Friday, November 11, 2022

The Joe Log


Day 29: Whether due to drought-like conditions during the summer or the possibility that it has consumed all available nutrition from its host wood, the Joe Log has so far only produced a dusting of aqua-blue disks. My botany partner brought me this 18" long stick a couple of years ago after posting a photo which elicited the comment from me that I would "give my eyeteeth to see this in real life." The species is Chlorociboria aeruginascens, one of a small handful of turquoise-coloured fungi. I've been cultivating it carefully ever since, keeping it tucked beneath ferns where it was most likely to stay moist year-'round. However, our exceptionally dry summer has taken a toll on fungal communities in general, and I suspect the Joe Log hasn't escaped without feeling some effect. That said, the colony has had a few slow starts before. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes off now that the weather is cooler and the rain has returned.

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