Now this is an interesting fungi!
It is called Gymnosporangium clavariiforme or more common "Tounges of Fire". Around a month ago they popped up all around where I live.
The fungi infects a juniper to form the characteristic "Tounges of Fire" which spread spores. These need to land on a hawthorn as a second host. The spores produced on the fruit of the infected hawthorn then need to find a juniper again and the cycle repeats.
#biology #fungi #mycology #nature #naturephotography @mycology
That's super cool! Thanks for sharing!
I wonder why something like this would evolve.... It is as if they want to play in "Hard" mode for no obvious reason. They need not only one host to survive, but actually need two different hosts to be present within an area. What do they get out of this complex cycle?
To venture a guess (or another way of thinking about it): Maybe it evolved from a fungi which infected a lot more different plant species before. But this combination proved to be the survivable strategy since all the other plant species died out or developed defences... I think it is easier to think about "how did it survive" than "what is the advantage". Unfortunately there is only very very little fossil record of fungi, so it might stay a secret how it became what it is today ๐
@musicmind333 @mycology
Didn't know them either before this May, but got quickly invested in finding hawthorn around. Took me a while to find some, but now I am fevering towards hawthorn fruiting season to see the other stage of the life cycle ๐
Very unsettling to look at, great pic!