but please read it, I made the font pretty too snsjsn!!) 🍄🟫🕯️🎂🍄🟫🕯️🎂
Original idea from this post:
I wanted to join Funguary too this year and my chocolate mushrooms 🍄🍫🕯️ were just begging to be properly drawn (original drawing idea under the cut)
So yeah, these are sweet mushrooms that can even grow a candle on the top and are primarily used for birthday cakes.
Their scientific name means something along the lines of Sweet Light-mushroom but they're more commonly known as Chocolate mushrooms.
Duh! 🤎🩷🤎🩷🤎🩷
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 27: Scarlet Cup
Most species that would come to mind when you think of fungi are basidiomycetes, fungi that produce their spores in cells called basidia. This phylum of fungi contains most of the “fleshy” fungi, including all fungi with gills or pores. Some “fleshy” fungi however, like the Scarlet Cup, are Ascomycetes. Mushrooms like morels and saddle fungi are also a part of this phylum. Ascomycetes produce their spores in sac-like structures called asci, unlike the basidia of the basidiomycetes. See the diagram below for more clarification on the difference between asci and basidia!
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 26: Indigo Milkcap
Indigo Milkcap, or Lactarius indigo, is an edible fungi that bleeds a blue latex milk like substance when cut. This “milk” turns green when exposed to air, and is reported to have a mild taste similar to that of the fungi itself.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 25: Trumpet of Death
“Trumpet of death” is actually a misleading name, as these mushrooms are highly sought after for being edible. They are also known as “horn of plenty” and can be found in autumn. They do, however, have several poisonous lookalikes.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
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!
Funguary Day 23: Fairy Ring Mushroom
Different countries across Europe have varying folklore and myths about fairy rings
English+Celtic: In English and Celtic folklore fairy rings were created by fairies and elves dancing in a circle. It was said that if humans joined in the dance the fairies would punish them, and make them dance in the circle until they passed out from exhaustion
German: Things in German folklore took a more sinister turn as fairy rings were actually known as witches rings. It was believed that they were a place where witches would dance on Walpurgis night, a spring celebration six months before halloween
Austrian: It was said that fairy rings were created when dragons burned them into the forest floor with their fiery tails
There are many more myths about fairy rings, from being portals to other worlds, to being used as dinner tables for fairies, to being good luck and a sign of a fairy village underground.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 22: Oyster Mushroom
While most fungi get their nutrients through decomposing organic matter or through symbiotic relationships with plants, some, like oyster mushrooms, are carnivorous. These carnivorous fungi are known as “nematophagous”, given their ability to hunt and eat nematode worms. Most nematode-eating fungi only resort to hunting when there is insufficient food to eat. There are several methods these fungi will use to catch the nematode worms. The oyster mushroom in particular grows a hyphal stalk with a single toxic droplet on the end that paralyzes the worms, giving the oyster mushroom enough time to grow through the mouth of the worm and digest it from inside.
Other similar fungi grow adhesive nets or branches to which the nematodes stick or create a noose that inflates within a tenth of a second when touched. Yet another way some nematode-hunting fungi will catch prey is by releasing spores that can swim through the soil, then bind to the nematode worms. Once attached, they sprout, and the fungus harpoons the nematode with specialized hyphae known as “gun cells”.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 21: Birds Nest Fungi
The bird's nest fungi is named for its nest-like appearance, with “eggs” inside the main cup. The “eggs” are actually called peridioles and they're where the mushroom stores its spores. They're usually attached to the peridium (the main cup structure of the fungi) by a thin cord called the funicular cord. The cord is coiled inside a purse (see diagram below) until spore dispersal occurs.
Bird's nest fungi are reliant on rain to disperse its spores. Raindrops trigger the spore release by splashing the peridoles out of place, as visible in this video. The purse ruptures and the cord uncoils as the peridoles are splashed into the air. Sometimes the funicular cord will wrap around a branch or twig and attach to the new substrate via the hapteron (see diagram below).
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 20: Pixie Parasol
Pixie parasol, or Mycena interrupta, is found on deadwood in damp areas. It connects to its substrate via a bluish tufted basal disc.
The word “interrupta” is latin for interrupted, or broken, and likely refers to the appearance of the gills (see photo)
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 19: Red Basket Stinkhorn
Most mushrooms spread their spores by releasing them to the wind, but not stinkhorns. Stinkhorns contain their spores in a stinky goo called gleba. The Red Basket Stinkhorn’s gleba is located on the inside of its lattice. Flies are attracted to the foul smell of the stinkhorns and flock to it, getting the gleba on them and spreading the spores to wherever they go next.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 18: Turkey Tail
Ancient China and Japan commonly used the Turkey Tail mushroom in healing in medicine. In modern day medicine the use of Polysaccharide-K, extracted from T. versicolor, is considered safe for use as a cancer treatment in conjunction with other cancer treatments. PSK has been studied in clinical research for various cancer and immune deficiencies but as of 2022 its effectiveness remains inconclusive.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 17: Pink Waxcap
Pink waxcaps are also referred to as “ballerina waxcaps” because when mature the cap looks like a tutu. They are most likely to be found in acidic, sheep grazed fields in the UK. While edible they should not be harvested as they are extremely rare
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 16: Mycena Chlorophos
Mycena Chlorophos is what's known as a foxfire fungus- a fungus that glows at night. The mushroom regulates its glow through a circadian rhythm, at night the levels of the chemical compound and enzymes that react to produce the bioluminescence peak.
It is theorized that the light it emits at night is to attract beetles and other insects that might help spread the spores similar to how flowers use scents and colors to attract pollinators
Once an experiment was ran by Olson in which two cultures of the biter oyster, another foxfire fungi, were grown and placed on a completely dark box under constant conditions. He left them alone for a week with a camera sensitive enough to pick up their bioluminescence. What the camera showed was that the mycelium grew in an irregular circle, with the glow more intense at the center than at the edges. After a couple days there was a sudden shift, in one of the cultures a wave of bioluminescence passed over the network from one edge to the other. A day later a similar wave passed over the second culture. Though the fungi were kept in the dark for several more weeks, the flare up never occurred again. Years later, Olson still did not know what had caused the sudden flare.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 15: Puffball
Puffball mushrooms develop their spores inside their hollow fruiting bodies. Once mature a hole opens in the top to release spores when compressed, usually by animal activity, human intervention, or rain.
If you want to see a video of the spore release, which I highly recommend, you can find a video here!
See the rest of my posts for Funguary here!
Funguary Day 14: Crepidotus
The term Crepidotus refers to a whole genus of fungi characterized by their small convex or fan shaped caps and their growth of decaying wood or plant debris. The most visually notable member of this genus I could find was the cinnabar oysterling, a mushroom with a bright red to orange cap and flame-like fibers at the edge of the cap and margins of the gills.
Crepidotus cinnabarinus shows up in late summer and early fall, and its bright colors make it stand out against fallen branches and rotting trees.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!