Freaky fungi

I’ve always had a soft spot for various types of fungi, may they be edible, inedible or poisonous. During my early years, I remember watching a TV-documentary about the Australian rainforest when suddenly the camera zoomed in on a pretty, slimy fungus in lovely colours. I asked my mother what I had to do if I wanted to work with this enchanting kingdom. She gave me the answer that I had to study hard and become a biologist of some kind and at least for a moment, I sat my mind on that. (Actually, this summer I finally took my master degree in molecular biology having done a fungi-related project and I had the opportunity to continue doing a fungi-PhD but I had to turn that down because of another offer that I couldn’t refuse).

The almighty Linnaeus didn’t exactly share my liking of the fungi. He referred to them as a disgusting piece of mess and called them the roaming rabble of Flora. It was another Swede, namely Elias Fries that first set the foundations for the modern mycology. Basically, what we see as a fungus is the tip of the ice berg and is only a reproductive construction called the fruiting body. The majority of the organism lives multicellular filaments forming a mycelium (although some live as single cells, such as yeast).

Fruiting bodies are in my point of view the most vivid formations of what we know as life. Here are some examples of fungi (almost all are stinkhorns) that make my heart go a little bit quicker:

Phallus impudicus

The name Phallus shamelessly points out that the fruiting body of this fungus resembles a human penis. This one is a smelly bastard, which has given it the name “stinkhorn”. Of course, some brave mouthed person has once discovered that this stinky thing is edible and therefore it is consumed in parts of Germany and France (although in its younger not-so-phallic-looking form).

(Image revised from http://www.owlspleasure.com/sculpture/mushrooms/Phallus%20impudicus.JPG)

Clathrus ruber

Oh! This one – Clathrus ruber – just makes me happy all the way out to my fingertips. It looks like a metal climbing construction that we had in some play yards in my hometown (maybe that’s the reason behind my happiness) and apparently the inside is covered with smelly slime. A fungi for every childish mind that is not set on princesses and action figures!

(Image revised from http://micologia.net/g3/albums/Chlatrus-ruber/Clathrus_ruberfer.jpg)

Aseroë rubra

Now this is just weird. The anemone stinkhorn (Aseroë rubra) looks like something that managed to escape Roswell and catch a flight from the US to Australia since this is the continent where it resides. As the other mentioned fungi, this is also a stinky, slimey creature.

(Image revised from http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/aseroe_rubra.jpg)

Hydnellum peckii

Out of the stinkhorn gang and into the tooth fungus world – here’s a bleeding tooth fungus. The fruiting body alters droplets of a red fluid on the salmon-pink, spongy body. The pigment that gives the “blood” its colour is called atrometin, which is similar to the anticoagulant heparin used in health care.

(Image revised from http://mushroomobserver.org/name/show_name/232)

Sources:

http://www.naturskolan.lund.se/blad/blad63-svamp/blad63.htm

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Fries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6601.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus_impudicus

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/clathrus_ruber.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asero%C3%AB_rubra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/MISCE2002/hpeckii.htm