matthewmichelberger's Journal

The fungi Hebeloma crustuliniforme, or more commonly known as the poison pie, is a moderately poisonous fungi which produces a fruiting body that contains small mounts of hemolysin. Illness from consuming and ingestion of the fungi have been proven in very few reports and furthermore, observed levels of intoxication in rabbits or open-frog hearts are considerably negligible. Aside from its most famous adaptation of secreting poison, the poison pie fungi often forms close associations (mycorrhizal) with conifers and has been documented to aid in the transfer of nitrogen into its host plant after it has been fixed from the atmosphere by other bacteria. This species often occurs in the late summer to fall which is when temperatures become cooler in the North American region.

In correspondence to my observation of the St. John's Worts, it was discovered that one unique adaptation this plant has is its ability to grow in conditions of minimal sunlight and thus, survive in a low-vegetation and rocky sediment area at the corner of a sidewalk. One shared adaptation amongst my observations is that they are all perennials: these plants lose their foliage in the winter and "resurrect" back during the spring time. The phylogeny placement for one of my observations, Roses, is within the genus Rosa.