GRANTHAM GARDEN CLUB
  • HOME
    • Flowers & Folklore Blog
  • ABOUT US
    • Join Us
    • Organization
    • Community Involvement
  • PROGRAM & ACTIVITY
    • 2025 Program & Activity
    • 2024 Program & Activity
    • 2023 Program & Activity
    • 2022 Program & Activity
    • 2021 Program & Actvity
    • 2020 Program & Activity
  • SCHOLARSHIP
    • 2025 Application
    • Past Recipients
  • RESOURCES
    • Gardens to Visit
    • Helpful Links
    • How-To
  • MEMBERS ONLY
    • Club Documents
    • Minutes & Treasurer Reports
    • 2025 Volunteer Teams
    • SALES & SIGNUPS >
      • 2025 Music in the Meadows
      • 2025 Civic Gardens
    • Leadership History

Fun Facts About Fungi by Terri Munson

9/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Cortinariaceae fungi
​What I’m about to share with you is  going to blow your mind.
 
It all started with a purple mushroom growing in the Webb-Crowell Forest in Sutton. That bright purple color stopped me in my tracks and whetted my appetite for more. As I hiked with Kathy’s Friday Followers, we saw tons of mushrooms all along the trail—different colors, different shapes, different sizes. The biggest difficulty was not stepping on them.
 
Back home, I did a little research, and I learned that the mushrooms I saw were only a small part of the fungi. Most of their bodies are made up of a mass of thin threads known as a mycelium. Mushrooms bloom much like flowers do when conditions are right which explains why we saw so many in the recently-rained-on forest.
 
Up until the 1960, fungi were classified as plants, but it turns out they are more closely related to animals.  Their cell walls are made of chitlin which is also found in the exoskeleton of insects, crabs, and lobsters. They are now classified in their own kingdom separate from plants and animals.
 
The honey mushroom is considered the largest organism on Earth spreading across more than 2,000 acres of underground soil in Oregon. It’s estimated to be at least 2,400 years old.
 
According to the Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, "There are 75,000 fungal species that are named. But this number is believed to represent only 5% of the species that exist in nature."
 
There are over 30 species of mushroom that glow in the dark. The chemical reaction called bioluminescence produces a glowing light known as foxfire. People have been known to use these fungi to light their way through the woods.
 
I saved the most surprising fact for last: All fungi digest their food outside their bodies. The fungi find their food (say a fallen log), dump their enzymes on it, and the mycelium absorb the digested nutrients. How crazy is that?
Picture
Coral fungi
Picture
Amanita fungi
Picture
Lion's mane fungi
Picture
Hymenochaetaceae fungi
Picture
Hygrophoraceae fungi
Picture
Cyphellaceae fungi
Picture
Agaricaceae fungi aka dinner rolls
Picture
Myceneceae fungi
Picture
Hygrophoraceae fungi
Picture
Candelariaceae fungi
Picture
Hydnangiaceae fungi
Picture
Polyporaceae fungi
Picture
Chlorociboriaceae Fungi
Picture
Ganodermataceae fungi
Picture
Physalacriaceae fungi
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Plant Sales

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    March 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    October 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020

Grantham Garden Club, P.O. Box 1232, Grantham, NH 03753
granthamgardenclub.org

© 2025, Grantham Garden Club.  All rights reserved.