Mushroom Season

Autumn is on the horizon. The days are shortening, the flowers fading, and the morning air is nippy. Keep your eyes to the sky and look for migrating geese honking overhead, broad-winged hawks soaring their way south, leaves turning, and monarch butterflies, a splash of orange, against September's blue sky. And don't forget to stop and behold the mushrooms this fall. From late summer into fall, all around our woodlands, meadows, and yards, mushrooms are pushing their way up through damp dirt, out of trees, and on downed, decaying logs. This cast of characters is diverse and unique. They come in browns, grays, tans, and some in vibrant colors from red and orange to purple and pink. Some look like little umbrellas perfect for fairies to hold, while others resemble tropical sea coral growing on our forest floor. They can be bold, bursting out of trees like shelves and popping up seemingly overnight from nowhere. Magical names like fairy cups, golden spindle, witch's hat, and wolf's milk slime fill the field guides, and some even glow in the dark, like fox fire fungus or the Jack-o-Lantern. They hold our imagination, lurk on the borders of fairy tales, top our pizzas, and can be deadly poisonous. Long ago, folks believed mushrooms were born from lightning. Wherever a bolt touched the ground, the next day, a mushroom could be found. When a circle of mushrooms was seen, legend held that the night before, the fairies held a dance. Wherever their magical feet touched the ground, mushrooms would grow. Our culture is still rich in mushroom lore. Think Lewis Carroll's classic story, Alice in Wonderland, Mario Brothers video franchise, and the Smurfs, to name just a few. Mushrooms are hot right now. Visit any craft fair, home goods store, or farmers market, and these fabulous fungi are taking center stage, as pottery, earrings, artwork, textiles, and other creative representations. Humans continue to be intrigued, charmed, and mystified by these beings. Mushrooms belong to the Fungi Kingdom, which includes other such standouts as yeast, mildew and molds. Neither plant nor animal, they belong to their own unique kingdom, sharing specific characteristics and evolutionary relationships. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of certain fungi. Beneath every mushroom, whether in the soil or threaded throughout a tree, lies mycelium. Resembling cottony white strands, mycelium is the body of the fungus. Next time you find a ground-growing mushroom, gently pull it up and look carefully at the bottom of the stalk. See if you can notice the white thread-like strands at the base. Or roll a rotting log over and look for the mycelium spreading out like lace along the decaying wood. As a fruiting body, mushrooms are the reproductive structure of the fungi. Tucked inside of gills, pores, and tubes lie microscopic single-celled reproductive structures known as spores. Similar to seeds but with a different and complex biology, spores spread through wind, water, and animals. When they land in a suitable habitat with the right kind of substrate, such as soil or wood, along with available water and nutrients, the spore transforms into mycelium and the cycle begins again.Many fungi play essential roles in keeping our natural world running. Some are decomposers, absorbing nutrients from dead and dying plants and animals. These types of mushrooms are one of nature's recyclers, returning essential and valuable nutrients to the soil. Others have evolved to work in partnership with plants. This is known as a mycorrhizal relationship and benefits both the plant and the fungi. The fungi help the plant absorb nutrients, like phosphorus, nitrogen, and water, and the plant provides the fungi with sugars from photosynthesis. Recent research suggests that fungi also play an essential role in keeping trees in a forest connected through mycelium and root connections underground. The wood wide web, as it is sometimes referred to, enables the transfer of nutrients, water, and information between individual trees throughout the forest. Fungi is complex, fascinating, and enchanting. But some can be deadly poisonous if ingested. It is safe to touch all mushrooms, but it is absolutely not safe to taste all mushrooms. It can be overwhelming and dangerous to try to identify edible fungi on your own. Consider joining the Monadnock Mushroomers Unlimited Club at www.monadnockmushroomclub.org to learn from experts, go on fungi forays, and participate in other events and talks. Or check out monthly mushroom meanders with the Harris Center's Morel Quandary Club at www.harriscenter.org/events. Going on mushroom hunts with your family is a great way to spend time outside, searching and learning together. With a few simple safety tips, enjoy the magic and mystery of mushrooms together this fall:Supervise your children closely and consider waiting to discover the wild world of fungi until your child has outgrown the habit of putting things in their mouth. Make it a rule that your children need to ask before they eat anything foraged from nature. Never eat any wild mushrooms that a verified expert hasn't identified. As a beginner, do not depend on field guide or photo identification since mushrooms can be highly variable in appearance. To discover more about how to explore the mysterious world of mushrooms, see Spikol's book, "Forest Magic for Kids," where there is a whole chapter dedicated to mushroom activities for families.