Fungus Among Us

Spring and early summer were exceptionally dry, therefore many fungi didn’t fruit. Then in mid-July thunderstorms began moving through, including one that dropped almost three inches of rain in 45 minutes. That changed things and there seemed to be mushrooms everywhere.

Into the Big Woods I went, camera in hand with its macro lens attached, to look for photogenic fungi. The fruiting bodies of fungi come in a multitude of shapes and colors – some quite beautiful, some tiny or nondescript, others grotesque. Way back when – when I was in college, fungi were considered to be plants. Now they’ve been placed in their own group; like plants they can’t move but like animals they eat other things.

The fungi are a diverse bunch, it’s been estimated that less than ten percent of the existing species have been described, and they're extremely important to the way this world functions. Fungi are the primary agents that break down dead plant material – fungi feast where dead things are – and recycle nutrients.

Most trees and many other plants are dependent on mycorrhizal fungi that attach to the plants' roots and supply the plant with soil nutrients and water while the plants supply the fungi with carbohydrates in the form of sugars and starches. This is a classic symbiotic relationship.

Here are some of the fungi I found during two mornings spent wandering in the Big Woods. My ability to identify fungi is very limited, and the names are just my best attempt at identifying them. Others are beyond my ability to identify. Many fungi have a number of common names, there are many look-alike species, and I’m not an expert mycologist by any means.

DO NOT EAT ANY OF THESE MUSHROOMS, SOME ARE HIGHLY TOXIC AND MAY BE FATAL IF EATEN.

Don’t hesitate to bend a knee and take a closer look at the fungus among us – remember, don't eat them.