Tiny mushroom
On my last trip to Ft. McMurray I spotted this very small and super cool mushroom in the dead leaves at one of my plots. When I first saw it it was just a small point sticking up out of the round top (like a pixie hat!). I pulled the leaves apart a bit to see what the rest of it looked like, and this was the result! It was about 1.5 inches high. Super cool!!!
5 comments:
I've never seen anything like that Brenda!
Mom, you have seen these before! Brenda this is a type fungus in the earth-star group. I'm not sure the exact species, but I do remember we used to find them in the woods behind our house in Carriage Hills in Virginia. We used to bring them home and watch them -- when they dry up, the bottom part (which is kindof like petals) folds up over the top part, and when we would "water" them (or soak them in water for a few minutes) the "petals" would uncurl completely, so much that they would completely expose the top part (the part with the spores) and make a little "pedestal" that holds the spore-containing fruiting body up off the forest floor. They were always so cool to me because the outer shell of the fungus would split, open and uncurl in just a few minutes as we watched.
Here are a couple of pics of these earthstar fungi
Now do you remember seeing these, Mom? The first time I remember seeing one was on Shirley Krutillas kitchen counter. She was the one who showed me what they do.
Not really Maureen!
Wow - a pixie hat! I bet that pixie really is a fun guy!
:-)
mom, you are so witty!
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