Blog Post #4: Fungus Amongus

     For me, the most interesting part of the Fungi field trip was learning about how complex fungi actually are. For example, I never knew how expansive the mycelium network that stems from and connects other fruiting parts of fungi. Also, it was very interesting to learn about how such small details like a spore print can completely change classification of fungi.

     Fungi's importance to any ecosystem was real surprise for me. Prior to this class and this field trip, I mostly just knew that fungi decomposed and recycled living material in an environment. So to learn that they also work to circulate and draw nutrients and minerals across such a wide area, and to/from so many organisms, was quite eye-opening to me. Additionally, I guess I always kind of lumped all kinds of fungi into one over-arching category. This changed for me after learning more fungi can be parasitic as well as symbiotic, flourishing as well as specified to certain conditions, and clustering compared to individual.

     One species of fungi that caught my eye was Fomitopsis pinicola. This fungi is considered a polypore, and is characterized by multiple features. It has a dense, black crust on top of the mushroom body, which fades to a red-orange that lines a white growing margin. The underside of this fungi is typically white. Furthermore, this fungi very much resembles a shelf, and will be found growing outwards from a tree trunk parallel to the ground.