Fungi

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- The device that makes driving bearable during hot weather can also be a breeding ground for fungi.Condensation in a vehicle's air conditioner makes it a home for nasty spores that feed on insect parts trapped inside.Before long, the vents are spewing fungi and a "dirty-sock odor" along with cool air."The first thing people get are the classic allergy symptoms. Your eyes get itchy, your nose starts running and you start to sneeze," said Robert Simmons, a microbiologist at Georgia State University who has studied the problem.

Seemingly overnight, toadstools sprouted on our lawn. But not only had dozens mushroomed, some of the toadstools had even sprouted side-by-side into a perfectly formed circle. Circular formations of toadstools are not commonplace. However, whenever toadstools sprout into in a circular formation, the formation is commonly called a "fairy ring. " Fairy rings? For centuries, fairy rings have been associated with folklore and superstitions. In western Europe, for instance, some people still believe that fairy rings are caused by fairies or elves dancing in the middle of the night.

It practically killed off the elm tree, caused the Irish potato famine and has been labeled the world's largest living organism.Fungus -- a life form that attacks athletes' feet and sprouts as mushrooms -- is nowhere more abundant than in the National Fungus Collections stored at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.The collections, put together and owned jointly by the U.S. Agricultural Research Service and the Smithsonian Institution, make up the largest storehouse of fungus in the world, serving as a repository for about 1 million specimens of mushrooms, toadstools and other organisms plucked by government and private scientists over the past century.

Baltimore is being invaded by flying saucers - in fungal form. Airborne spores, driven by the summer's record rains, have been alighting in backyards, gardens, farm fields and forests throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (in short, wherever there is decaying organic matter), resulting in a bumper crop of ominous-looking mushrooms that are creeping out some homeowners. "There are some fungi that are actually alarming to people because they look weird or a little shocking, and they smell funny," says Ellen Nibali, a horticulturist with the University of Maryland Extension's Home & Garden Center.

Environmental testing at Howard County's Circuit Courthouse has revealed evidence of moisture, fungi and bacteria - but nothing that regular, intensive cleaning couldn't eradicate, according to a recently completed report. The report was commissioned by the county after a preliminary air sampling showed elevated carbon dioxide and humidity levels in the historic structure. It notes that the air quality is not worrisome, but says the fungi growing in the building could become "cause for concern" if dispersed.

The mycologists are merry. The sun is shining, and they've snagged the van from the roundworm lab downstairs. Behind them lie the fortresslike walls of Beltsville's U.S. National Fungus Collections; ahead, the open road, winding toward Catoctin Mountain in Western Maryland, and acre upon acre of rust fungus. The leader of this collecting trip is Cathie Aime; she's the one at the wheel. For someone who creeps through forests as slowly as slime mold (mushroom-hunting in the jungles of Guyana, she covers just 50 square meters a day)

America's trees are under attack. Species by species, they're being invaded by insects and fungi, native and foreign. Scientists fear their loss will devastate suburban streets and upset the delicate ecological balance of many woodlands. "Invasive species are a real threat to the nation's forests," said Dale Bosworth, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, at a recent conference in New Orleans. "There are so many things, it just seems too big to talk about. ... Like a slow-moving fire, they're going everywhere."

Scientists have discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on earth -- an individual mightier than the blue whale, the giant sequoia tree or such past pretenders to size supremacy as the dinosaur.The organism is a giant fungus, an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore 1,500 to 10,000 years ago and now extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a forest near Crystal Falls, Mich., along the Wisconsin border.The fungus, called Armillaria bulbosa, is genetically uniform from one end of its expanse to the other, which is why scientists say it rightfully can be called a single individual.

Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature By Linda Lear Bethesda writer Linda Lear spent eight years researching this biography of the English author who created such beloved characters as Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and Jemima Puddle-Duck. Poring over Potter's code-written diary and correspondences, she created a richly detailed story of a woman who was a passionate naturalist and astute businesswoman. Growing up in Victorian England, Potter enjoyed summer holidays in the English Lake District, where she began studying fungi.

"Dinosaur in a Haystack," by Stephen Jay Gould. Crown. 480 pages. $25vTC This seventh collection of 34 essays from an evolutionary biologist, Harvard University professor and columnist for Natural History magazine - the book draws from his monthly column - looks not only at evolution, but also at almost everything else under the sun and under a few rocks, too, where the author finds monstrous, million-year-old fungi lurking in support of evolution theory.A lively, thought-provoking read that offers new insights into why things are and how they came to be so.Alan DoyleContra Costa Times

Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature By Linda Lear Bethesda writer Linda Lear spent eight years researching this biography of the English author who created such beloved characters as Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and Jemima Puddle-Duck. Poring over Potter's code-written diary and correspondences, she created a richly detailed story of a woman who was a passionate naturalist and astute businesswoman. Growing up in Victorian England, Potter enjoyed summer holidays in the English Lake District, where she began studying fungi.

