After the rain the forest emits a cacophony of smells, of death, life and allure stimulating and satisfying the olfactory systems and filling the lungs with that fresh life giving breath, all senses alive. This alone activates endorphins that create a natural high, but to couple this with jogging elevates our natural brain opiates even more. So no wonder why trail blazing has become so addictive to me; especially when trying to exercise optimum physical and mental health.
Jogging through the forest I become aware of the tree roots under my feet, the soft humous, the leaves, bark and sticks that sometimes move to reveal a glimpse of the veiled world that lies underneath. The systems in place that keep everything in place.
Then I wonder to myself if I am transporting microscopic spores from one place to another, was I lured in like carpenter ants are to Ophiocordyceps. Also known as zombie fungi because it takes control of their host insects behaviour, making it leave the nest to seek a piece of vegetation that it then bites down on. Locked on the fungi slowly digests the ants body before fruiting and sporolating, with the vantage of the spores raining down on other non suspecting ants.
Not that I am comparing that horror to my own lure into the forest, but is it a mechanism in which to disperse spores. Hitching a ride so to speak, inoculating different soils to find its symbiotic partner (or partners) perhaps creating new relationships?
As my jogs in the forest continue I start to dream of mycelium and mushrooms, they become embedded in my psyche entering my dreamscape. They give me a strong message that we are part of them and they are part of us. Could mushrooms be our ancestors?
The unanswered question just lures me in further, I want to know more about this Kingdom that is more genetically related to animals than plants, yet the symbiotic relationship with plants is vital to their relationship. I guess ours is too, we require plants to provide oxygen, food, shelter, medicine. Have fungi been luring humans in for a reason, for mutual benefit, or to educate us? We have so much to learn I am certain.
I am reading Entangled Life a book by Merlin Sheldrake (a biologist, writer, musician among many things) who explores the multifaceted world of fungi and its underground mycelial network known as the Wood Wide Web; which is comparable to the World Wide Web in its complexities.
We are starting to learn about how these underground networks communicate with one another and help support one another through the mycelium network of the fungi; transporting nutrient, water, pathogen immunity and tolerance to heavy metals and in general keeping the vitality and health of ecosystems.
Fungi are one of the most understudied Kingdoms and yet we have so much to learn from them and could not survive on this planet without them.
Dr Katie J Field who is a Professor of Plant-Soil Processes has conducted experiments that show that some species of mycorrhizal fungi may be able to reverse some of the catastrophic effects of climate change, because of their ability to function successfully under high levels of atmospheric CO2.
There are currently a team of scientists (myconauts) known as SPUN (Society for the Protection of Underground Networks) who are embarking on a quest to map the fungal networks that help regulate the earth’s ecosystems and climate at the same time advocating for their protection by outlining their importance.
Did Fungi know that at some point humans would be the main cause of such affliction to the planet, that we would need their help? Is it because we share nearly half of the same DNA?
Mycologist Paul Stamets refers to fungi as our ancestors. Billion year old microscopic fossils that were found in the arctic could hold the clue that fungi evolved before plants, therefore fungi could be responsible for bringing vegetation from water to land.
Had we long been drawn into their world so that eventually mycologists, biologists and mushroom enthusiasts alike would be compelled to advocate and preserve for their biodiversity and the health of their host. Is that why I have been drawn to the forest to spread those spores and be inspired to eat, draw, make art, make music and dream of mushrooms; to show others of their magic, their importance, their magnitude?
I would like to leave you with this quote from Paul Stamets the author of Mycelium Running : How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World a mycologist who believes that mushrooms can in fact save the world.
“I believe that mycelium is the neurological network of nature. Interlacing mosaics of mycelium infuse habitats with information-sharing membranes. These membranes are aware, react to change, and collectively have the long-term health of the host environment in mind. The mycelium stays in constant molecular communication with its environment, devising diverse enzymatic and chemical responses to complex challenges.” Paul Stamets
Words by C – Renewed Spirit
