Airflow patterns around mushrooms and their relationship to spore dispersal

Abstract

Analysis of airflow patterns around models of mushrooms and fresh fruiting bodies in a low speed wind tunnel showed division of the airstream at the leading edge of the cap, an increase in wind speed a few millimeters above and below the cap, and the development of a mantle of very slow-moving air closer to the lower surface. Mushroom caps with a pronounced bell shape offered the greatest interruption to airflow and showed the maximum reduction in wind speed beneath their lower surface. Calculations suggest that the measured decrease in wind speed may reduce the number of spores that are blown back into the cap, promoting dispersal from the fruiting body.

Key Words:

• ballistospore discharge
• basidiocarp
• basidiomycete
• basidiospore