They are really strange things, but weirdly beautiful!
For a long time, the fungi just sit there unobtrusively. Each one is about the size of a Ping-Pong ball. It has a brown, leathery skin.
When it's ready, the outer layer splits open, forming its characteristic star shape.
Here's one just beginning to split:
The spores of the fungus are contained in the inner sac.
When subjected to pressure - for example by heavy raindrops falling on it - the sac puffs out spores through the hole in the top.
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| Notice the black slug exploring this one |
In the photo below, the sac of the newly-opened fungus at the left is full and tight, whereas that of the older fungus at the right is now partially empty, and is soft and slack.
This colony of fungi has been in my garden for several years now, and it gets bigger every year, which is no wonder really, when you see how many spores each one puffs out!
They're really weird looking, I've never seen them before.
ReplyDeleteWe have had some in our field, but sadly not for a few years. The kids used to love to tap them to see the spores stream out of the hole at the top, like smoke.
ReplyDeleteThey are not something we have around here. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness isn't nature wonderful !
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, I first saw earth stars when we lived in Spain. Somewhere on the net there is a wonderful slow motion film of earth stars opening, well worth trying to find it.
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