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Project Noah Nature School
Geastraceae
Looks like this cap was opening, possibly because of recent rain. Never seen a mushroom like this before or since. Spongy flesh, about 4 inches across.
Managed Douglas-fir forest.
Yes indeed -- an earthstar mushroom. Unlike most other mushrooms, the spores that are released to create more mushrooms elsewhere are released via the air and other natural methods (i.e. animal eating it and then waste being produced elsewhere, where the spores eventually produce more fungi). This occurs through a cotton-ball like gleba, the inside of the earthstar, and a pore usually is created on the top of the mushroom to let them out into the open.
Spotted on Sep 22, 2004
Submitted on Jan 2, 2012
+2
