Tag Archive | Fungi
Mushrooms of the Morgan Arboretum
Fungi are multicellular organisms that live mainly in soils or on plant material. One of the main roles fungi play, especially in forest ecosystems, is the breakdown of organic matter on the forest floor. Fungi possess special qualities–like unique enzymes–which aid in the decomposition of organic material and hard to break down substances, such as […]
Determining the Ideal Forest Type for Turkey Tail Growth in the Morgan Arboretum
The wide variety of studies on turkey tail fungi have inspired our group to conduct our own project on them. Turkey tail fungi have been significantly studied for a variety of reasons, but we will be researching this fungal group for ecological purposes. Turkey tail fungi, Trametes versicolor, are primary decomposers on mainly dead logs, […]
Relationship between Fungi Abundance and Soil pH in the Morgan Arboretum
What are fungi? Fungi are a diverse and vast group of species that play a huge role in the cycling of organic matter and carbon. With an estimated million fungal species (Blackwell, 2011), these organisms can be found in most habitat (Microbiology Online, 2019). Though we are most familiar with mushrooms, the fruiting bodies of […]
Shelf fungi’s growth preference between standing dead and fallen dead trees
The shelf fungus, or Polyporaceae, is a species with a fruiting body, containing pores or tubes which, as its common name suggests, is shaped like a round tablet. That being said, they come in many forms, colours and shapes (see figures 1 to 3). In fact, about 1700 species of these wood-rotting organisms were recorded in […]
Species Richness of Ascomycota in the Morgan Arboretum
Fungi are a highly diverse kingdom of organisms, ranging from microscopic yeasts to the world’s largest living organism, the honey fungus, whose fruiting bodies can span across nearly 4 km of land (Fleming, N. 2014). At first glance, many fungi seem to bear a significant resemblance to members of the plant kingdom, while in actual […]
The St. Lawrence Lowlands 