Fungi Field Trip by Diane

<Fungi Field Trip>

On April 18, 2016, our Biology 213 AA class went on the field trip to Pine Ridge park near our school. We observed various fungi which people can easily find and easy to determine. Here are some photos that I took last time and some description.

   The photo below is the one we saw at the very beginning. This is a part of the big tree, and it has a black hole on the side, and it was covered with lichen. Before I realized it is a lichen, I thought this tree is just old so that it made some powder on the side. It was a lichen, and it is quite common to be observed between trees. The lichen looks like a powder, and I thought it is just green powder. It sometimes eats root and bark so it can make a hollow inside. Fungi can be harmful to the tree and another organism. This sick tree is pathogenic, and I assumed this tree has nothing inside because of decomposing.  Also, the tree was quite tall.

Figure 1: A part of the tree covered with lichen and black hole

We found the cut tree and it was decomposing. The fungi were detached to the bottom part of the tree. Also, under the tree, there was a mushroom growing. The mushroom grows annually, and it was tough. It was tiny, and it still can grow under the cut tree. The decomposer fungi were quite hard, and there was some powder on the side. If you see the photo closer, you can see some water drops. It looked kind of humid on it.

Figure 2: cutted decomposing tree

In front of the tree, there was a small cut tree branch. There were lichens on the outside part. It was crispy and looks almost like a dried leaves.

Figure: Lichens detached to the cutted tree branch

On the ground, there were lots of mosses. Their color is clear green, and it was all over the ground. I can say it is the most common fungi we can see when we go hiking. Mosses can grow long.

Figure: Mosses

During the trip, I saw many mushrooms on the road. It was not shown with a group, but some mushrooms were gathering together. The photo below is the random mushroom which was found from my classmate. Its size was pretty small, and the color of the middle cap was dark brown, and the side cap color was light brown. There should be the ring on the edge of the stem part, but most of them were gone and damaged. However, you can see some left in the picture. On the bottom of the cap, you can see volva which looks like an umbrella. It was pretty clear to observe.

Figure: Young growing mushroom and its volva and ring

When we were heading to find the mushrooms, we found this tree on our way. Half of the tree was decomposed, and it was also like a hole. I thought maybe it is damaged because of some wind or significant rain. But it was just decomposed by fungi. I was quite surprised about what happened to this tree.

Figure: Decomposed tree

I had lots of fun during the field trip, and I believe it’s worth it. I could learn lots of things which cannot be learned by lecture. I was able to find out more about fungi, and it was a great chance to look closer to fungi.