We only see fungi when hyphae come together and shoot fruits into the light of day as caps, puffballs, mushrooms, ears and other forms. The fungal organisms we can't see can be as small as a square foot, or as large as 30 acres. New research has emerged that suggests hyphae play a role in supporting forests through so-called mycorrhizal links. The fungal filaments act as highways between trees, delivering nutrients from older, stronger trees to saplings, forming a critical web of carbon, nitrogen and water delivery -- a kind of tree communications system. Now that's magic. Find out more about amazing mushrooms! 
 
 The fly amanita is common in the Northern Hemisphere, especially around pine and birch trees. But why do mushrooms and other fungi carpet the ground after it rains? Fungi live in a hidden world, often below the ground, connected by a web of very small filaments called hyphae. Hyphae are so thin that they dry out easily. Since it takes many, many hyphae to come together to create a mushroom, that's easiest when the threads can stay wet for a while. 
 
 Amanita muscaria , fungi are magical all by themselves. Fungi are not plants; they live in their own kingdom, which includes mushrooms. What sets them apart from plants, and makes them like animals, is a material they have in their cell walls called chitin. Chitin makes up the hard outer shells of insects and other creatures with external skeletons. NEWS: Tasty Mushrooms From Dirty Diapers 
 
 If I were to sample some fly amanita, either dried, or maybe in a steeped tea, or perhaps in the urine of a helpful assistant, I might experience twitching, trembling or numbness in my arms and legs. I might feel happy, leading to singing and dancing. I might hallucinate colored visions, or see things much larger than they are, according to the "Golden Guide." I might grow violent, then fall into a deep sleep. I might develop strange convictions -- that I'm a newborn, or can fly. I might believe I'm in the presence of God. I might believe I am God. NEWS: Magic Mushrooms Could Treat Depression 
 
 According to "Golden Guide: Hallucinogenic plants," the history of fly amanita could go even further back, thousands of years, to ancient India, where it was used to induce a religious fervor. In fact, fly amanita mushrooms may have been the main ingredient in soma, a ritual drink frequently mentioned in the Hindu religious text, the Rigveda. Soma, whose use has since died out, was made with the juice from the stalks of certain plants. Hindu tradition says the drink and the plant, which is also considered a god, all carry the same name. But fly amanita has long been a strong contender for the real identity of that plant, mainly because of the effects of soma mentioned in Hindu religious texts, and of ceremonial urine drinking. 
 
 and hallucinogenic. It's thought that the mushroom is one of the oldest hallucinogens known to humans. During the Middle Ages, the ancient Norse warriors called Berserkers ate foods that contained the mushroom, which made them fearless and brutal fighters, even if they were completely high. Several tribes in Siberia were found in the early 1700s using the mushroom as an intoxicant. In order to stretch the euphoric effects of the mushroom, and possibly bypass the less savory effects of the mushroom (i.e. vomiting), tribesmen would often drink the urine of men who had taken the drug, since the drug passes through the body unchanged. The mushroom can also be consumed dried, or combined with other liquids. NEWS: Deadliest Mushroom Is Spreading Worldwide 
 
 The rains that have innundated the East Coast this week may have finally stopped, but they left parting gifts that are invading lawns everywhere: mushrooms. If your yard is anything like mine, an alarming and entirely new (to me, anyway) assortment of fungi have sprung up in the past week: mushrooms red, green and orange in the shape of frowny faces and smiley faces, some lumpen masses, some perfect half moons, some warty, some smooth. What's more, these are magic mushrooms. The following photos are almost all of the same species: Fly Amanita, (Amanita muscaria). Explore the portraits I took of these exotic looking, but quite common, mushrooms. And learn a little about some of the largest organisms on Earth. Did I mention they're magic? WATCH VIDEO: How Do Psychedelic Mushrooms Work Their Magic 
 
 Nature’s cloud seeders are mushrooms, with spores that promote raindrops and may lead to downpours, new research finds. 
 
 The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, documents a previously unknown feedback system whereby rain stimulates mushroom growth, and then the fully fruited mushrooms release spores that could result in later rain. 
 
 Play Video How Do Psychedelic Mushrooms Work Their Magic? Psychedelic mushrooms have been around for thousands of years, and have been used for research purposes and in religious ceremonies. DCI 
 
 “We can watch big water droplets grow as vapor condenses on (the mushroom spore’s) surface,” said senior author Nicholas Money of Miami University’s Biology Department. “Nothing else works like this in nature.” 
 
 Raindrops do form to a lesser degree around many different types of particulate matter, such as pollen. In a similar process, people seed clouds with compounds like silver iodide and solid carbon dioxide (dry ice). 
 
 Lead author Maribeth Hassett, Money and co-author Mark Fischer determined that spores from certain mushrooms and other fungi are probably even more potent rainmakers -- and they're not pollutants. 
 
 Prior research conducted by Reginald Buller, whom Money refers to as the “Einstein of Mycology,” found that mushroom spores are discharged from their gills by the rapid displacement of fluid on cell surfaces and stimulation from the mushroom’s production of sugars, such as mannitol. A catapult mechanism shoots the moisture-laden spores into the air, where the liquid evaporates. 
 
