May 2004 Unknown

THIS MONTH'S WINNERS:

Not many submissions to our May contest. Maybe we're just not attracting the mycologists and other fungus fans. Or maybe not many have collected fungi in Hawaii or the South Pacific Islands. But we did have two winners, both seasoned BioMedia Mystery contest previous winners:

Mary Halsall
Mariemont HS
Cincinnati, Ohio

Carolynn Raper
J. E. Taylor High School Texas

And we also had an entrant that correctly got the stinkhorn nature of our unknown, but alas, wrong genus ID. Good try!

Jennifer Woodhead Brunswick Comm. College
North Carolina

Please note: Prize winners are now drawn each month from the total pool of correct answers for that month.

Thanks to all of those who submitted an entry to this contest.

 

The Star of the Show - Aseroe rubra

The stinkiest show on earth may be the one put on by STINKHORNS, the fruiting bodies of a certain group of basidiomycete fungi. Theyre also called the phalloid fungi, in reference to their typical shape, although this species, Aseroe rubra, looks more like a sea star on a stalk, than a penis. For obvious reasons, it is called the starfish fungus, but anemone fungus is another common name. The scientific name translates to řred disgusting thingÓ, a reference, primarily, to its foul smell.

Like other members of the Phallaceae, the starfish fungus, exudes a powerful oder of rotting flesh from the black slimy material on top. It's purpose is to attract flies, which lap up the fine slime, picking up fungal spores at the same time. Later, they will drop the spores in their feces, often in an ideal location for the growth of the fungus.

Aseroe will not be familiar to most North American biologists and biology students, because it is native to the South Pacific. Presently, it is found in abundance in Hawaii, New Zealand, parts of Australia, and some islands in between. How it has reached this wide island distribution is not known.

For more information on fungi view our new video, Branches on the Tree of Life: Fungi, and DVD -Branches on the Tree of Life - Fungi, for excellent resources for teaching about the four main phyla in the kingdom Fungi.

Also check out our new program, Branches on the Tree of Life: Algae, and DVD -Branches on the Tree of Life - Algae, for excellent resources for teaching about diatoms and other types of algae, and for teaching about the evolutionary relationships among this diverse collection of organisms.