I found this beauty while foraging through one of my favorite patches of woods in Pulaski County, Arkansas. The photo shows an unmistakable ear-shaped mushroom called Auricularia.
Though the mushroom comes in many shapes and sizes, I was amused at the uncanny likeness of my find to human auricles, which immediately remind me of that oft-quoted phrase, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?” Indeed, there would be a sound, but a listener would be required to acknowledge the thump in the forest. Whereas human auricles collect sound waves for communication and environmental awareness, the Auricularia mushroom fruits to spread its spores for reproduction and help with the decomposition of organic matter. Indeed, my appreciation for natural, biological processes continues to grow as an audiologist and a mycology enthusiast.
Samuel R. Atcherson, Ph.D., FNAP, is a Professor of Audiology and Speech Pathology and Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at UAMS. He is also an Arkansas Master Naturalist located in Little Rock, Arkansas.