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December 7, 2009 : Squamanita paradoxa
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Plant Family / Families: Tricholomataceae
Scientific Name and Author: Squamanita paradoxa (A.H. Sm. & Singer) Bas
Name Location: Observatory Hill, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Dr. Adolf Ceska contributed today's photographs as well as a portion of the write-up. Until his retirement, Adolf worked as a botanist with the British Columbia Conservation Data Centre. He is also responsible for Botanical Electronic News, which he's published since 1991. He and his partner Oluna are two of British Columbia's pre-eminent field botanists.
Adolf writes:
"Squamanita paraxoda, or powdercap strangler, is an extremely rare fungus and this is the first record for Canada. It is a parasitic fungus that grows from another mushroom, the common widespread Cystoderma amianthinum. The "wellingtons" at the base are in fact remnants of the host."
"Oluna and I found it on November 27, 2009 on Observatory Hill in Victoria, exactly five years after Oluna started her inventory of macrofungi of Observatory Hill. So far, her inventory has yielded about 835 species from the area of about 75 hectares."
For more on fungi parasitizing other fungi (mycoparasites), see Tom Volk's entry on Hypomyces lactifluorum, the lobster mushroom (he jokingly refers to the phenomenon as "mycological cannibalism"). If you are keen on learning more about the genus Squamanita, Ian Gibson of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society has assembled this key to Squamanita in the Pacific Northwest; it includes historical accounts of species in the genus.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at December 7, 2009 12:30 PM
Comments
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Posted by: Meg Bernstein at December 7, 2009 12:51 PM
what an unexpected survival strategy!
Posted by: fuchsiafred at December 7, 2009 1:10 PM
That is incredibly cool! I have heard of 1 other parasitic fungus of fungi, but this is a first for this one!
Posted by: tammy at December 7, 2009 1:39 PM
835 species seems like a lot to me, but I know nothing about macrofungi. Is it a high number?
Posted by: EJ at December 7, 2009 2:34 PM
Is that moss it is with Rhytidiadelphus loreus?
Posted by: Stewart Wechsler at December 7, 2009 2:40 PM
The important thing:- Is it edible?
Posted by: Old Ari at December 7, 2009 2:50 PM
No doubt it is edible, but the question is which organisms can eat it and to what effect.
Posted by: Stewart Wechsler at December 7, 2009 2:54 PM
835 does seem like a lot. Very impressive. Are they including lichen in that count?
Posted by: Derek at December 7, 2009 3:15 PM
This is wonderful to see and the write-up was so interesting. I will look into the book mentioned and the links also. I am so happy to be learning more each day.
Thank you,
Margaret-Rae
Posted by: Margaret-Rae Davis at December 7, 2009 4:40 PM
this page is more interesting every day
i have been following the links
do not miss them
i can fathom the number florida blooms
with mushroons after a rain all colors
i will visit the mountain surely will
if only by a virtual path
thank you retired really fine photo
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at December 7, 2009 5:36 PM
Highly informative information.We don't this kind of mushrooms in these parts.
Posted by: SREESAN at December 7, 2009 7:29 PM
i found the whole picture very interesting... apparently touching.
Posted by: mario evangelista at December 7, 2009 8:12 PM
Great find! Thanks for sharing. I love the mushrooms and moss photos particularily.
Posted by: Leanne at December 8, 2009 5:21 AM
Yeaaahhh! Again, we get to see fungi and it's family here (neither of which are plants!). In my area of Kansas...we've now listed over 1500 species of fungi and mushrooms. This does not include molds or lichens. What an amazing world we are a part of.
Posted by: C.Wick at December 8, 2009 8:59 AM
Love the "wellingtons"! I'm with Stewart, all mushrooms are "edible"... My question is, is it any good for making a dye from? (kidding, but it is an interest...)
Posted by: Lisa at December 23, 2009 10:31 AM
"All mushrooms are edible. . . . . . some only once."
Posted by: Marilyn Shaw at January 16, 2010 3:24 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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Very fascinating.