The American Crust Fungus Combo

Aaron Muderick

Pictured in the montage at right (Fig. 1) is the "American Crust Fungus combo": red (Phlebia coccineofulva), white (Hyphoderma puberum), and blue (Pulcherricium caeruleum) fungi growing on decaying wood. All three are members of the corticioid fungi (family Corticiaceae). Their colors are particularly brilliant and saturated. If you've seen them in person, you'll agree that photographs don't do them justice.

Unlike more traditional mushrooms, corticioid's can be difficult to find if you don't know where to look. Common mushrooms grow a stalk to raise their spores upwards for distribution into the wind. Crust fungi, lacking any complex large-scale structure, grow downwards with a thin layer of fruiting bodies hanging from the bottom of the wood. Thus, they can only be found by turning over suspect logs.

Crust fungi are strongly colored. In addition to the colors shown in the montage, they can appear in rich yellows, browns, pinks, purples, and more. When viewed with a microscope, they, and their spores, exhibit a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and arrangements.

In the accompanying montage (Fig. 1), the blue photo was taken in the White Clay Creek Preserve, Delaware. The red photo was taken in Ridley Creek State Park, Pennsylvania. The white photo was taken by the roadside in Narberth, Pennsylvania. All three photos were taken in fall.

More of Aaron Muderick's photography can be seen here. Editor.

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