Really Urban Fungi - Agaricus Bitorqis

[Rumi]

Found this in the middle of Oxford!

 

[JonathanD]

 

[Rumi]

Thanks Jonathan, I use a netbook and at the moment Im in virtual pitch darkness.. with a tiny keyboard.. This was a really fun find!

 

[Harvestman]

Hmm, Red-cracking bolete, yellow-cracking bolete, pavement-cracking Agaric. Nice!

 

[JonathanD]

It's amazing the power in them. Just up the road from me there are some monsters breaking through some really thick tarmac. Just goes to show that it won't take any time at all for nature to reclaim all the land we've stolen from her.

 

[BunnyMazonas]

Nature always amazes me with how strong it is. Slow, steady growth from a few tender shoots can move incredible barriers.

I especially love the little chunk of pavement lying next to the mushroom there.

 

[malente]

Whoa! Never seen that before! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Rumi]

The kids and I found this and then put cones on either side!!

Mushrooms are really amazing from the point of view of the speed of growth and the fact that their strength lies in pure hydraulics. Hitting the pavement with a hammer wont have any real effect, but some chitin and water and wow..

If any one is really interested there are some (quite heavy going) books by Stamets and Chilton, mainly on cultivation, but there is a lot on the ideal growing conditions and also non the diseases which affect fungi. for the serious myco-inclined they are a good read. You never know you might get into cultivation, I did - Shii take.

Thanks for your comments, we do find some great urban wild stuff and photograph it.