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October 27, 2008 : Schizophyllum commune
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Plant Family / Families: Schizophyllaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Schizophyllum commune Fries
Name Location: northeast Kansas, USA
Thanks to Ruth for today's write-up, and C.Wick of Atchison, Kansas for today's photograph. C.Wick (of the UBC Botanical Garden forums) has posted a couple additional photographs in this thread on the BPotD Submissions Forum, including one with the "pleasing fungus beetle". Thank you both! Ruth writes:
There is a fungus among us! And a sexy one at that! Unlike plants and animals, fungi have multiple sexes, or mating types. Schizophyllum commune has a whopping 28,000 distinct sexes. Some of the more primitive fungi have as few as two sexes, making this a superstar amongst fungi. When we think of different sexes, we picture different sexual structures such as pistils or stamens in plants. Fungi don't exactly have different structures or organs for the mating process -- instead, wherever they touch, they can exchange nuclei. Tom Volk writes extensively about sexual reproduction in fungi in his article on Schizophyllum commune.
Commonly referred to as the split-gilled polypore, or, more commonly, split gill, this wood-decaying fungus can be found on every continent (particularly in deciduous forests). The name literally translates to schizo meaning "split", phyllum meaning "leaf" (referring to its shape like a palmate leaf) and commune meaning "common" because of its widespread distribution.
This being the week of Halloween, look for something frightful in each article. This fungus has been known to cause human mycosis. For example, it has been observed growing into a young girl's nasal cavity where it began producing fruiting bodies. It has also been found invading other parts of the respiratory system, especially the lungs. It has been discovered as the cause of brain abcesses, chronic maxillary sinusitis, bronchial mucoid impaction and other scary stuff! BOO!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at October 27, 2008 3:37 PM
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Comments
Posted by: Katherine at October 27, 2008 4:08 PM
Now that I know the dangers I'll be more careful when photographing them. Tom Volk's article is excellent.
Posted by: Ken at October 27, 2008 4:25 PM
I have never commented before although I have been enjoying your photos and articles for a long time.
The BOO thing is alot of fun, but really scarey! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: sally at October 27, 2008 5:00 PM
Wow! All the way around, WOW!
Posted by: Meg Bernstein at October 27, 2008 5:11 PM
its realy scary for me ! and do not want to eat it anyway .
thank you ruth and daniel !
Posted by: lavender at October 27, 2008 5:31 PM
If the different sexes don't have different structures, what distinguishes one from another? How does one define a sex in this context?
Posted by: Lynne at October 27, 2008 6:19 PM
Awesome information! Very exciting that one of my fungi photos made it so others could get an eyeful of these amazing creations. Was able to recieve more info here as well that I didn't previously know about them (28,000 different sexes! WOW!)Thanx everyone for viewing and commenting on this image and for using it for the Botany Photo of the Day!
Posted by: C.Wick at October 27, 2008 10:06 PM
Such a lovely photo of such a pretty brain-sucking monster! ;)Seriously, I never knew a fungus like this could colonize someone's nasal cavity, never mind affect the brain. The things I learn here! Happy Hallowe'en, and thank you again for these great photos.
Posted by: Natalie at October 28, 2008 4:40 AM
My mind was boggled enough by the 28,000 sexes, and then, invasion of the nasal cavity! Freaky!
Posted by: Barbara at October 28, 2008 9:25 AM
i will be waiting for you daniel
just never know i would not open my door
at night we like to walk then
for hallows eve belongs to us
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at October 28, 2008 11:12 AM
Hi Lynne,
This is a succinct explanation of fungal sexes:
“Sex is conserved in virtually all organisms, from bacteria and fungi to plants and animals, and yet the mechanisms by which sexual identity are established share both conserved general features and are remarkably diverse. In animals, sexual identity is established by dimorphic sex chromosomes, whereas in fungi a specialized region of the genome, known as the mating-type locus, governs the establishment of cell type Identity and differs in DNA sequence between cells of different mating-types.” (from this abstract)
So... it's genetically determined. It's been about fifteen years since I last encountered fungal sexes in the classroom, so I'm admittedly fuzzy on the details.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at October 28, 2008 11:33 AM
Stunning photo.
Fascinating write up
Thank you both.
Posted by: Sheila at October 28, 2008 11:58 AM
Wow. It's hard to wrap my mind around that definition of sexual identity. It's so very different than animal sexuality. Thanks, Daniel.
Posted by: Lynne at October 28, 2008 7:27 PM
These are just beautiful and I learnnd so much from the write-up. Such a good photograph.
Thank you,
Margaret-Rae
Posted by: Margaret-Rae Davis at November 1, 2008 6:56 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Wow! That is scary enough for me!