Mushrooms and Other Fungi

Mushrooms grow on a fallen log in Echo Park

NPS/ A. Rossman

Mushrooms aren't really plants, they are types of fungi that have a "plantlike" form - with a stem and cap (they have cell walls as well). This is really just the "flower or fruit" of the mushroom - the reproductive part which disperses the spores. The larger portion of many fungi is underground, and can be acres in size! Mushrooms aren't plants because they don't make their own food (plants use photosynthesis to make food). The underground part of the fungus uses enzymes to "digest" other substances that it can use as food. Mushrooms and other fungi often grow in association with plants - perhaps attaching to the side of a tree, or growing out of a dead log as it decays. They are important in helping to "recycle" nutrients and break down dead plant materials.

Some fungi are very colorful - often with orange or red coloration. Others are less noticeable, blending into the litter on the forest floor. Depending on what time of year it is, you may see the "flowering" part of the mushroom, as the fungus enters it's reproductive phase. Many mushrooms are poisonous, so they should not be touched, as even a small amount of spores can have an effect on humans. Mushrooms generally aren't eaten by other animals, since they are mostly water and have little nutritional value as well as being toxic. Most of the mushrooms that humans eat are cultivated rather than wild.

 

Varied lichen colors and communities dot the rhyolitic rocks.

NPS / A. Rossman

Lichen, unique partnerships driven by fungal communities, cover much of the rhyolite in the park, slowly helping to shape the rocks we see today.

Lichens are small plants that are made up of two components – a fungus and algae. The fungus provides the structural components of the plant, while the alga provides nutrition and energy via photosynthesis. Lichens lack true roots, stems and leaves, although some forms grow to resemble these common plant parts. Lichens reproduce using spores or detachable fragments.

Lichens grow on surfaces such as rock, tree bark, or other substrates, and obtain most of their nutrients from the atmosphere. Because lichens gather materials that are washed from the air by precipitation, they can be used to monitor certain pollutants that travel through the air, such as heavy metals and sulfur. There are many species of lichens, and upon close inspection you can see the differences in color and shape. When viewed from a distance however, they often create a more uniform coloration of yellow, green or brown, that "paints" the surface of the rocks and cliffs.