When this video clip was posted to social media by one of ourTerraCorps members, it was received with mixed reactions.Responsesranged from “so cool!” to “that’s definitely a trap and releasing poison.” Most people just wanted to know “what is coming out of them?”and“is that a type of fungi?”and“DOES IT SMELL?”
What Is It?
These alien-looking pods areactually atype of mushroom calledLycoperdonpyriformeor “stump puffball.” The name is not misleading –- stump puffballs grow on dead or decayingtree stumps in large clusters of dozens or sometimes hundreds.
Stump puffballsstart out as regular-looking mushroomsbut in the fall and early wintertheytransform into hollow, spore-filled air sacs.The green “dust” you see in the video are millions of tiny spores exploding out of a small hole in the mushroom top.
Aside from being poked and prodded by curious humans, these spores are released by natural forceslikerain or animals.
The wordpyriformeis Greek for “pear-shaped.” However, the origin ofLycoperdonis debated among researchers. Some believeLycocomes fromlýkosmeaning wolfandpérdomaimeaning“break wind,” aka the “wolf-fart”mushroom.Others believe it wasincorrectly translatedfrom its originalLeuco-perdonmeaning white puff.
Regardless of the Greek roots, the“wolf-fart,”nickname is a misnomer.These spores do not actually smell. However, you certainly do not want to inhale them as it could cause respiratory problems.
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