The Honey Fungus!
Mushrooms
Hyphae Hands!
In the autumn, clumps of
honey-coloured mushrooms
appear at the base of the
tree. Mushrooms release
spores from their gills.
Spores are like fungal
seeds, and allow fungi
to spread to new plants.
They are tiny and are often
carried by the wind to
infect new trees.
Like most fungi, the honey fungus is
made up of white tubular hand-like
strands called hyphae. Lots of these
hand like hyphae grow together to
form mycelium. The tips of the hyphae
release a chemical (enzyme) that
breaks down bits of soil and tree to
produce food for the fungus.
Bootlaces
The fungus infects new plants
by growing dark brown bootlaces
(rhizomorphs), which travel through the
soil. These bootlaces are usually 20cm
below the ground. They can grow at 1
metre per year and infect trees up to
30 metres away! The tips of bootlaces
poke straight into the tree roots. Once
the bootlaces have infected the tree
roots they grow up the tree trunk under
the layers of bark and absorb the tree’s
nutrients. They eventually kill even the
biggest, strongest of trees.
Glow-in-the-dark
Honey fungus mushrooms can actually glow in the dark! We
don’t really know how or why, but they do! It may attract
animals that can spread their fungal spores. Or it may attract
insects that eat smaller insects feeding on the fungus. Why
do you think the honey fungus can glow in the dark?
Heaviest living thing on earth
One honey fungus in Oregon, USA has colonized 3.4 square
miles of woodland and is the heaviest living thing in the
world!