Cobalt Crust Fungus

What a find this afternoon. Looking around and seeing this brilliant color, I was sure someone had been using a can of bright blue spray paint. It didn’t seem possible to find this color in nature. And certainly not a fungus. But for sure, it was a fungus I was seeing, growing on a downed, quite thick grape vine.

A quick Google search and I found what I was looking for. This is indeed something of nature. Cobalt Crust Fungus (Terana caerulea). A saprobic crust fungus. A saprobic fungus is one that feeds on dead or decaying woody plants. These fungi are wonderful for our environment, breaking down wood and other debris in forests, helping to create healthy soil, making nutrients available for plants and animals in the woods.

I still can’t get over that color. So bright and beautiful.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

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