Ultra-Rare Mushroom Again Making Appearances in Fayette County

Local mushroom hunter, Randal Banik from Round Top has reported the first sighting of the Texas Star Mushroom also known by the scientific name Chorioactis Geaster in Texas this season which extends from October to January (and possibly until April some years).

Last year was an important year in the mushroom world and Fayette County was an important part of that world. It began with Randal Banik, finding the Texas Star Mushroom on his land in Fayette County.

A big thank you to the Fayette County Record for publishing a story about this event last year. The article led to a meeting with our state representative Ben Leman and was a key reason for Mr. Leman sponsoring a bill to name the Texas Star Mushroom the State mushroom of Texas. The bill was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor in June 2021. Texas is now only one of three states that has a state mushroom.

Finding the Texas Star Mushroom in Fayette County expanded the known range of this mushroom in Texas and increased interest in the mushroom world.

It was very important that Fayette County was in Mr. Leman’s district because his help was very important to this project.

This is one of the rarest mushrooms in the world! It is only found in two places in the world, Kyushu, Japan and 16 counties in Central and North Texas (this may change as we get more complete data. It has also been found in Oklahoma near Texas border. DNA information from Japanese scientists indicate that The Japanese and Texas species split apart 17-19 million years ago.)

This may be one of the oldest living residents in Texas and we can claim it as a Fayette County resident.

Residents of Fayette County could help the scientific study of the Texas Star mushroom by reporting any sightings of the mushroom, or if you have land that has old Cedar Elm stumps and are willing to let mushroom experts check, contact Randal Banik by phone at 512-7178868 or email at: madhunad@yahoo.com.