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Read moreFungal dispersal from down-under; how one Australian mammal spreads mycorrhizal spores
The Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)
Truffle like fungi and their unlikely, analogous dispersers
Tuber melanosporum
Learn about how one of the most expensive foods in the world disperses, and find out what these dispersers share.
Read moreThe myco-heterotrophic Rhizanthella gardneri
Rhizanthella gardneri. Found by Jean and Fred Hort.
In the early spring of 1928, an Australian farmer named Jack Trott was plowing his land in preparation for the upcoming growing season. As he glanced backward, he noticed pale like flower structures being tossed into the air. He stopped his tractor to examine the specimens and found these amazing little subterraneous plants, with no green pigments at all... How exactly do these extremely rare orchids acquire their carbon demands? Spoiler alert, through the parasitism of mycorrhizal fungi.
Read moreFungal spore dispersal trade-offs
Thick-walled spores of Phellinus pomaceus.
Learn about the different ecological trade-offs associated with different spore morphology.
Read moreMushrooms make it rain, literally
Spore forming mushroom gills
Other than the passing of genetic information to subsequent generations, recent research has revealed yet another ecological function fungal spores may provide- the formation of raindrops!
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