The mycologists are merry. The sun is shining, and they've snagged the van from the roundworm lab downstairs. Behind them lie the fortresslike walls of Beltsville's U.S. National Fungus Collections; ahead, the open road, winding toward Catoctin Mountain in Western Maryland, and acre upon acre of rust fungus. The leader of this collecting trip is Cathie Aime; she's the one at the wheel. For someone who creeps through forests as slowly as slime mold (mushroom-hunting in the jungles of Guyana, she covers just 50 square meters a day)

GARDENING FIND MUMZ THE WORD Common fungi are all too common during hot, humid Maryland summers. You know them as mildew on phlox and bee balm, black spot on roses and rust on hollyhocks. Fungal diseases ruin our tomato crops and disfigure our black-eyed Susans. Broad spectrum fungicides are one answer. But if you are concerned about the long-term and environmental impact of these products, Fine Gardening magazine offers these holistic tips. Choose plants wisely. Many zinnias, garden phloxes, roses, crabapples and bee balms now have disease-resistant cultivars.

Something in my house is biting me. I've used foggers, had pest control companies come, but no one can even find the little pest. I'm at my wits' end. The itching is driving me crazy. Help! No insects that bite humans are invisible to the naked eye. However, there is a long list of things that make people feel as though insects are biting them. This phenomenon is known as "delusory parasitosis," but the sensation of being bitten is usually anything but delusory. Possible causes can include medication side effects, hard water, harsh detergent, wool allergies and aging.

He has become famous writing about bad things happening to children, but Lemony Snicket had more than 850 people laughing and cheering last night at the Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville last night. Lemony's alter-ego -- his representative in all literary, legal and social matters, Daniel Handler -- was there, as coincidentally he always is. And he delivered an energetic but dryly delivered presentation that included a large bug in a glass box, a reading with audience-made sound effects and a song with accordion accompaniment.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Deep in the Klanovice forest just outside Prague in the heart of mushroom-mad Slavic Europe, Vaclav Halek stands above a small cluster of mushrooms, pen poised over a sheet of music paper. Within seconds he is scribbling musical notes, stopping only to chuckle delightedly, his hand waving in the air as if conducting an orchestra. Ten minutes later he has completed a musical score, one he insists he hears from the Tubaria hiemalis below. Half a mile along, it's the same again as Halek gently clears leaves from around his chosen specimen, stands back and calmly waits.

GARDENING FIND MUMZ THE WORD Common fungi are all too common during hot, humid Maryland summers. You know them as mildew on phlox and bee balm, black spot on roses and rust on hollyhocks. Fungal diseases ruin our tomato crops and disfigure our black-eyed Susans. Broad spectrum fungicides are one answer. But if you are concerned about the long-term and environmental impact of these products, Fine Gardening magazine offers these holistic tips. Choose plants wisely. Many zinnias, garden phloxes, roses, crabapples and bee balms now have disease-resistant cultivars.

Sauce worth goldChefs with classical training are imbued with the mysteries of the Seven Mother Sauces, but most of us wouldn't know a demi-glace from a deck chair. But now you needn't ignore recipes calling for the rich brown veal stock: Demi-Glace Gold is available in 1.5 ounces ($4.95) and 16 ounces ($29.95) and has earned the approval of noted chefs such as Jacques Pepin. Look for it at Sutton Place Gourmet or call (800) 860-9392. Cook your way to a Caribbean vacation by winning the Delmarva Chicken Cooking Contest.

America's trees are under attack. Species by species, they're being invaded by insects and fungi, native and foreign. Scientists fear their loss will devastate suburban streets and upset the delicate ecological balance of many woodlands. "Invasive species are a real threat to the nation's forests," said Dale Bosworth, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, at a recent conference in New Orleans. "There are so many things, it just seems too big to talk about. ... Like a slow-moving fire, they're going everywhere."

A week after emptying four portable classrooms at Mount Airy Middle School for fear that mold might be making teachers and children sick, Carroll County school officials announced yesterday that they will begin inspecting all 119 of the school system's relocateable classrooms for signs of similar water damage. "Having in hand the knowledge of what's behind those walls and above those ceilings in units of this vintage, we're going to be looking at these classrooms with a critical eye - a more informed eye - based on what we found at Mount Airy," Raymond Prokop, the school system's facilities director, said in an interview yesterday afternoon after a meeting between the school board and county commissioners.