Decomposition is a quiet and mostly hidden process. Those organisms involved in the business of decomposing generally tend to their job without a lot of fanfare. And yet these ecological heroes play an important role in the natural cycle of life. If it wasn’t for decomposers, dead matter would pile up, and new organisms would not receive essential nutrients for growth and development.
Some examples of decomposers include: certain types of worms, slugs and snail, but a majority are either bacteria or fungi (including molds and yeasts).
On a recent trip through the woods, with my camera in hand, I came upon an odd sight–A mushroom (the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus), with the aerial filaments of a mold (a type of fungus) radiating from below the mushroom’s cap.
I believe this is a parasitic pin mold known as Spinellus fusiger. If you look closely at the tips of each stalk, you will see that they contain minute, spherical structures. These tiny structures are called sporangia, and they contain the spores which allow the mold to reproduce.
This enlarged view shows the spore-bearing sporangia
When I first saw this mushroom, a picture formed in my head of a little fish being eaten by a bigger fish, and then an even larger fish eating that one. Only in the case of decomposers it is usually the smaller “fish” that eats the larger ones.
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Nicely done, There is a whole, largely unseen, world of living organisms at our feet. Too few of us recognize that the upper soil layers are teeming with life. One reason is that these organisms are so small and often nondescript, or they’re are simply out of sight. The diversity of organisms in the soil and biomass is impressive and includes fungi, bacteria, protozoans, algae, nematodes, earthworms, soil dwelling insects, and other arthropods. The problem is that they are small, often microscopic, and go about their lives hidden from view. They make up the living (biological) component of the soil, comprised of mineral particles, decomposing organic matter, gasses, water, and mineral elements. These living organisms are an extremely important component of soil ecology. Healthy soils are those that contain abundant organic matter, and have a diverse population of native soil organisms, operating in a functional ecosystem. Basically, every organism has some role to play. The system begins to falter when the diversity of organisms is reduced by loss or organic matter, soil compaction, over use of pesticides, soil erosion, increased salinity, etc. The decomposition of organic matter by soil organisms greatly influence soil structure, soil fertility, plant health, crop yields, plant growth, and carbon storage. Soil organisms serve to release essential nutrients contained in the organic matter, back into the soil making plant growth possible. Energy stored in the material is used for metabolism and reproduction. The decomposition process also serves to bind up CO2, keeping it out of the atmosphere, where it would increase global warming –something we can all appreciate.
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Thanks for expanding on the simplified version that I presented. It really gives us a sense of the complexity and vulnerability of a region of the ecosystems that we don’t generally give much thought to, but which is crucial for sustaining other organisms.
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I’ve never seen anything like that, but on a hike the other day in some places along the trail there was an almost overwhelming smell of mold that I have never noticed before.
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This species of mushroom is common in the woods behind my house. But this is the first time I have seen a pin mold attacking this or any variety of mushroom. That makes me wonder what occurred in this specific case to allow the pin mold to grow on this one mushroom and no others.
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I have seen exactly this in a swamp near the woods at my parents’ house in West Virginia.
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I have heard that some spores are present worldwide. It just takes the right conditions for them to germinate. There must be places in West Virginia that have similar conditions as the spot behind my house in Washington State that this mold grew. Thanks for your comments!
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I had a mycoligist at Saint Louis tell me that mine host mushroom was mycena haematopus and, indeed, the “hairs” were spinellus fusiger just like yours.
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That’s a great find, and rare. I’ve seen something similar on a mushroom just once.
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I am really curious as to why it is such a rare site. These mushrooms are plentiful. And I would guess the mold spores are abundant as well (although impossible to see). Was there something about this mushroom that caused it to be susceptible to the mold, while others remain resistant? This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night.
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I don’t think the fungi or molds are rare sights, but the chances of seeing a mold consume a fungus are slim. Many molds have an entire life span of just hours, and for them to even appear the temperature, moisture, and humidity have to be just right, so for us to stumble upon this happening during those few hours when everything has come together is rare, at least in my experience.
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