Mycology - Blog Posts
Funguary Day 2: Cremini
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 12: Cremini
The cremini is one of the most commonly and widely consumed mushrooms in the world. It is cultivated in over 70 countries. You’ve likely heard of this mushroom, it goes by several different names for its two different appearances in its immature state and even more names in its mature state. Some of these names include button mushroom, champignon, chestnut mushroom, and portobello.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 11: Devils cigar
While emerging from the ground this mushroom looks like a cigar, giving it its name. When there is a sudden change in humidity (for example a rainstorm) this mushroom suddenly opens up, releasing its spores in a puff of “smoke”. Due to the pressure the spores release almost explosively, creating an audible hiss.
It is also extremely rare, only being found in Texas and Japan
Funguary Day 10: Guepinia
Most of the mushrooms I’ve talked about so far this funguary have a defined gill or pore structure that produces the fungi’s spores, but Guepinia lacks that. The upper side of the mushroom is quite sterile, usually with a few isolated basidia (spore producing structure), while the underside of the mushroom is where the hymenium (spore producing tissue) is located. Overall the mushroom has a very gelatinous texture, more so at the edges while the base has a cartilage-like consistency.
See my posts for the rest of funguary here!
Funguary Day 9: Parrot Waxcap
This absolutely gorgeous mushroom is the Parrot Waxcap, also known as Gliophorus psittacinus. It most commonly starts off its life as the bright and vivid green mushroom it is commonly known for being, and as it gets older its color shifts more toward an orangish yellow.
However, they can also be bright yellow and red, and there is apparently also a rare blue variety from Humboldt county.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 8: Destroying Angel
This mushroom is HIGHLY poisonous. I’m going to put a cut for this one because I’ve written a fairly vivid description of poisoning
People often eat this mushroom, mistaking the young destroying angel for a puffball mushroom (see below) or other edible species. Symptoms appear between 6-24 hours after consuming these mushrooms. Initial symptoms include violent abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. These symptoms usually persist for 6-9 hours. Next there is a symptomless period in which the victim seems to recover. This provides a false sense of security while unbeknownst to the victim, the toxins are severely affecting the liver during this time. The fourth and final stage is a relapse, the toxins have completely destroyed the liver, causing gastrointestinal bleeding, coma, and kidney failure. Victims may “bleed out” due to the destruction of clotting factors in the blood. Death usually occurs within seven days after consumption.
See the rest of my posts here!
Funguary Day 7: Wrinkled Peach Mushroom
When young this mushroom has a soft pink color and deep net patterns. The color and patterning both fade with age.
This particular wrinkled peach is “weeping”, also known as guttation, a process in which the mushroom secretes excess moisture.
The wrinkled peach is also the only species in its genus, meaning taxonomists had such a difficult time fitting it into any other category that they had to make a whole new genus just for the wrinkled peach.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 6: Inky Cap
Within 24 hours of emerging the fruiting bodies of the inky cap go through a process called “autodigestion” where they digest their own caps, becoming the black inky liquid commonly associated with these mushrooms.
Many believe that this is to spread the spores of the mushroom, although other doubt this due to the fact mature spores are released before the mushroom’s cells begin to break down
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 5: Enoki
In 1993 NASA sent enoki mushrooms to space as food for astronauts and to test the mushroom's reaction to zero gravity. Instead of growing vertically as it normally does, the enoki mushrooms shot out in all directions.
This is sadly a photo of enoki in boring normal gravity because NASA wasn't nice enough to take a photo of their enoki for me.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
Funguary Day 4: Morel
Morel refers to many species of fungi, so for this day of the challenge I've chosen what is in my opinion the coolest morel, the BURN MOREL.
The mycelium of the burn morel can lie dormant for up to 50 years, only growing fruiting bodies after the forest has been ravaged by a wildfire. Scientists have yet to discover a definitive reason for the mushrooms blooming after a fire disturbance. Some believe that it's due to a change in soil chemistry after burning, or an influx of nutrients released by the heat that the flames produce.
