Underwater Mushrooms

Ever heard of an underwater mushroom??
Meet Psathyrella aquaticus!

This mushroom species was discovered in the mid 2000s and was officially described in 2009 in an issue of Mycologia. The mushrooms were found growing in the waters of the upper Rogue River in Oregon, USA in a habitat which consists of spring fed aerated waters flowing on a volcanic substrate.

These mushrooms are especially interesting because there are very few Basidiomycetes that grow underwater, and of those that do, only these aregilled mushrooms! Most underwater fungal species are Ascomycetes or Hypomycetes. The mushrooms that are usually found underwater are often growing on wood submerged in the water rather than the substrate of the water bed.

These are very cool mushrooms, indeed!

To learn more, check out the published paper:
​Frank, Coffan, Southworth; "Aquatic gilled mushrooms: Psathyrella fruiting in the Rogue River in southern Oregon".Mycologia 102 (1): 93-107.