An ecological observation from the median of Campbell Trail: a cluster of small saprotrophic mushrooms (Deconica sp., likely an undescribed small-spored species in the Deconica montana complex) fruiting within a distinctly dead, brown patch of Atrichum moss. While it might appear that the fungus killed the moss, the relationship is saprotrophic. Members of the Deconica genus are decomposers with a well-known affinity for mosses in the Polytrichaceae family (such as Atrichum and Polytrichum). It is highly probable that a localized disturbance on the trail median killed this specific patch of moss first. Once the Atrichum died, the underground fungal mycelium colonized the newly available decaying moss tissue, eventually producing the fruiting bodies seen here. Fort Boggy State Park. Leon County, Texas
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Sat 21 Feb 2026 10:38:19 - Exposure: 1/6 sec - Aperture: F/32. - Focal length: 100 mm - ISO 200
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Album 3800: Fort Boggy, Texas, February 21, 2026
