Leijpark013

@leijpark013 · 09 Aug 2023

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Leijpark 013 Red pore wood mushroom

Leijpark 013
Written by Thierry P. Thijens ·

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Let's dive into the wonderful world of fungi, mushrooms and mushrooms. Just for the record: a fungus and a fungus are the same, a mushroom is the fruiting body of a fungus (read: fungus).
An interesting mushroom that we found in the Leijpark is the Red Pore Wood Mushroom. A mouthful, I'll admit that. It seems useful to analyze that name for a moment. Wood mushroom seems clear to me: the mushroom grows on dead wood, mainly willow and birch, but occasionally we also find it on poplar, beech, alder and ash. So only on deciduous trees. The fungus causes so-called “white rot”; the wood dust breaks down. This is in contrast to “brown rot”, where the cellulose present in trees does not break down; cellulose is a sugar that holds the cells of a tree together and strengthens the cells of a tree. The Red Pore Wood Mushroom is limited to actually eating the wood itself.
Then the term “red pore”. Many fungi have pores. Our skin also has pores, they are the tiny tubes that make us sweat. In the case of a fungus, however, these are small tubes where spores develop that should take care of offspring. These pores are located at the bottom of the fungus. As soon as they are damaged (by animals, by falling branches, by the blows of an axe, to name just a few examples), the pores of this mushroom turn red. So that's why: Red pore wood mushroom.
This mushroom loves water. It doesn't really grow in the water but feels at home in a humid environment. The humid banks around the ponds in the Leijpark, as well as the parts between the ponds and the Ley that are regularly flooded, are an ideal location for this mushroom. And that's exactly where we found her.
Now the question always arises when it comes to mushrooms: Is it edible? The answer is quite clear: no; it is tough, tastes bitter and you immediately feel like you're chewing on cork; a tasty sequel is quickly gone.
However, this mushroom is also used by humans, for making: paper! The fruiting bodies of the Red Pore Wood Mushroom can be pounded into a pulp, then pressed together and then dried to create a type of paper with unusual shapes and colors. This is then sold as decorative paper. We don't do this in our country, but we do it elsewhere, including in Canada and Norway.
In our country, and also in the Leijpark, the mushroom is useful by neatly cleaning up fallen trees. All the minerals that are present in such a tree eventually disappear neatly into the park floor when other organisms, such as young plants, can find them again.
Now we see in the picture that the pores are (apparently) not on the bottom, but on the side. It looks like the photo was shot, but that's not the case. What has been turned is the tree on which the Red Pore Mushroom grows. The tree fell after the fungus settled on it. Mushrooms can't (really) move, so when the tree goes, you'll go with it irrevocably. Well, these are the fortunes of fungi that depend on their hosts, whether they are still alive or already heavenly.
The Red Pore Wood Mushroom is certainly not rare, fortunately not. We can really use her in the Leijpark to complete the circle of life properly again. And lo and behold: she plays her role brilliantly.

#park #redportionofwoodmushroom