Underwater Fungi? Fung-yeah there are!
Fungi have achieved mastery over the terrestrial world… these beings are the first to arrive after a forest goes ablaze; they show up after landslides (Psilocybe “derummbe” caerulescens) - bridging together the newly disrupted soils, and even stake claim to what would be deemed too toxic to other life forms. The fungi are the rescue squad for the earthen landscape. Seemingly everywhere on the land, but it raises the question… What's going on with fungi in the water?
After following that thought into the internet, as it turns out, fungi do have abilities to grow underwater! You might find this discovery interesting. In 2010 Scientists in Oregon discovered a gilled mushroom, Psathyrella aquatica, going Rogue in a stretch of the Rogue River. It’s believed to be the only true-gilled mushroom discovered underwater so far, and they’ve confirmed that this species grows entirely underwater (it's not just a log that fell in and the mushroom fruited later).
As it turns out, this is quite a novel discovery being that only about 1% of aquatic fungi have been discovered so far (Elkhateeb, et al., 2021). (Do we have any fungi enthusiasts that know how to dive? Could be a niche waiting for you.)
This isn’t the first time that I've raised this question. I’ve seen some wild-looking coral while snorkeling in Kaua’i, that just screamed how much they also can resemble fungi. The textures, the colors, and the blobularness of a brain corral are akin to a lion's mane. Also, I’ve become acquainted on Instagram with a couple of super cool earth stewards @medicinegrove & @liquid_culture_reef, who always post some of their coral tanks… some of their soft corrals literally are shaped like fungi and look like that squirt out spores… these also have me questioning the line between coral and fungi - they just look so similar.
All in all, the message of the fungi is clear. The planet is remarkably connected. Lobster mushrooms grow in forests that look and taste like lobsters, and brain corals grow in the oceans that look like Lion's mane. We are constantly sharing and borrowing biologically perfect designs and characteristics and sharing them across the tree of life. Thanks for stopping in and nerding out with me.
References
Elkhateeb, Waill & Thomas, Paul & Zohri, Abdel-Naser & Daba, Ghoson & Xu, Xiu-Hong & Wen, Ting-Chi. (2021). Highlights on aquatic fungi and mushrooms ecology and biotechnology, with description of the rarely isolated aquatic mushroom Psathyrella aquatic as a novel taxon. Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 13. 101-109.
Frank, Jonathan & Coffan, Robert & Southworth, Darlene. (2010). Aquatic gilled mushrooms: Psathyrella fruiting in the Rogue River in southern Oregon. Mycologia. 102. 93-107. 10.3852/07-190.