Phaeolus Schweinitzii 

Biological Overview

Habitat  

Coniferous forest; native to North America, Europe, Aisa  

Diet  

Outer layers of plants, spruce, and pine  

Role in Ecosystem  

The mushroom attaches to a plant and takes all the bad nutrients out and puts all the good nutrients back into the Earth for other plants to use.  

Behavior  

Aggressive, decomposer 

Human Impact

Natural dyeing is a process where they use the mushroom to create dyes like vibrant yellow, golds, and olive greens. They are also used to make wool, silk, and other fibers. Another form of human impact is harvesting. People harvest the dyer’s polypore for fibers, materials, and other vibrant hues. One last form of human impact is damage prevention. For example, the dyer’s polypore has lots of damage from people using mechanical tools like weed whackers. When they hit the mushroom, all the fungi in the mushroom created wounds and entry points 

Creative Exploration

A mushroom glows at night, 
Stands by itself with no predators in sight,   
The glow goes away when the light is gone,  
This mushroom is dangerous so don’t be fooled,   
Just because it looks pretty doesn’t mean it’s cool. 

Gabriela Murcia, Gracelynn Terry 

Book 2