“To see a world in a grain of sand”*

2025 was a strange year, weather-wise. It was extremely dry for months, and most of Maine was classified as in severe or extreme drought. There were no mushrooms to be seen, and I postponed, then canceled, my usual mushroom hikes. When rain finally came, it was very late in the season, and at first I saw only very, very tiny fungi growing on dead wood. I thought I’d show you some. Most of them are only millimeters across. My finger is for scale!

The “eggs” (more properly called periodoles) in these bird’s nest fungi contain the spores. When it rains, the splash of a raindrop ejects the eggs and spreads the thousands of spores in each egg.

The next photo shows a full cup in the foreground, and an empty one at the back:

The other fungi below typically have spores dispersed by the wind. I have named as many as I can.

I call this last one below the “poached egg” crust fungus (or possibly slime mold): I have no idea what its proper name is. The 2cm long wintergreen leaf is for scale!

*The famous quote in my title is from William Blake:

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand,

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour”