Museum+Fungi

__Bird's Nest Fungus__
This fungus looks like a small bird's nest, complete with eggs. These eggs are called "**peridioles**". They contain the spores. Can you see how big the nest is? (The ruler measures centimetres). || The nest is **a splash cup**. Rain drips off the leaves above and splashes into the nest with enough force to bounce out the "eggs". They sometimes land as far as 1metre away! || Here's a peridiole, splashed out of the cup. The spores are trapped inside. When they are ready, they will explode out of their X-shaped door. || The peridioles have an elastic "tail" which uncoils like a spring when they are splashed out. This handy "tail" grabs onto a twig as the peridiole soars past. || The splash cup has a little cap over the top of the cup to protect the "eggs". It breaks open when the spores inside are ready to grow. || Look what I found inside - **the tiniest** the end of a pin, magnified by the microscope. ||
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 * snail I have ever seen!** The metal spike next to it is


 * [[image:furest_fungi.jpg width="210" height="135"]] || ==**[|Discover more] ...**==

**[|The Hidden Forest]**
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The Common Basket Fungus
In Maori lore the Basket Fungushas several names: tutae kehua (ghost dung); tutae whetu (star dung); tutae whaitiri (lightning dung), depending where these strange fungi were thought to have been born.
 * Family:** Phallaceae
 * Species:** Ileodictyon cibarium

The Basket fungus belongs to one of the most strange families in the fungus kingdom - the Stinkhorns. || The basket explodes out of its base and rolls away. The base is called a **volva.** || The inside if the volva which holds the fungus, tightly wrapped. || The beautiful, unfolding structure of the basket. || The spores mimic the smell of dung. Their horrible smell attracts flies, which carry the spores away on their bodies || Evening light in Basket Fungus-land. ||
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