100 More species #79: Green citrus mold

[urbpan]

Green citrus mold Penicillium sp. possibly P. digitatum or P. italicum

The other day I came into the house and was hit with a powerful odor of citrus and garbage. I took out the trash and checked the compost but the smell persisted. Finally I found the bag of oranges that had "gone bad."

We think of rot as a passive, entropic process, something that just happens due to neglect. The truth is that living fungus organisms are putting themselves out there (literally) and working hard to cause rot. They put out invisible threads a single cell wide, and grow into their food source. They put out digestive enzymes and absorb the products that result. Eventually they produce spores--visible in this case as a grayish green coating--which drift into the air in the hope of landing on a suitable substrate to continue the cycle.

I put the spoiled oranges into our compost container, where the vigorous activity of many organisms turns our leftovers into fertile soil.

Another species of penicillium--one colonizing some bread--appeared in the 365 urban species project.

Comments

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

that reminds me, i have powder mildew on a plant that needs treating...

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[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

how host-specific are P spp?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I honestly have no idea, but it seems to me like the answer is "not very." But they are very common and seem to have specific parameters for growth, meaning that while they may not be host-specific, they are host-predictable, if that makes sense.

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

I really dig compost.

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to say that this post gave me that jolt of "Yeah, that is kind of awesome, come to think of it!" that is one of my favorite things about following your journal. Thank you.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!