Fungus Fact Friday

Tagged: ecology

#141: Pilobolus spp., the Hat Throwers 0

Fungus Fact

#141: Pilobolus spp., the Hat Throwers

Fungi in the genus Pilobolus grow on the dung (they are “coprophilous”) of herbivores and are well-known for their unique spore dispersal mechanism. Using highly specialized spore-bearing hyphae, the fungus can launch globs of spores up to 3m (10ft) away!  Its genus name literally means “Hat Thrower,” which is also used as a common name.  Another common name is “Shotgun Fungus,” but that can also be applied to Sphaerobolus spp. (FFF#122), so I recommend against using that name.

#135: Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, Ash Dieback Disease 1

Fungus Fact

#135: Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, Ash Dieback Disease

This emerging fungal disease of ash trees was first reported in 1992 in Poland. Over the past 24 years, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus has spread throughout Europe and (with the help of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle) is now poised to eradicate ash trees from the entire continent.

#132: Microbotryum spp., the Anther Smuts 0

Fungus Fact

#132: Microbotryum spp., the Anther Smuts

Of all the sexually transmitted infections in the world, the anther smuts are probably the most bizarre. Fungi in the genus Microbotryum infect plants in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae) as well as a few other species.  When a plant infected with an anther smut tries to produce flowers, the fungus hijacks the process and forces the plant to make anther-like structures filled with fungal spores instead of pollen.  The spores are primarily transmitted to new flowers by pollinators, but can also be spread by wind or splashing raindrops.

#131: Class Ustilaginomycetes, Smut Fungi 0

Fungus Fact

#131: Class Ustilaginomycetes, Smut Fungi

These fungi are obligate plant pathogens with life cycles similar to the rust fungi. Thankfully, the smut fungi have much simpler life cycles: only one host and only two spore types.  To make matters easier, smut fungi only infect flowering plants (angiosperms), with just five known exceptions out of the over 1,400 described species.  Wondering about their common name?  Although the word “smut” has come to mean “something obscene,” it originally meant “dirt” or “excrement.”  Smut fungi produce copious amounts of powdery, black spores, which look like dirt en masse.  “Smutted wheat,” therefore, is wheat that has had its seeds replaced by the dirt-like spores of a smut fungus.

#127: Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, causal agent of Snake Fungal Disease 2

Fungus Fact

#127: Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, causal agent of Snake Fungal Disease

Snakes of the Eastern United States are dying of a disease called Snake Fungal Disease (SFD). Recently, the cause of SFD was identified as the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola.  This fungus normally contributes to the decomposition of dead animals, but has for some reason been infecting live snakes since the early 2000’  SFD is primarily characterized by a severe rash on the snake’s skin, although it may also affect the snake’s eyes or even liver.  The infection often results in death and in some species the mortality rate appears to be 100%.

#116: Scorias spongiosa 1

Fungus Fact

#116: Scorias spongiosa

This bizarre fungus forms a fuzzy mat of tan to black tissue on the branches, trunks, and ground underneath American Beech trees. Scorias spongiosa belongs to a group of fungi called “sooty molds.”  Sooty molds digest the honeydew (essentially sugar-rich aphid poop) dropped by aphids in the process of feeding on plants.  There are many kinds of sooty molds and if you’ve ever had an aphid (or other insect) infestation on trees in your garden, they you’ve probably seen sooty molds.  Normally, sooty molds form a thin, black film on leaves and branches under places where the aphids are feeding.  spongiosa differs from normal sooty molds because it forms films that can be as thick as a football!

#112: Monotropa uniflora, Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or Corpse Plant 0

Fungus Fact / Literature Connection / That's Not A Fungus!

#112: Monotropa uniflora, Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or Corpse Plant

On September 30, 1882, Emily Dickinson wrote the following in a letter to Mabel Loomis Todd: That without suspecting it you should send me the preferred flower of life, seems almost supernatural, and the sweet glee that I felt at meeting it, I could confide to none—I still cherish the clutch with which I bore it from the ground when a wondering child, an unearthly booty, and maturity only enhances mystery, never decreases it— The previous week, she had received a gift from Mabel Todd: a painting of Monotropa uniflora.  These ethereal plants happened to rank among Emily Dickinson’s favorite wildflowers, thus prompting the response above.  In the same letter, Dickinson gave Todd the poem “A Route of Evanescence” in return for the painting with a note explaining, “I cannot make an Indian Pipe but please accept a Humming Bird.”  Many people have likened the Ghost Plant to the reclusive...

#111: Stemonitis spp., Chocolate Tube Slime Molds or Tree Hair 0

Fungus Fact / That's Not A Fungus!

#111: Stemonitis spp., Chocolate Tube Slime Molds or Tree Hair

“Hair Growing on Wood – Believe it or Not” proclaimed one of the exhibits at the Ripley’s Believe it or Not pavilion during the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. The curious organism on display was Stemonitis fusca, which belongs to a group of organisms commonly known as “Chocolate Tube Slime Molds” or “Pipe Cleaner Slime Molds.”  However, thanks to its moment of fame 82 years ago, “Tree Hair” is also an acceptable common name for these species.

#088: Types of Wood Rot 4

Fungus Fact

#088: Types of Wood Rot

There are three main types of wood rot caused by fungi: brown rot, white rot, and soft rot. These rot types can be easily distinguished from one another by their color and texture.  Of course, many fungi muddy the water by including characteristics from all three rot types.  For now, though, I’ll just focus on the three main types.

#078: Evolution of Mycorrhizae 1

Fungus Fact

#078: Evolution of Mycorrhizae

Arbuscular mycorrhizae have been around since plants began to colonize the land and were probably instrumental in that transition. Ectomycorrhizae and ericaceous mycorrhizae evolved during the time of the dinosaurs and were successful because of their ability to extract organic nutrients from the well-defined soil.  Orchid mycorrhizae were the last to evolve.  This probably happened around the same time as mammal lineages started to diverge.  Despite the tens to hundreds of millions of years of symbiosis, coevolution does not appear to play a large role in the evolution of modern mycorrhizal partners.