Nature Notes - Fungal Foray by Ian Brand

The Fun of a Foray: Two well-known fungi and their stories, and an introduction to slime moulds

I love a fungal foray, and I am not alone, joining 35 fellow naturalists on a lovely sunny autumn day in Swinsty Woods. There is something gregarious about a foray, and the friendly banter never stops all day. Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide Andy Woodall is joined by fellow mycologist Ian Forward, and microbiology degree student Jonathan Whiteley. They make a fantastic trio. 

It is going to be an excursion involving all our senses. Not just visual, but smell, taste and even listening to some! One word of warning, only taste or eat species you can confidently identify, the local greengrocer, farmers market or supermarket might therefore be the best option for most of us.

Fungi used to be classified as plants but now form a kingdom of their own. Their DNA and genetics are surprisingly closer to animals than those of plants. Mycology (the study of fungi) has now become very sexy; we are on the cusp of major science discoveries. Fungi are ubiquitous and vital to all living things. They grow on us and in us, they occupy timber, dung, leaf litter and soil, to the extent that most plants form symbiotic relationships with fungi to enable them to draw up nutrients for growth. It has been found that trees can even communicate with each other through the hidden underground ‘root-like’ strands of fungi called mycelium, often referred to as the ‘wood wide web’. The mushrooms we are hunting for today are only the fruiting body, most of the bulk of the fungus remains hidden from view. Enough of the science, let’s get exploring and identifying. Over the space of the day, the basket gradually fills, each fungus with its own interesting story, but here are just two, to whet your appetite. 

We have only just left the car park, when we stop to examine what for many people is the archetypical toadstool – Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). The difference between toadstools and mushrooms, is totally artificial, both are the fruiting bodies of fungi. Some people use the term toadstool for those that are poisonous, and mushroom if they are edible. Fly Agaric is immediately recognisable with its bright red cap, and white wart-like spots. Commonly growing under birch, pine, and spruce, with which it forms a mycorrhizal relationship. When fungi hunting, it is always good to know your trees, as woodland species are commonly associated with specific trees.

The common name Fly Agaric is a reference to the tradition of using it as an insecticide. The fungus is crumbled and placed in a saucer of milk. The flies drink the milk, which contains ibotenic acid that not only attracts flies but also poisons them. It is poisonous to us humans too and if eaten can cause hallucinations and psychotic reactions. It is thought that Lewis Carrol had experienced its hallucinatory effects and used it in ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Alice eats a piece of mushroom and grows smaller and then eats from the opposite side of the mushroom and grows taller on the other side of the looking glass, only to then find herself speaking to a sleepy Caterpillar smoking a hookah! Amazing to think this is a children’s book. 

Another children’s author Beatrix Potter also uses Fly Agaric, but this time in paintings to illustrate her stories. Potter was an experienced mycologist, but like many Victorian women scientists was overlooked and had to have her scientific papers read at meetings by a man. She was one of the first people to recognise lichens are not one species, but a combination of two, an alga, fungus (and occasionally a third – cyanobacterium or blue-green alga) in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. 

Moving deeper into the wood, we stop frequently and gather around to hear further captivating stories. One that particularly attracts everyone’s attention is Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus), which truly stinks and is another readily recognisable species. The fungus attracts insects with its smell of rotting meat. The flies gorge themselves on the sugary secretion, rich in fungal spores which attaches to their feet and also pass through the flies gut undigested only to be deposited sometime later on dung or carrion the fly visits. 

Its scientific name ‘Phallus’ relates to its phallic appearance, while ‘impudicus’ is Latin for immodest or shameless. Stinkhorn quite literally means shameless phallus. Pungent and a little indecent, some Victorians were embarrassed by these fungi, including Charles Darwin’s daughter, Hetty who to protect the morals of the maids would rise early, collect stinkhorns from the woods and burn them in secret. If Hetty arrived too early she would have found not the typical horn like structure, but the earlier stages of the fruiting body known as Devil’s Eggs. 

As Andy’s basket fills, and my brain is about to explode with new and fascinating facts, we get introduced to something completely different - Slime Moulds. Once thought to be fungi. These strange organisms are not plants. They are slowly mobile, but they are not animals. They make mushroom -like fruiting bodies but are not fungi. They are curious misfits in a completely different kingdom of their own. Slime moulds are amoebae (single celled organisms) that make spores, a simple description that sums them up neatly but doesn’t remotely explain how strange they really are. I will say no more but leave you with two images: the wonderfully named Dog’s Vomit Slime Mould (Fuligio septica) and the beautifully intricate Coral Slime Mould (Ceratiomyxa fructiculosa). 

Thank you, Andy, Ian and Jonathan, for a memorable day.

Ian Brand 

Susan has also written a summary of this fungal foray in the 'Where have we been' section of the website:

Swinsty Reservoir Fungal Foray