Cookeina Mushroom

Image: Geoff Gallice

Fairy bath!

Image: Drriss

Lots of fairy baths!

Image: berniedup

Lots of hairy, fairy baths!

Image: Brian Gratwicke

Cookeina is a genus of tiny Cup Mushrooms that can be found growing on rotting wood all over the world.

Within the mushroom are cells called asci, which are full of spores that are supposed to get released so they can grow into whole new mushrooms. When it rains, the mushroom fills up with water like a miniature bird bath and the asci absorb it and bulge with the pressure.

When it stops raining, the water level drops. The tips of the asci dry up and because the tips have thinner walls than the rest of cell, they POP! The spores are finally released!

Image: newmy51

Some mean-spirited Cookeina mushrooms have hairs which look as if they stop people from taking a bath in them. Shame...

Image: David Hamill

Frog bath!