Split Gills
Schizophyllum commune
20.6282, -87.0757
Field Notes
Description:
Photo take in my backyard unfortunately is a very common fungi in this area small white furry texture it grows from dead branches. The cap is shell-shaped, with the tissue concentrated at the point of attachment, resembling a stem. It is often wavy and lobed, with a rigid margin when old. It is tough, felty and hairy, and slippery when moist. It is greyish white and up to 4 cm in diameter. The gills are pale reddish or grey, very narrow with a longitudinal split edge which becomes inrolled when wet; the only knows fungus with spit gills that are capable of retracting by movement. It is found predominantly from autumn to spring on dead wood, in coniferous and deciduous forest.
Habitat:
Tropical semiarid.
Notes:
Possibly the most dangerous thing you could come in contact with in the wild... " they have been linked to such adverse health effects as brain abscess, fungus ball in the lungs, sinusitis, allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis, ulcerative lesions of the hard palate, chronic lung disease, meningitis, and onychomycosis. In one case, the fungus had grown through the soft palate of a child's mouth and was actually forming mushrooms in her sinuses... " , Also known as 'Split gills' these fungi are possibly the most widespread species on earth, being found on every continent except Antarctica.
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