DENVER — The amount of rain this summer may not be enough to get Colorado out of drought conditions, but it has greatly benefited Colorado mushrooms.
The summer rainfall has led to a boom for Colorado's mushroom season, which ends in September, according to the Colorado Mycological Society.
There over 7,000 species of mushrooms in Colorado, and the Colorado Mycological Society, a nonprofit that has been around for more than 50 years, leads weekly forays into the wild to find these colorful, often-rotund specimens.
"They're fascinating organisms. They are critically important to all life on the planet," President-elect Jon Sommer said. "Basically, without fungi in our environment, we wouldn't have plants. And, without plants, we wouldn't have animals, we wouldn't have people. Essentially, we couldn't live without them."
Mushrooms are also the primary decomposer, which is critical for getting rid of plant waste.
"All the organic material that plants produce through their photosynthesis builds up, and without the fungi to decompose them, it would continue to build up forever," Sommer said.
The Colorado Mycological Society has more information on the nonprofit's work and how to participate in the forays on their website.