Mushroom Monday

Kiwi Bubbles - Diatrype virescens

Good evening, friends,

This week we’ll go back to the American Beech (F. grandifolia) to find a different branch harboring a different fungus. Kiwi Bubbles (Diatrype virescens) is another ascomycete in the same genus as D. decorticata, but this fungus totes a charismatic green that we’re not used to seeing this time of the year.

Fun Facts

As the name suggests, they do look like halved kiwis erupting from the bark of a beech tree. If it we’re up to me, the common name would be “Beech Kiwis” because that also indicates the host tree where you’ll find these fungal fruits. It’s late January and you hear “beech kiwi”. Your brain interprets it as “beach kiwi”, and for a brief moment you’re transported to a tropical seashore where you’re sipping a fruity adult beverage - kiwi anyone? Just as quickly as you were whisked away the wind blows and you’re jarred out of it. Back in the snow, looking at sticks.

There aren’t any studies I could find on D. virescens, but there is a species of Diatrype (D. whitmanensis) that creates lesions on grape vines in California (Reference 2).

There’s also a peculiar study that looked at 34 endophytic fungi found in the Asian plant Polyscias fruticosa (Reference 3). Think about that: there were 34 different species of fungi living in this plant, weaving in and around the plant cells. They isolated the individual endophytic species and looked for anti-fungal activity in each. The researchers wanted to see if any could be used as a potential biocontrol against the fungus Athelia rolfsii which causes a blight on tomato plants.

They found that Diatrype palmicola inhibited A. rolfsii growth and, just like Rich from earlier in the month, the researchers used mass spectrometry and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to isolate the individual compound responsible for the inhibition. The hope is that the compound in D. palmicola could potentially be used as a biofungicide.

We learned last week that Diatrype means “to bore through”. The species epithet virescens comes from the Latin verb virescere which means “to become green” and references - you guessed it - the color of the fruiting bodies. The “seeds” of the kiwis are the black ostioles, the openings where the spores are shot out.

A bisection of one of the stromas. I’m not sure what the white is, but it kind of looks like a peppermint pattie.

Ecology

The fungus can live inside the plant (endophytic) before they shift into a decomposer (saprobic) when the branch dies. They can be found on American beech year-round, but are easiest to find during the winter. Older fruiting bodies lose their color and turn black with age.

There’s also a project on iNaturalist which you can participate in if you want to go find this fungus right now. Look at the thin, dead branches of American beech and the little kiwis shouldn’t be too hard to find. This is an underdocumented species to this point so more observations will give us more data on frequency, range, seasonality, etc.

Moving Forward

This is my last week at the preserve. Bittersweet, but I’m very optimistic about the future. I’m going to take a couple weeks to travel before I fully sink my teeth into this next chapter of life. Requisite of any 30-year-old white male in the midst of a major life transition, I am going to India for a yoga & meditation retreat. I’ll be in search of my dharma, but I’ll probably just find gastrointestinal distress in harem pants.

Regardless, I’m going to take pictures of mushrooms while I’m there and share those at some point (hopefully while I’m still over there). I don’t anticipate there will be any interruption to the publication, but if there is it’s because I can’t get wifi.

Also, the t-shirts are about to be printed so if you’re a paid subscriber you’ll get an email later tonight about sizing. If you’re not a paid subscriber, why don’t you take a sneak peek at the shirt below and see if you feel anything.

Excited for the Lunar New Year on Wednesday. Happy year of the Snake,

Aubrey

Sneak peek at shirt:

References:

1. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/417938-Diatrype-virescens

2. Trouillas FP, Gubler WD. Pathogenicity of Diatrypaceae Species in Grapevines in California. Plant Dis. 2010 Jul;94(7):867-872. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-94-7-0867. PMID: 30743554.

3. Tanapichatsakul C, Pansanit A, Monggoot S, Brooks S, Prachya S, Kittakoop P, Panuwet P, Pripdeevech P. Antifungal activity of 8-methoxynaphthalen-1-ol isolated from the endophytic fungus Diatrype palmicola MFLUCC 17-0313 against the plant pathogenic fungus Athelia rolfsii on tomatoes. PeerJ. 2020 May 4;8:e9103. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9103. PMID: 32411538; PMCID: PMC7204883.

4. Learn Your Land. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1673095149405534&set=a.909196592462064

5. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virescent#:~:text=English%20in%201826.-,It%20derives%20from%20the%20present%20participle%20of%20%22virescere%2C%22%20a,%22to%20be%20green%22).