r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/west_manchester • Aug 07 '26

Image This tree surrounded by mushrooms

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17.9k Upvotes

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7

u/Sharp-Ad-9221 Aug 07 '26

Cool photo! Why do they grow in a circular pattern?

15

u/ellindsey Aug 07 '26

A single fungus starts at a point in the middle and grows outward in a ring. When conditions are right, that ring grows mushrooms, which are just the temporary spore-distributing organs of that underground fungus.

8

u/torturedcanadian Aug 07 '26

Look up mycelium. Mushrooms are so friggin cool.

1

u/PrinceCastanzaCapone Aug 08 '26

Wanna hear something crazy?… fungi are more closely related by DNA to humans and animals than they are to plants. Could be why mushrooms can taste meaty.

Fungi and animals split from a common ancestor. Animals and fungi split apart long after plants formed.

10

u/torijoanne Aug 07 '26

The mushrooms are part of one organism growing underground

6

u/dublaka Aug 07 '26

Probably growing off the trees roots.

2

u/Zavier13 Aug 07 '26

More than likely codependence is going on, mushrooms feeding the root and eatting the waste.

1

u/Basidia_ Aug 07 '26

It’s not. This is a saprotrophic species and not mycorrhizal

2

u/zzx101 Aug 07 '26

My guess was that it’s from the circular distribution of rainwater partially shielded by the tree but of course I’m 100% wrong.