• Students at South Peak

    Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller

    National Historical Park Vermont

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  • Road Work May 22 -23, 2013

    The segment of road between the Mansion and Belvedere buildings will be closed due to scheduled excavation May 22 & 23. Please use caution and alternative routes.

Mushrooms and Other Fungi

Dead Man's Fingers fungus

Dead Man's Fingers fungus (Xylaria polymorpha)

K Jones

While fungi, like mushrooms, may look like plants, they are distinct from both plants and animals by mode of nutrition. While animals ingest food and plants make their own through photosynthesis, fungus secrete enzymes to digest surrounding organic matter and then absorb the released nutrients. By decomposing dead or decaying organisms and recycling nutrients, fungi serve an important ecological function. Without this important component dead organisms in the park, like fallen trees, would take much longer to decompose and return their nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Did You Know?

Sunlight filters through white clouds and dark thunderheads to illuminate green-forested slopes and snow-covered mountains. NPS Photo.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP has nearly 400 paintings and prints, including Hudson River School landscapes of places that are now national parks. You can see paintings by Thomas Cole, David Johnson, and Albert Bierstadt of features from Yosemite, Golden Gate, and Grand Teton.