Odd Fungi

 

An Elegant Stinkhorn (Mutinus elegans) fruiting body.
As the name suggest, these fungi have an 
offensive odor.  McIntosh County, Georgia. 

Some might say all fungi are odd but I think some are odder than others.  A standard fungus is microscopic most of the time but on occasion, it make a respectable mushroom.  A mushroom made by one of these typical fungi is a reproductive structure, a fruiting body, with a stalk, cap and gills.  The fruiting body makes spores and sends them out into the world. But some fungi have dramatically different fruiting bodies.  Some of these odd fruiting bodies look like fingers, or coral or jelly or ears or horns.   These odd fungi are Basidiomycetes, the same group that also contains those respectable mushrooms.

  

Amber Jelly Roll (Exidia resica), a jelly fungus growing on
a maple branch.  These fruiting bodies are about 2 inches
in diameter.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

 

Amber Jelly Roll.

Jelly fungi look like a dab of jelly on a tree limb and are traditionally classified in the class Tremellomycetes.  This name means trembling fungi.  However, their consistency is more like rubber than jelly.  We have a nice jelly fungus on the maple tree in our front yard.  Often when a dead limb falls from the tree, it has Amber Jelly Roll, Exidia resica growing on it.  This fungus is a wood decomposer and starts its work before a dead branch falls.  When the fruiting body is wet, it looks like jelly.  When it dries out it looks like a shriveled black mass. 

 

Tree Ears (Auricularia auricula-judae) on a 
dead limb.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Tree ears or wood ears really do look like ears growing from dead wood.  Auricularia auricula-judae is a common Tree ear with a worldwide distribution.  This scientific name is both descriptive and fraught with racist history.  The genus and first part of the specific name are both from the Latin for ear.  The second part of the species is derived from a familiar New Testament story.  Tradition has it that Judas Iscariot committed suicide by hanging after betraying Jesus.  Auricularia auricula-judae growing on a tree is reminder of Judas and his perfidy.  A common name for this fungus, Judas’ Ear and has been used for hundreds of years.  This name was corrupted to Jew’s Ear but in our more woke time, Tree Ear is preferred.  

 

A coral fungus (Ramaria sp.) on old leaves. This group of fruiting bodies was
about 3 inches tall.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Coral fungi make upright branched or unbranched fruiting bodies that resemble marine corals.  These fungi come in a variety of colors and may grow on soil, wood or in symbiotic association with plant roots.  Ramaria is a large genus of coral fungi with a global distribution.   Another coral fungus is Clavaria fragilis. It makes delicate, unbranched white fruiting bodies with the marvelous common name, Fairy Fingers. Golden Spindles, Clavulinopsis fusiformis, is another coral fungus that resembles Fairy Fingers but the fruiting bodies are deep yellow in color.

 

Fairy Fingers (Clavaria fragilis).  These delicate white structures are
two inches tall.  Watauga County, North Carolina. 

Golden Spindles (Clavinopsis fusiformis) fruiting bodies
are about 2.5 inches tall and bright yellow. 
Rowan County, North Carolina

Perhaps the oddest fungi are the stinkhorns. The fruiting bodies of these fungi smell like rotting flesh or feces.  These fungi attract beetles and flies that disperse the spores.  The spores are produced at the end of the stalk.  The fruiting body of stinkhorns resembles a penis and one genus is even named Phallus.  Mutinus elegans, the Elegant or Headless Stinkhorn, has an orange stalk and grows throughout Eastern North America. A mass of green spores are borne in a slimy mass at the end of the fruiting body. These spores can be removed by insects or washed away by rain leaving the bare stalk. 

 

The remains of the green spore mass of this Elegant Stinkhorn
are visible on the tip of this seven inch fruiting body. 
McIntosh County, Georgia. 

Scientists estimate that more than two million species of fungi share the Earth with us.  There is still much work to be done on this fascinating group, because only about 120,000 species have been described.  It is no surprise, that with these vast numbers, some fungi are odd.  

 

 

 

Poison Ivy

 

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) leaf in the fall.  
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is both a plant and an idea. Its genus, Toxicodendron mean poison tree.  This name is very apt because Poison Ivy causes severe contact dermatitis and is the leading cause of allergic reaction in the United States.  The medical aspect of this plant’s life inspired a hit song by the Coasters in the 1950s and the song led to an anti-heroine named Poison Ivy in the Batman universe from the 1960s to today. 

 

Poison Ivy leaf in summer with its three leaflets
and serrations.  Rowan County, North Carolina.

Poison Ivy is in the family Anacardiaceae, a group of plants that includes; Poison Sumac, Poison Oak, Mango and Cashew.   It grows throughout Eastern North American from Texas to Canada.  The toxic nature of the plant has spawned some nursery rhymes so children could avoid it in the field.  These include; “Leaves of three, let it be” and “Hairy vine, no friend of mine”. 

 

The hairy vine of Poison Ivy in winter.  The hairs are actually
fine roots that fix the vine to the tree trunk. 
Clayton County, Georgia.

As the rhyme says, Poison Ivy is a vine.  It can sprawl across the ground or grow up trees.  The vine is not actually hairy, but rather covered with short roots that attach it to the tree trunk. The specific epithet in the scientific name, T. radicans, refers to these roots.  The other rhyme mentions leaves of three.  These are really three leaflets of a single compound leaf and the margins of the leaflets often have teeth.  In the spring, the leaves are shiny and plant makes small, inconspicuous, green flowers. As summer progresses the leaves lose their luster and green fruits develop from the flowers.  Birds, who suffer no ill effects from the poison, greedily eat the fruits.  Poison Ivy leaves turn a brilliant yellow and red in the fall. 

Early spring leaves of Poison Ivy. The young leaves start out red then turn green.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

 

Spring leaves and flowers of Poison Ivy.
The pale green flowers are borne in the leaf axils. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Poison Ivy fruits in late summer.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Southeastern Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) is very similar to Poison Ivy in appearance, growth habit and toxicity.  A key difference between these species is the leaves of Southeastern Poison Oak are lobed, like those of oaks rather than toothed. 

 

Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) with fruit.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The poison in Poison Ivy is a compound called urushiol.  This oily mix of molecules is made in all parts of the plant so roots, stems, leaves, flower and fruits can all cause dermatitis.  It is possible to remove the oils from skin with immediate washing with soap and water.  But often, you don’t know you have come brushed up against the plant.  Upon contact with skin, the urushiol attaches to a protein on the surface of immune cells.  The combination of the urushiol and the cell protein cause an exaggerated allergic response.   A couple of days after someone comes in contact with Poison Ivy, they experience itching and angry red welts that fill with fluid.  A poison ivy rash often spreads.  The spreading rash is due in part to the initial immune cell stimulating other cells to produce inflammatory molecules.  Poison Ivy rash may last for a week or more.  Exposure to smoke of burning Poison Ivy plants is more dangerous. Inhaling the smoke can cause severe inflammation of the lungs and even death.  Treatments for a Poison Ivy induced dermatitis range from the traditional oatmeal bath to Calamine lotion to prescription steroids. 

 

Contact dermatitis caused by Poison Ivy.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

About 80% of the population is susceptible to the toxic oils in Poison Ivy.  I break out in a rash when I brush up against this plant and always try to avoid it. Even in winter, I stay away from the hairy vine that is no friend of mine.