Who knows? Maybe it is eaten by crayfish and/or other critters that carry its spores in all directions, including upstream.

Bisected by the powerful Rogue River (River Wild was filmed downstream), buffered all around by rugged Coastal Range forested mounts, this dynamic area features Bigfoot’s seasonal migratory route, a steeply-walled Pass, tumbling rapids, UFO visits, a disturbing Mystery Spot, huge salmon, Hell’s Canyon, cougar, bear, invisible night-flying screamers and a wild assortment of cryptids… so an underwater mushroom doesn’t surprise me a bit.

I miss Rogue River.

RED_PILL_JUNKIE: HA HA HA!!!

Evidently, the scientists that went out to study these little fellows have eliminated the possibility that the fungi were simply submerged by rising water levels. They were found in a consistently flowing area of the river, and had been in the same place for more than three months. Although there are other forms of fungi that live in freshwater, these are the first found that actually have gills, like their terrestrial counterparts. My guess is that they do in fact produce zoospores due to the mention of the spore bursts having a sticky quality. However more research will be needed to find out their actual reproduction method.

Are the toxic? I’ve read that some of the terrestrial mushrooms in the same genus are in fact edible. Currently it is unknown about these little guys, however there seems to be no reason why they should be toxic.

No, sadly, it doesn’t make me feel better.
SOMEONE needs to be up there enjoying all those beautiful, fresh, wild mushrooms. If for no other reason than for the sake of the rest of us morely deprived individuals stranded down here.

A zoospore is a motile asexual spore utilizing a flagellum for locomotion. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some algae and fungi to propagate themselves.