Fungus, UW campus, 5/8

Today for class we walked around discovering the different fungus that grow on the University of Washington campus. There were reveal species that we went into detail about because they are common to campus and can be spotted throughout the region.

Button Mushroom: this is the kind you will find in grocery stores and are native to the northwest. The Portobello mushroom is the adult button mushroom.
Oyster Mushroom: also known as white rot, it is native and can be used to absorb oil from oil spills. It is edible and its extract is used in drugs to lower cholesterol.
Shitake Mushroom: this species is not native to the region but has not spread or become an issue (i.e. not an invasive species).

For mushrooms in general they have to create a ton of spores for reproduction and usually grow on wood because they break down the material and are an extremely important factor in decomposition. In the northwest there are several invasive species that have taken over. Fungi have a process of decomposition different from mushrooms in how they take a more complex structure and break it down to where it can be absorbed by hyphae tips.

Posted on June 2, 2012 03:01 PM by karavanslyck