Fungi Field Trip

On Monday, April 18th we went to Pine Ridge Park which was 5 minutes away from EDCC to observe some different kinds of fungi. Our awesome instructor prepared for this trip for us to look at the fungi in real life instead of looking at the fungi slides. I really enjoyed this trip, because I’ve learned new things and I looked at different fungi. Korena, our fearless fungi leader and a real fungi expert & enthusiast, helped us by explaining and showing the fungi around the park and the difference between them. This day is unforgettable for me, because it was my very first field trip with my classmates and of course because it was a sunny and beautiful day in this rainy state. Let me start off with the pictures of fungi that I’ve taken.



Figure 1: The crustose lichen



Figure 3: Chrysothrix Chlorina (powdery) lichen











As we walked in the park, the first thing we saw two different kinds of lichen, the first type was the crusty crustose lichen on the tree. it looks like flakes that lie on the surface like peeling paint. The second type was Chrysothrix Chlorina, this type of lichen grows like powder dusted on the tree. Lichens grow in a wide range of shapes and forms (morphologies). The shape of a lichen is usually determined by the organization of the fungal filaments. The nonreproductive tissues, or vegetative body parts, is called the thallus. Lichens are grouped by thallus type, since the thallus is usually the most visually prominent part of the lichen. Thallus growth forms typically correspond to a few basic internal structure types. Come to common names for lichens often come from a growth form or color that is typical of a lichen genus.


Figure 3: the tree has been decomposed by white parasitic fungus


Some Parasites cause changes in the behavior of their hosts by directly affecting the hosts' decision-making and behavior control mechanisms. The acquired or modified behaviors assist in parasite transmission, and often result in the host's demise. That's what happened in this tree as it produced a tough white mushroom inside it as we are going to see in the next picture.

 

Figure 4: the decomposed tree with growing tough white mushroom as (fruiting bodies)





 Figure 5: other type of fruiting body



 In fungi, the sporocarp (also known as fruiting body or fruit body) is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruiting body is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle, with the rest of the life cycle being characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual spore production.







FIgure 6: Mosses

The tiny random mushroom was found by one of my classmate. Its size was small and the color was light brown. There was a ring around the stem of the mushroom but it was almost gone. On the bottom of the cap, there was volva and it was very clear. This is the most common fungi that we can find easily when we go hiking or go to the park. Also, I saw many mushrooms during the field trip.



 Figure 7: mushroom and its volva