#fun guy

Termitomyces titanicus

It turns out that fungus growing termites sometimes cultivate Termitomyces titanicus. This is an excellent scientific name. It's a fungi farmed by termites (like ants they do not allow it to produce "fruiting bodies" or mushroom caps while the colony is active.) But when a colony dies it will produce a massive mushroom over a meter wide.

And you can eat it!

Hence the species name.

The fungi farmed by ants also produces mushrooms when their colonies die out. This fungi can't survive without the ants and the ants propagate it by carrying it with them when they found new nests:

So what is the purpose of the mushrooms?

Is it just a hold-over from the days before the fungi was dependent on ants?

I've been trying to find out if you can eat the ones that grow on old ant nests.

Day 20!