What is this? Coral? Wrong!
It does not grow in the sea, but it may grow in the green belt of the community
Source: Wikipedia
It belongs to a common class of fungi – coral fungi that usually live in the forests around us. Reef mushrooms come in a variety of colors such as white, yellow, pink, and purple, and their crystal clear texture makes them particularly cute.
Today we will talk about this kind of mushroom with high appearance and good looks!
What do corals eat?
Reef fungi are not picky eaters at all and have a variety of nutritional options. Saprophytic coral fungi live by decomposing lignin and cellulose, and fallen wood, stumps, and fallen leaves are their daily diet.
Michophyllum on fallen wood
腐叶上的透根大核瑚菌Macrotyphula phacorrhiza
The food sources of symbiotic coral bacteria are abundant. Ectomycorrhizal fungi such as mycorrhizal fungi such as mycophyllum and corylocophyllum are backed by large trees, and they can exchange carbohydrates from large trees (usually pineaceae, spruce, and shellaceae) with only water and inorganic salts.
西藏枝瑚菌 Ramaria xizangensis
棒瑚菌 Clavariadelphus
The food of phycophagi and lichen fungi is not so good, they grow on bare soil or rock surfaces, and they depend on algae for their lives, living in poverty, eating soil and even stones every day. Due to the lack of nutrients, these coral fungi are somewhat stunted, so they are not as stout as ectomycorrhizal fungi, and even a little delicate.
与藻类共生形成地衣的中华丽柱衣Sulzbacheromyces sinensis
Of course, there are also coral fungi that are good at using their advantages, such as a mushroom of the feather family that signed a contract with ants and lived a domesticated life. However, looking at the thin size and inconspicuous production scale of this fungus, it seems that it does not take a great advantage in the cooperation.
Myrmecopterula与蚂蚁共生
Why do corals look like this?
The lifestyle of corals is very diverse, after all, corals do not refer to a single type of mushroom, but a collective term for all rod and coral-shaped mushrooms, the members of this type of mushroom are so rich and complex that it is difficult to summarize in three words, but don't be afraid, above!
Genealogy of coral mushrooms
As can be seen from the figure, corals appear in many orders and families of mushrooms, so why is this form of corals so popular? What are the advantages of this morphology that appear so frequently in the various branches of the mushroom class?
It turned out that in order to better disperse the spores, the mushroom developed a patent called fruiting body. At the time of the invention of the patent, the fruiting body structure was very simple, consisting only of hyphae intertwined with each other, forming a shell-like structure on the surface of the matrix, which is now known as the planar mushroom.
Subsequently, the mushroom discovered that the flat form was only a two-dimensional structure and that it was inefficient at diffusing the spores, so it modified the fruiting body in three dimensions, making the entwined hyphae stand upright to form a rod-shaped mushroom.
Radulomyces, a fruiting body type that transitions from planar to coral-like
To further increase the productivity and carrying capacity of the fruiting body, the rod-shaped fruiting body began to produce branches, forming coral-like mushrooms; However, it is not enough to only produce, and the protection of spores must be strengthened, so the top of some fruiting bodies begins to swell, forming a fruiting body in the shape of a mushroom or chanterelle, and the enlarged tip can protect the spores on the back.
紫枝瑚菌Ramaria violacea，直立的结构增加了孢子的扩散能力。
Nail mushroom, the type of transition from corals to umbels, has a bulging top that protects the spores in the lower part of the fruiting body from rain.
Then, in order to further strengthen the carrying capacity of the spores, the structure on the back of the fruiting body began to gradually form a folded or porous shape, which is now an umbrella mushroom.
Laccaria moshuijun, an umbrella-type mushroom, forms a fold that further expands the spores
It may be that the reason for the widespread existence of the coral type is that this morphology is more functional than the planar type, but it is simpler than the umbrella type. In short: mushrooms are also cost-effective!
How good can coral mushrooms be?
When it comes to how to eat (how to eat it), most of the coral mushrooms are harmless to humans and animals and can be eaten, but a few species can cause symptoms such as enteritis; While these toxins aren't usually fatal, who wants to have diarrhea like crazy?
, so everyone should be cautious about picking and trying wild mushrooms in the wild!
云南南华野生菌市场上售卖的枝瑚菌Ramaria spp.
At present, the most edible coral fungus in the world is the genus Mycophyllus, which is called "sweeping (brushing) fungus" in Yunnan, and "rat's foot" in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places. Although corals can identify general groups by morphology, it is very difficult to identify specific species, so most of the products sold in local markets are roughly identified by color, and yellow or slightly pink at the end of the mycozophus is the most common, and occasionally some purple can be seen.
The most common way to eat coral mushrooms is to boil hot pot or stir-fry, the taste is tough, crisp and delicious, there is no particularly outstanding taste, and the deliciousness is highly positively correlated with the level of cooking skills. If you have eaten it, you can also tell everyone about its taste in the comment area.
Well, today's coral fungus is introduced here, if you have nothing to do, you might as well look for it in the surrounding parks or forests, maybe it will hide there~
Bibliography:
Reclassification of Pterulaceae Corner (Basidiomycota: Agaricales) introducing the ant-associated genus Myrmecopterula gen.nov., Phaeopterula Henn. and the corticioid Radulomycetaceae fam. nov.
Megaphylogeny resolves global patterns of mushroom evolution
Written by | Little Black
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