You may be wondering why I am devoting today's field notes to fungi, when I mostly have been reporting on birds. Two reasons:
1. All species in this Pacific Northwest, eco-region are interdependent. As you will see below, even owls are connected to truffles!
2. Most of our region's birds and mammals are directly or indirectly dependent on forests...and without fungi, these forests would not exist.
1. All species in this Pacific Northwest, eco-region are interdependent. As you will see below, even owls are connected to truffles!
2. Most of our region's birds and mammals are directly or indirectly dependent on forests...and without fungi, these forests would not exist.
Fungi and Red Cedar in association
Before I go further, I need to make a disclaimer and an apology to anyone from the Bellingham Mushroom Club. I am a novice at identifying mushrooms. There are mushrooms that look so similar that they can only be distinguished by studying the spores under a microscope or by their bruise patterns. That is why the identifications, below, are tentative. I do not wildcraft (gather for eating) mushrooms, as even a small mistake can be fatal.
STROPHARIA, but what species?
poisonous or edible?
Still, I hope that I can make some observations that might increase your own appreciation of the complexity of our ecosystem:
1. Start noticing associations between species. For instance, is a certain type of mushroom always found in association with a certain species of tree?
2. Ask the 5 Ws: Who? (Who's been nibbling on the mushroom?)
1. Start noticing associations between species. For instance, is a certain type of mushroom always found in association with a certain species of tree?
2. Ask the 5 Ws: Who? (Who's been nibbling on the mushroom?)
What? (What kind of fungus is it?)
Where? (Is it on a fallen log? Growing under a Birch? on a conifer?)
When? (When did you find it? Time of year? Weather conditions?)
Why? (Why do Birches decay so quickly?)
LEPIOTA
possibly, Lepiota rachodes
Shaggy Parasol, Growing Under Red Cedars
The watercolor sketches of mushrooms are from one of my field notebooks. I was inspired by Beatrix Potter's work... no, not Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter was a formidable mycologist (one who studies fungi) and she illustrated her discoveries with watercolors. I find sketches help me better observe.
RUSSULA
Russula, a gill mushroom
growing under Douglas Firs
Nearly all plants on earth depend on fungi, including the mushrooms. The oldest fossils of land plants, from 450 million years ago, show symbiotic fungal structures. Fungi act as rootlets, vascular systems, and immune systems for plants in a symbiotic system called the mycorrhiza. Trees would not exist without fungi.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, the flying squirrel, Spotted Owl, and conifers are linked together by the Truffle, an underground 'mushroom'. Here's how the mycorrhizal system works: Conifers use the fungal mat of the truffle as root hairs. This is how the trees absorb water. Inside the truffles are nitrogen fixing bacteria that help fertilize the trees. The flying squirrel seeks out the truffle as its favorite food. It eats the truffle, incubates the spores, and spreads them through the forest. The Spotted Owl, of course, eats the squirrels, and also helps spread the spores, while controlling the squirrel population.
Boletus, showing signs of being eaten by slugs
I have also seen boletes eaten by squirrels.
Boletus
possibly Boletus mirabilis
'Admirable Bolete', a 'tube mushroom'
possibly Boletus mirabilis
'Admirable Bolete', a 'tube mushroom'
Decomposition is also part of the cycle of forest life. Bracket fungi help recycle trees and return them to the soil.
Bracket Fungi, a polypore
Pore Fungi
also known as Bracket Fungi
Lichens are a symbiotic association of fungi and cyanobacteria. The 'green-blue' bacteria photosynthesize, turning sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into sugar. The fungi provides the home for the bacteria and gets the benefit of the sugar. Some lichens also fix Nitrogen, which leaches into the forest floor and fertilizes the forest.
Lichen, the bluish-green growth on the tree bark
Perhaps the strangest fungi are the Slime Molds. They can exist as separate Amoeba-like cells, scavenging microscopic life, but suddenly they congregate and form a body, like the one seen below. Cells flow in this body, as if they were blood cells streaming. Finally, they form a slug-like body and crawl to a place where they grow vegetative stalks and make spore capsules. This is truly a bizarre creature that seems to act animal-like, protozoan-like, and fungi-like.
Slime Mold
I hope that this little tour of the Fungi Kingdom has helped you appreciate a world of life that is often overlooked.
