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Pseudotaxites

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Note: the concept has been updated here: www.deviantart.com/conciliarit…

I had a dream once with a mushroom “tree,” and found it quite interesting. I was recently inspired again while reading about Prototaxites. That Devonian Age fungus was an early colonizer of land, and the largest creature of its day, towering above the tiny moss-like contemporary plants. The scientists who discovered its 8m-high “trunks” assumed it was a coniferous tree, hence the name Prototaxites, which means “first yew.” Clearly, it was much more impressive than any modern fungus.

Prototaxites poses a number of questions. Fungi do not produce their own food and, like us, are ultimately dependent on green plants for that. Whenever one organism feeds on another, there has to be a lot, lot more of the food species. But Prototaxites was a freaking huge fungus growing among tiny plants. Modern fungi, living in a world full of big plants, only spend enough energy to put out small, temporary fruiting bodies. (Even large mushrooms can be measured in inches.) How does such a huge fungus find the nourishment necessary to support such huge structures? Prototaxites columns would have to pretty sparse to avoid starving each other. How do these things not get blown over when there’s nothing else to break the wind?

My world has big trees, so it’s not as much of a problem. But I had a few thoughts.

The honey mushroom and its compatriots in the genus Armillaria are some of the most dangerous parasites of trees. Once they have infected one tree, they send out tough root-like rhizomorphs, infecting entire forests, and covering the tree corpses with dense clusters of gourmet mushrooms. (By the way, the mushroom is only the reproductive structure of the fungus growing under it, like an apple. So it is one giant fungus growing through the forest, sending up “apples” in different places.) In fact, one specimen of Armillaria solidipes in an Oregon forest is the largest living organism. Another one of the world’s largest organisms is an Armillaria gallica growing in Michigan.

If this thing has advanced rhizomorphs and can infect a whole forest, then it can certainly support a huge freaking fruiting body. However, it seems that it would be even better if this fungus was mycorrhizal. Instead of killing off the host tree like a parasite, the mycorrhizal partner helps it grow better. Its tree partners would be around a lot longer, which would be better for a fungus that attempts the long-term project of building a massive above-ground structure.

Another thought: polypores growing on trees often have a tough, woody texture. They are usually perennial, adding new spore layers each year, in a manner like tree growth rings. They can get very big this way - they do in fact have the largest fruiting bodies of any fungi. So yes, some fungi do grow like trees and produce large, sturdy fruiting bodies, even if not to the degree of Prototaxites.

Based on this I envisioned the fungi in the picture. In honor of Prototaxites, I have named their genus Pseudotaxites, “false yew.” The specific epithets bulbitus, hydnus, and undulans mean “bulbed,” “hedgehog,” and “wavy.” Pseudotaxites are large fungi that grow in the woods as a mycorrhizal partner with trees. Their spores are produced on the surface of the column, or on structures protruding from the sides of the column. I imagine the interior of the fruiting body might be hollow to conserve tissue. The outer tissue is toughened by densely interwoven, branching hyphae, and new layers are added each year.
Image size
3408x2384px 857.56 KB
Make
Canon
Model
MP210 series
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jamescoolcrafter15's avatar
Could I use Pseudotaxites in a mod for a game?