Bitter Oyster - Panelle asringente - Panellus stipticus
Something a little different, a result of my ongoing interest in the many expressions of natural life in an ecosystem: the so-called Bitter Oyster, or Oysterling, a fungus whose fruit is a mushroom that grows for a very short period in denser forest. It is saprobic, meaning it draws nourishment from material (in this case trees) that are already dead.
One of the really neat things about this species is that it is bioluminescent, and a source of what has come to be called foxfire - a slight greenish glow at night in the forest. Under the right conditions (or even better, with the appropriate equipment) the glow can be intense. It is a product of chemicals inside the fruit, and it is normally brightest at the core and at the edges of the fruit.
Although the mycologist I contacted to help me identify the fruit warned me that it earned its name, and that I would not enjoy eating it, other species in the woods disagreed, and it was almost completely gone two days later.
For a neat account of foxfire and bioluminescence, I found this site useful: www.treehugger.com/foxfire-strange-glow-woods-night-4863960
Bitter Oyster - Panelle asringente - Panellus stipticus
Something a little different, a result of my ongoing interest in the many expressions of natural life in an ecosystem: the so-called Bitter Oyster, or Oysterling, a fungus whose fruit is a mushroom that grows for a very short period in denser forest. It is saprobic, meaning it draws nourishment from material (in this case trees) that are already dead.
One of the really neat things about this species is that it is bioluminescent, and a source of what has come to be called foxfire - a slight greenish glow at night in the forest. Under the right conditions (or even better, with the appropriate equipment) the glow can be intense. It is a product of chemicals inside the fruit, and it is normally brightest at the core and at the edges of the fruit.
Although the mycologist I contacted to help me identify the fruit warned me that it earned its name, and that I would not enjoy eating it, other species in the woods disagreed, and it was almost completely gone two days later.
For a neat account of foxfire and bioluminescence, I found this site useful: www.treehugger.com/foxfire-strange-glow-woods-night-4863960