The mushroom we see is the fruiting part of a fungus that distributes the spores of the fungus for its own reproduction.

Fungus Facts

• Most fungi are small microorganisms that live in soil, on dead matter, or as a symbiont of plants or animals.
• Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in recycling nutrients.
• The study of fungi is known as mycology, which is often regarded as a branch of botany
• Yeasts and moulds are forms of fungi but slimes are not.
• The Kingdom Fungi has been estimated to include approximately 1.5 million species, most of which have not been classified.

This bracket fungus was 7 foot high up a mature tree that did not seem to be suffering any ill effects.

The black fungus above was on the stump of a dead Elm and the ill effects were long past. The recycling phase was in full flow.

Edible Fungus

• Mushrooms provide food for a variety of insects and wild life and can be useful in a garden.
• Commercially grown mushrooms and truffles have been grown for centuries. This includes varieties like milk mushrooms, morels, chanterelles, black trumpets, and porcini mushrooms.
• Asian varieties have recently increased in popularity including Straw mushrooms Volvariella volvacea, Oyster mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus, Shiitakes Lentinula edodes and Enokitake.