LEBANON, OH — The fungi are an interesting life form for naturalists and scientists to study. Worldwide there are approximately 2.5 million of them. In Ohio there are over 2000 species. They are neither plants that manufacture their own food through photosynthesis nor are they animals that ingest their food. Rather they absorb their food by breaking down dead plant or animal matter with their thread-like root structure called the mycelium.
Fungi are decomposers. We can’t see the mycelia that are buried within the decomposing material. What we see is the fruiting or spore-producing reproductive part of the fungus.
The most obvious fungi are the mushrooms. These come in a variety of forms such as the common gilled cap atop a stem (think “toadstool”). There are others such as slime molds, scales, brackets, and puffballs. The various individual species appear at very specific times of their choosing. They are quite picky about temperature, humidity, moisture, and other conditions in their surroundings…