TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Photos of a tiny, otherworldly mushroom collected in Taipei have gone viral.
On Nov. 17, 2022, 32-year-old Eric Cho (卓霆宇), who works as a pharmacist, spotted this species of mushroom near 150, Section 3, Zhishan Road, in Taipei City’s Shilin District. The mysterious mushroom is believed to be Mycena subcyanocephala (近藍蓋小菇).
When asked how he found the fungi, Cho said his friend Chiang Pei-ying (蔣珮瑩) informed him that Bixi Trail in Shilin District has a “special tiny mushroom” worth investigating. Cho said that he found one on a piece of wood and took it home.
However, he was disappointed to find that it was a rather drab grayish-white color. Hoping that it might glow, he then tried turning off all the lights at night, but to no avail.
Cho said that he dutifully sprayed the fungi every day to keep it moist. After more than three months, Cho noticed that on March 7, a new spawn had appeared on the wood with a spectacular blue color.
He said that according to a research paper titled, “Two new species of Mycena in Taiwan,” the blue color only appears in the young stage and fades to light-blue or whitish when it reaches maturation.
On March 12, Cho submitted photos of the fungus to iNaturalist and on March 13, the website posted the images on its Twitter account. As of publication, the post has garnered 8,422 likes, 2,219 retweets, and 307 quote retweets.
Mushroom Eric Cho spotted in the wild. (Eric Cho photo)
Mushroom spawn that appeared after three months. (Eric Cho photo)
Comparison with human finger. (Eric Cho photo)