 Droplets reform on the water-attracting spores in humid air, the scientists discovered after watching the process under electron microscopy. Over time, the droplets may evolve into large water drops that may produce rainclouds. 
 
 The effect is likely dramatic over rainforests that support very large populations of mushrooms and other fungi. It also could be significant during warmer months of the year above vast northern hemisphere boreal forests. 
 
 Any fungi that release their spores via a catapult mechanism can attract moisture, resulting in possible rainclouds, according to the scientists. 
 
 “Wild porcini, for example, has spores of this kind; oyster mushrooms too,” Money said. “Sixteen thousand species of mushrooms can do the same trick, so the most abundant species of fungi are likely to have the greatest effect upon cloud formation.” 
 
 Money, who is the author of the book “Mushroom,” does not advise growing a bunch of mushrooms to relieve drought conditions. 
 
 “Nature works very well when we leave her alone,” he said. “The problems start when we cut down too many trees, burn fossil fuels, and keep multiplying as if there are no limits to human population.” 
 
 Fungi appear to be here for the long haul, though, having emerged on earth at least 500 million years ago. In addition to the new discovery about their rainmaking potential, they play a key role in ecosystems by decomposing plant tissues and dominating the recycling of nutrients in forests and grasslands. 
 
 “Without mushrooms, there would be no forests," Money said, "and without forests, humans would never have evolved.” 
 
 Lynne Boddy of the Cardiff School of Biosciences told Discovery News that “it is intriguing to think about” the newly discovered positive feedback system, holding “that fungal spores may be responsible for causing rain to fall on forests, supplying the water that the fungi need to fruit.” 
 
 Boddy said fungi “are absolutely crucial to the functioning of forests and other terrestrial ecosystems,” and they often supply plants with mineral nutrients and water. Edible mushrooms supply such beneficial components to human diners also. 

 Millions of tons of fungal spores are dispersed in the atmosphere every year. These living cells, along with plant spores and pollen grains, may act as nuclei for condensation of water in clouds. Basidiospores released by mushrooms form a significant proportion of these aerosols, particularly above tropical forests. Mushroom spores are discharged from gills by the rapid displacement of a droplet of fluid on the cell surface. This droplet is formed by the condensation of water on the spore surface stimulated by the secretion of mannitol and other hygroscopic sugars. This fluid is carried with the spore during discharge, but evaporates once the spore is airborne. Using environmental electron microscopy, we have demonstrated that droplets reform on spores in humid air. The kinetics of this process suggest that basidiospores are especially effective as nuclei for the formation of large water drops in clouds. Through this mechanism, mushroom spores may promote rainfall in ecosystems that support large populations of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Our research heightens interest in the global significance of the fungi and raises additional concerns about the sustainability of forests that depend on heavy precipitation. 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Million of tons of fungal spores are dispersed in the atmosphere every year [1]. An individual gilled mushroom can release 30,000 basidiospores every second, corresponding to a daily output of billions of microscopic particles [2]. Basidiospores are discharged from the gill surfaces by a catapult mechanism powered by the rapid movement of a drop of fluid over the spore surface (Fig 1). This fluid is called Buller’s drop in tribute to “the Einstein of Mycology,” A. H. R. Buller (1874–1944). Buller’s drop is formed by the condensation of water on the spore surface that is stimulated by the secretion of mannitol and other hygroscopic sugars [3, 4]. Water also condenses on a spot on the adjacent spore surface. The merger of Buller’s drop with this second volume of fluid (the adaxial drop) causes a rapid displacement of the center of mass of the spore. This fluid motion, driven by surface tension, imparts momentum to the spore and it is launched at an initial velocity of up to 1.8 m s-1 [5]. This mechanism was proposed in some detail in the 1980s [6], and verified later by high-speed video recordings [7]. 
 
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 larger image TIFF original image Download: Fig 1. Schematic showing process of ballistospore discharge. Buller’s drop and the adaxial drop form via condensation of water on the spore surface and their coalescence causes a rapid shift in the center of mass of the spore that is responsible for the launch. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140407.g001 
 
 Discharged spores fall in the narrow spaces between the gills and are dispersed in airflow around the mushroom cap. The same discharge mechanism operates in poroid mushrooms, with fertile tubes rather than gills, in mushrooms with spines, and from the great diversity of fruit bodies that form spores on exposed surfaces. Fluid is carried with basidiospores after discharge, but evaporates once the spore is airborne. Mushroom spores are a primary source of mannitol detected in air samples above tropical forests [1]. Using mannitol as a biotracer, Elbert et al. (2007) estimated that 50 million tonnes of spores are dispersed in the atmosphere every year. This biomass is carried by an Avogadroian number of spores, corresponding to an average of 1,000 spores for every square millimeter of Earth’s surface. Other biogenic aerosols include plant spores and pollen grains. These “primary biological aerosol particles” appear to be particularly important in the Amazon Basin, and other densely forested locations, where they may serve as nuclei for cloud formation and precipitation [8]. Details of the hygroscopic behavior of mushroom spores have not been studied previously. 
 
 Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) has been used in a number of experiments to study the condensation of water on pollen and other particles that become aerosolized [9–13]. This technique allows investigators to study the properties of untreated biological samples to preserve natural surface chemistry and to visualize the condensation of water in real time. In the present study, we report ESEM experiments showing that the extraordinary mechanism of spore discharge in mushrooms has a specific effect on water condensation after spores are dispersed in the atmosphere. This suggests that mushroom spores are particularly powerful catalysts for raindrop formation in clouds and contribute to rainfall. This may be an important phenomenon in ecosystems that support large populations of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Our research heightens interest in the global significance of the fungi and raises additional concerns about the sustainability of forests that depend on heavy rainfall. 

 If you’re still lukewarm on the idea of parachuting in a bunch of beavers to California to end the drought, here’s another option: mushrooms. In forests across the world, Earth’s decomposers are helping seed clouds and promote rainstorms. 
 
 That’s the conclusion of a study published this week in PLOS ONE, which adds a fascinating layer of nuance to the connection between fungi and rainstorms. Rain, as we know, stimulates mushroom growth, eventually leading to fully-fruited mushrooms that release spores. Once airborne, these spores, much like salt and dust particles, can act as cloud condensation nuclei — surfaces on which water vapor condenses, eventually forming rain. 
 
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 “We can watch big water droplets grow as vapor condenses on [the mushroom spore’s] surface,” study co-author Nicholas Money of Miami University told Discovery News. “Nothing else works like this in nature.” 
 
 Rainwater condensing onto a the surface of basidiospores of Suillus brevipes. Top: Scanning electron microscopy. Bottom: Computer rendering. Image Credit: Hassett et al. 2015 
 
 
 
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 In their study, the researchers specifically looked at spores produced by Basidiomycetes fungi, a large phyla including thousands of mushroom-producing species. So-called basidiospores are released from the gill surface of mushrooms by a “catapult mechanism,” wherein the secretion of water-loving sugars causes a tiny ball of water to form around individual spores. This fluid motion results in a rapid displacement of the spore’s center of mass, imparting momentum and launching it skyward at up to 4 miles per hour. 
 
 Schematic of the mechanism of droplet formation on the surface of basidiospores. A-C: Condensation of water onto the spore surface leads to spore discharge. D,E: Water evaporates from the surface of the airborne spore. F-G: Condensation of water vapor onto the spore’s surface promotes raindrop formation. Image Credit: Hassett et al. 2015 
 
 In this manner, a single mushroom can release 30,000 spores every second; up to a billion a day. One study estimated that 50 million tonnes of spores are dispersed into the atmosphere each year. 
 
 And all of those tiny spores could be seeding clouds, influencing rain and climate patterns across the globe, according to the new study, which used scanning electron microscopy to watch the rain condensation process in action. “The kinetics of this process suggest that basidiospores are especially effective as nuclei for the formation of large water drops in clouds,” the researchers write. “Through this mechanism, mushroom spores may promote rainfall in ecosystems that support large populations of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic basidiomycetes.” 
 
 Those ecosystems includes wet tropical rainforests like the Amazon, as well as the northern hemisphere boreal forests, where fungi chow through leaf litter and liberate essential nutrients during the short summer months. 
 
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 Fungi are often lauded as nature’s ultimate survivors — terraforming the land before plants gained a foothold; inheriting and recycling the Earth after mass extinctions. But as we drilled deeper into their clandestine lives, it’s becoming clear that fungi don’t just adapt to their environment. The environment adapts to them. 
 
 [Read the full scientific paper at PLOS ONE h/t Discovery News] 
 
 Follow the author @themadstone 
 
 Top: Tom Sieprath / Flickr
– It turns out mushrooms may be better for more than topping pizzas. Who knew? According to a study published Wednesday, mushrooms may actually help produce the rain they need to live. Discovery reports researchers documented a previously unknown system in which rain makes mushrooms grow, mushrooms release spores into the atmosphere, and those spores create moisture droplets that could lead to rain. “We can watch big water droplets grow as vapor condenses on (the mushroom spore’s) surface,” study author Nicholas Money tells Discovery. “Nothing else works like this in nature.” This process could be influencing climate patterns around the world, especially in fungus-heavy tropical forests like the Amazon, Gizmodo reports. According to Gizmodo, a single mushroom can "catapult" up to 30,000 spores per second at speeds of up to 4mph. And it's been estimated mushrooms release 50 million tons of spores into the atmosphere every year. Using an electron microscope, researchers were able to watch water from humid air attach itself to those same spores to create cloud-forming particulates, Discovery reports. “Sixteen-thousand species of mushrooms can do the same trick, so the most abundant species of fungi are likely to have the greatest effect upon cloud formation,” Money says. Unfortunately for California, Money doesn't recommend growing mushrooms to fight droughts despite their potential rain-making abilities. “Nature works very well when we leave her alone,” he tells Discovery. (Read how portobello mushrooms could power your phone.)