fungi | wordsfromanneli

If I have him identified correctly, he’s a fun guy, but he’s a bit of a schwein, a pig. I think this fungi’s name is Phaeolus schweinitzii. Sounds like a sexy pork schnitzel, but in fact, it is not for eating. It will make you very sick or maybe kill you if you eat it. But we’re okay. We’re just looking at it and it shouldn’t make us go blind.

I read on Wikipedia that this fun guy can rot the butt of a fir tree. Not a nice guy, this fungi.

Here is “Baby Bear,” just beginning to grow in my yard.

Here is “Mama Bear,” just a bit bigger.

And here is “Papa Bear.” I thought it looked like a layer of slightly burnt pancakes, but the grass had me wondering – did the grass grow through it, or did the fungus grow around it?

So if you can’t use it, what’s the good of it?

Well, apparently, it is also called “dyer’s polybore,” and mixed with the right mordant (fixative) this fungus makes rich brown dyes that can be used to dye wool.

I’m going to rush right out and try that.

I found this odd plant growing along the side of my driveway this morning. It goes by several names: monotropa uniflora, ghost plant, ghost pipe, Indian pipe, and corpse plant.

It does look rather ghostly without its green chlorophyll, but more striking than that is the shape. I’ve only ever known it as Indian pipe, probably named for its shape similar to the traditional Indian peace pipe.

I’ve always found the Indian pipe fascinating because it is so different from most other plants. I thought it was a fungus, like a mushroom, but apparently it is considered to be in the family of Ericae, the heathers. I can’t see the connection, but I trust Wikipedia to have given me the correct information.

But the Indian pipe is parasitic on fungi, deriving its energy from the root systems of fungi rather than from sunlight. It can pop up very quickly after a rain. We did have quite a downpour yesterday and here they are!

By the way, you might have noticed that it is surrounded by Canada’s symbol, the “maple leaf forever,” looking a bit ratty around the edges, and no wonder, the way things are going.