On 4/18/2016 Gwen and Karina lead a field trip through Pine Ridge Park in Edmonds. Where we were able to see fungus, and other organism in their habitat versus looking at slides of fungus.
Figure 1: Pathogenic Fungus in Tree
The tree is pushing out sap here in Figure 1 to push out the fungus, and the black area is the spore mass. This was the first organism that we came across on our excursion.
Figure 2: Two Species of Lichen
Lichens grow a centimeter of surface area a year. The second and third organism we found were two species of lichen on the same tree as figure 1.
Figure 3: Conks (Decomposer and Pathogenic Mushroom)
Our fourth organism was of the Polyporales order. This order is known grows tubes and pores on the underside of the mushroom.
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Figure 4: White Powder (Decomposer Fungi)
I believe that the white powder is Podosphaera leucotricha which is also known as powdery mildew (Down Garden Services). This type of fungus is commonly found on trees and fruits.
Figure 5: Sick Tree
A sign that a tree is sick is when it loses it lower branches. Branches that have lost their bark are dead, and fungi feed on the dead branch. This allows the fungus to get into the tree and leads to the falling of the dead branches.
Figure 6: Epiphytic Moss
Epiphytes grow on a host such as a tree, without harming them.
Figure 7: Amanita Mushroom
Amanitas have white spores, and a ring on their stems. Some of the mushrooms in this genus are poisonous to humans, such as the Death Cap.
Finally, my last fun fact, 90% of plants have a relationship with mycorrhizal fungi.
Note: the credit of the photos above goes to Emma Brasseur.
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Hi Jessica :)
ReplyDeleteI love all the photos that you got! I'm not particularly gifted at photography, so I'm really impressed at the beautiful shots that you got on this trip :) I especially love the first photo of the tree that was sick with a parasitic fungus, and how it was trying to push the disease out using the sap. It's really amazing to me that things like plants, and fungi really are alive just like you and I. I think oftentimes that fact is forgotten, and this is a great example that trees are indeed living organisms. They respond to disease just like you and I do, and that to me was an amazing fact to learn. I also thought the fact you shared about 90% of plants having a mycorrihzal relationship with fungi. That is so amazing! Before this class I would have never thought that fungi were so numerous in the world, and that they were so important. I had always thought of them as a rare thing as mushrooms are typically described as being rare and hard to find in the wild. Now I understand that much better, but it's still amazing to me to think that some of the most important things in the world are happening around us right underneath our own feet. Thanks for the great post! :)