Coral in my yard again! Not the ocean type, this is the fungus with a fruiting body that resembles coral. The colorful fruiting body we see is only a very small part of the organism - the rest is an extensive underground network that colonizes nearby plant roots and creates a vast mat through which nutrient exchange occurs. (Maybe it's a little like seeing the hair on our heads, but the inner workings of our brains and neurons are not visible to any of us, yet each part needs the other to function).
Digging up and excavating the forest floor destroys these valuable pathways, affecting much more than just the areas targeted.
Ouch! It's painful to imagine.
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