Tag: fungus

The Fungus That Turns Ants Into Zombies Is More Diabolical Than We Realized

Science wasn’t actually certain how fungi
like cordyceps “hijacked” their host’s behavior, and we always kind of
assumed it was causing some simplistic damage to the brain.

As it turns out, it works much more elaborately and much MORE like
the dramatized sci-fi horror parasites constantly inspired by it.

These fungi integrate themselves on the cellular level with the
host’s tissues, actually seem to send signals to the host’s muscles and
even alter the host’s genes with their own.

All the while, THE BRAIN ISN’T INVADED AT ALL.

These fungi, all along, have been converting their hosts into
animal-fungal hybrids they control while the host’s brain and
consciousness remain helplessly alive and largely unaltered.

The Fungus That Turns Ants Into Zombies Is More Diabolical Than We Realized

A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms, in his case Marasmius oreades. The
body of this fungus, its mycelium, is underground. It grows outward in a
circle. As it grows, the mycelium uses up all of the nutrients in the
soil, starving the grass. This is the reason a fairy ring has dead grass
over the growing edge of the mycelium. Umbrella-shaped fruiting bodies,
called mushrooms, spring up from just behind the outer edge of the
mycelium.

Black earth tongues (Trichoglossum hirsutum). Trichoglossum hirsutum makes a black club shaped fungus 3 – 8 cm
high. The spores are produced on the enlarged upper part, which is 5 to
8 mm wide, up to 2 cm high, flattened, spearhead-shaped to ellipsoid and
finely velvety. The flesh is thin, tough and brownish. The stem is up
to 6 cm long and 2 – 3 mm thick, cylindrical and velvety.