Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CLXXXII · Topic 27: Mushrooms, molds and bacteria
182. Hedgehog fungi
Goal: Your child can describe the coral-like or fountain-like hedgehog fungi and explain that their hanging spines bear the spores.
You'll need
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
- Colored pencils
What's in the book
This short lesson is mostly a story: the author remembers finding these white "fairy grotto" fungi as a child. It names the bear's head fungus and the coral kind and ends with five short facts to observe.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Late summer or early fall, on dead logs, stumps and dead limbs in the woods. They are creamy white and easy to spot. Look but don't pick unless an adult wears gloves, and never taste.
Read the story
Read the first paragraph on the book page aloud. The author felt as if she had found something magical:
The writer remembers as a child that the finding of these woodland treasures made her feel as if she were in the presence of the supernatural, as if she had discovered a fairy grotto or a kobold cave.
Check the five facts
The book lists five things to see. Turn each into a question and check it on your fungus (or in the photo):
These fungi come from a stem which extends into the wood.
From these branchlets there hang long fleshy fringes like miniature icicles.
These fringes always hang downward when the fungus is in natural position.
These fringes bear the spores.
Why point down?
Ask: Why might the spines always hang toward the ground? (So the spores can fall free into the air.) Mushroom gills hang down for the same reason.
Nature notebook
Draw the fungus like a frozen white fountain or a branch of coral. Write the date, the place and what it was growing on. Wash hands if you touched it.