See the rest of my posts for funguary here!
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!
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 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!
Funguary Masterpost
My posts for each day of Funguary!
This event is hosted by feefal and is primarily a drawing challenge in which people draw a mushroom for each day of February. I'm doing each day's drawing, but I'm not one to post my art often, so I will likely end up only be posting a couple of my favorites.
However, I still want to talk about the mycology of these mushrooms, so I'm going to make a post each day in which I talk about some of the cool science behind the mushroom of the day. We've got mushrooms that glow, mushrooms that digest themselves, and mushrooms that cause internal bleeding, so should be fun!
Science tidbits:
Feb 1st: Veiled Lady
Feb 2nd: Chicken of the woods
Feb 3rd: Spotted cort
Feb 4th: Burn Morel
Feb 5th: Enoki
Feb 6th: Inky Cap
Feb 7th: Wrinkled Peach Mushroom
Feb 8th: Destroying Angel
Feb 9th: Parrot Waxcap
Feb 10th: Guepinia
Feb 11th: Devil's Cigar
Feb 12th: Cremini
Feb 13th: Fly Agaric
Feb 14th: Crepidotus
Feb 15th: Puffball
Feb 16th: Mycena Chlorophos
Feb 17th: Pink Waxcap
Feb 18th: Turkey Tail
Feb 19th: Red Basket Stinkhorn
Feb 20th: Pixie Parasol
Feb 21st: Birds Nest Fungi
Feb 22nd: Oyster Mushroom
Feb 23rd: Fairy Ring Mushroom
Feb 24th: Purple Pinwheel
Feb 25: Trumpet of Death
Feb 26th: Indigo Milkcap
Feb 27th: Scarlet Cup
Feb 28th: Caesars Mushroom
Art:
Feb 1st Art: Veiled Lady
Feb 12th Art: Cremini
The ramen noodles crop is coming in nicely in the Icelandic highlands this year!
JK, that's Alectoria ochroleuca
hot girl summer? no you misheard me. it's rot girl summer. time to cover yourself with mushrooms and start decomposing, baby
The trees don't "help" each other. They don't "decide" to let the fungus in. All they know is that when they call for help, the fungus answers. Without the fungus, they'd be nothing. It's like if a government was part of your body. It's the closest thing they have to a god. Isn't there something horrifying about that, deep down. God exists and you can't escape it. God exists and you can't live without it. God exists and spends every day ensuring that your brother's blood flows through your veins. Deep, deep in your DNA, there is a pact that links you all to the beast underground.
Me and the bad bitch I pulled by failing to properly defend myself against parasitic organisms.
Scientist Stereotypes
Biologist: Can't do math
Theoretical Physicist: Can’t do anything but math
Geologist: Rock collection addict
Military Scientist: Meet the Engineer TF2
Archeologist: Thinks about the Roman Empire more times a day than most men think about sex
Sexologist: Thinks about sex more times a day than most men think about the Roman Empire
Chemist: A pyromaniac and/or is very fun at parties
Science Communicator: Is only fun at parties when everyone else there are nerds
Mycologist/Entomologist: They are VERY interested and passionate about gross things and THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM
Computer Scientist: gay
freaky fungi fact - mycology vocab :-)
deliquescence : the process of certain fungi (most often ink caps) where they turn to liquid.
this process is observed in a handful of different fungi !! as their caps mature, they furl inward & turn to a spore-filled, inky liquid.
yes, this liquid can be harvested & used for actual pen ink. :-) just make sure to add preservatives to avoid it causing a rotten smell.
to use it in a sentence : the mushrooms above are experiencing deliquescence ; they are deliquescing !! ink caps are deliquescent.
Illustrating some literal mushroom names in anticipation of baby's first convention season (as an independent artist)
Here's 1 out of 3 - Chicken of the Woods!
Come see me at VanCAF in May if you like chickens and/or mushrooms. I'll have stickers and postcards and other art toooo
