Mushroom Weather

You know how we like mushrooms here at QSB, right? [If not, please see the “Mushroom Madness” article on pages 7-14 of our Winter 2012/2013 issue.] So, it was exciting, when I saw the information that mushrooms have some control–albeit extremely local control–over the weather.  From the abstract to a 2013 paper by Emilie Dressaire, Junius Santoso, Lisa Yamada, and Marcus Roper: “[F]ungi actively manipulate their local fluidic environment by altering the buoyancy of the air surrounding the mushroom using a combination of water vapor and active cooling. This manipulation allows spore escape and dispersal from caps that may be spaced a few millimeters above the ground, or apart from each other.”  Basically, mushrooms release water vapor that then creates a localized wind that disperses their spores. Cool, right?

IMG_5107Oh, yeah, it’s mushroom weather where I live, too. They’re popping out all over now that we’ve had a little moisture.  See what you can find in your area.