by Mary Bordi
This was not the first time I had seen a suspicious brown object thrusting itself up from the earth--in passing I've observed something similar beside the trail in oak woodlands on local hikes. This one was alongside our driveway, and since I have to stop and open the gate, drive through and shut it, I had been observing the suspicious object for several days. First the earth seemed a little disturbed as if a gopher was excavating. The mound grew larger and seemed to contain...something. Today, when I decided to investigate closely I discovered a dead man's foot! Fortunately, I had my camera with me and I was able to snap a picture to share.
Actually, what I had been watching is a fungus, Pisolithus arrhizus, not a ghoulish moldering foot. Pisolithus arrhizus pushes its way to the surface (sometimes quite forcefully, in hard soils) to fruit and release its spores. Once known as Pisolithus tinctorius and commonly called "dyeball", it produces a dark brown dye on wool or a gold on silk. It is widespread throughout the world and is also said to be used in Chinese medicine. Its resemblance to something dead or something left by the dog makes me reluctant to put it to any use. But sighting it close to Halloween makes it an interesting...uh...trick or treat.
To find out more information and other names it is known by check out:
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