Sporulation

...



On Friday I was being an Unrepentant Dork and was reading an online discussion forum about composting. Someone was fretting about the strange brain-like growths on their compost pile. These growths were worrisome, because they "smoked" when disturbed. A kind person wrote to assure the composter that this was sporulating fungus.

I immediately looked up the word "sporulation" because I was convinced it was a made-up word.

I then wrote to the compost forum, thanking them for teaching me a new word, and wondering if I could work this word in casual conversation. I'm a Hopeless, Unrepentant Dork.




It was hot today. Robb and I wanted to get outside and soak up some nature, but we didn't want to bake our brain in the process. We wanted shade, and new vistas. And after a bit of internet searching, we found a delightful city park which crisscrosses a stream through the redwoods.

We were heading home, when I paused to look at a strange growth on the railing of one of the park's many wooden bridges.



I looked.

I poked.

The growth, it smoked.

Sporulation!

Comments

ajt said…
i have used that word. to, you know, talk about spores being released in a sciencey way.
Lisa said…
Don't you agree that the word has too many syllables to be plausible?
cath said…
cool video!

That word reminds me of the word--functionality--I just have a hard time believing it is real.
Marissa Dupont said…
That's awesome!!! :D
Lisa said…
By the way, here's the script for our film.

Robb: Go!

Lisa flicks strange growth on wooden railing with her long skinny finger. A tiny plume of brown smoke puffs out of the strange growth.

Lisa: Did you get it?

Robb: Yeah.

Lisa: Lemmesee! Lemmesee!

Robb: It can hear you.
mamakin said…
The smoke puff was cool but the convo really had me laughing. Now I'm rolling around the property to see if we have any-nothing yet. New York may just not be ready for that yet-Ca is always so ahead of us haha
Kathi said…
Actually, what you're looking at may be conidia instead of spores (depends on what kind of fungi you're dealing with), in which case it would be "conidiation" instead of "sporulation".

I know, TMI...

--klk/FungusWoman
lisa said…
You, FungusWoman are one of the reason I love blogging.
Jake said…
"
Lisa: Lemmesee! Lemmesee!

Robb: It can hear you.
"

LOL You all are funny.

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