Erupting from a neighbor’s asphalt driveway over night were these mushrooms. I never knew they could do that. Anyone know how the heck these shrooms could be so strong? Do they secrete an enzyme that could breakdown solid asphalt?
Shroom 1
Same shroom side view.
Perhaps I should have picked it and ate it… 
just kidding.
Asphalt isn’t truly solid, its aggregate held together by a hot sticky substance. It’s quite strong in compression (i.e. cars and people), but rather weak for side loading. When a weed (or a mushroom) works it way up thru a small crack it’s stem exerts side pressure on the crack and causes what you have seen.
First time I every saw this happen with a mushroom. Cool pics. 
Just to elaborate, when doing engineering calcs for concrete (asphalt would be the same), the yield tension is assumed to be zero. Only the rebar strength is used for calculating tension and side loading.
And I agree, that looks pretty darn sweet! Well, minus the new hole in the asphalt!
Witness the mighty power of capillary action and hydraulic pressure! Pit it against a mere driveway, and it wins!
Mercy, dude, that’s one powerful fungus. :eek:
Wow!!!
Obviously your neighbor’s got some pretty good bullshit.
Did you ever pick up a chunk of asphalt that has broken off the side of a roadway? If you hold it by one edge, it will either fall apart by itself, or can be broken with just gentle pressure. The mushroom was just applying that gentle pressure from below the driveway.
I don’t think of mushrooms as being that gentle. I’ve never seen this, and to walk up to it is very odd. It has the appearance of super mushroom strength…but I know it’s just pressure and time.
No bulls be shitt’in around that property lieu…that’s in the pastures about a mile away! 
That is pretty damn cool.
Up in the sky! Down in the driveway! Right thru the cracks! It’s Mushroom Man!
Okay, I know mushrooms are fungus. But do they require no light to grow? You don’t see mushrooms sprouting through asphalt much. How did this happen?
Actually, what you see much more often is bamboo shoots coming up straight through asphalt. Plants don’t need direct sunlight to grow as babies, much less do fungi.
Asphalt’s weak stuff. It’s surface is hard if you land on it (fall on some if you don’t believe me), but that’s just becuase it’s laying on a flat surface underneath against which it has been compressed.
Great pictures, by the way.
Actually, to me they look kinda “pod” shaped. :dubious: Are any of your neighbors missing?! :eek:
Heh…actually I haven’t been able to get a hold of the guy since yesterday, and noticed some odd red growth around his doors and windows…Hmmm 
