Underestimated but proud mushrooms

The mushroom is neither plant nor animals, but still sets amazing world records.

Article pubilshed on 2019/12/01
This post is assigned to the categories: Macrophotographs, Nature shots

A short story about mushrooms.
If an attentive one looks out of the window, that one’ll most likely notice that autumn is nearing its end and winter is coming.
I actually wanted to post an article about mushrooms much earlier, especially since I’ve had some pretty neat pictures in a completely finished condition on my hard drives for several years.
You know, the work, this and that, the daily hustle and bustle.
In the end, not more than a big bunch of excuses.
Anyhow, the mushroom season is now over again and I didn’t manage to publish an article right in time again. Well, better late than never, huh? As they say, good things take their time.
I’d apologize for this unbearable blathering, but that’s part of a good blog. Just those fancy hashtags are still missing.
Aaaall right. Whatsoever. Let’s start anew: Them mushrooms.

When the weather gets wet and all clammy, they won’t hesitate long to show themselves. They are already lurking underground, waiting for a right moment.
This one moment to get out in full splendor.
Fungi don’t derive power from the sun like plants do, yet they are sedentary like them.
Therefore, they’ve to eat like animals, but they’re not animals either. Without any teeth this can only be done by absorbing the environment:
Organic substances dissolved by enzymes nourish them, a solemn feast.
Versatile appearance is characterizing: Small, large, multicellular, unicellular. Dark and radiant. Sometimes a fleshy consistency, sometimes hard tissue.
Yes, even sponges do occur.
Mushrooms reproduce without a partner via invisible spores of the fruiting bodies, which bloom like blossoms of flowers on the surface. The mycelium, however, which is the totality of all filamentous cells, remains hidden in the soil as an underground network.
Through this very network even records are set: The largest vivid creature on the planet lives in the USA and, you may guess, is a mushroom. With an extension of its mycelium over almost a thousand hectares, a weight estimated up to 35.000 tons and an age of way over two millennia, this is not a huge challenge. But who would have thought.

Pweh. Weird how interesting unremarkable things can be. And that’s where this short tale about them mushrooms comes to an end. I hope you have picked up a lesson.
Thanks Wikipedia for those awesome facts.
Remember: It’s not always about entertainment. Your education is also close to my heart.
You’re welcome, it was a big pleasure.
PS: I intended to rhyme this whole article, like the dandelion one, but come on, this would’ve been hard like hell.