KVR Lichens

Flora, Fauna, Fungi

Posted on March 13, 2022

The world is changing in many ways, and one of them is our human awareness of the kingdom of Fungi. We are increasingly aware that fungi, in many forms, is involved in all of life. From wine and beer to bread to medicine to the health of the soil we grow our food from, fungi are essential for all the rest of life. Now we are renewing our knowledge of life to include fungi. ‘Flora, fauna, and fungi’ is much more accurate than ‘flora and fauna’ to describe life on Earth.

For several years I have been considering and wondering about lichens. Lichens always are partly formed by fungi, and they are different from other life forms. Recently several people have written and spoken about fungi, including lichens, giving both the scientific community and the average person a very different understanding of what fungi are and what fungi do in the living world.

Lichens are just one of many forms fungi take to do their work in the world. Micro-rhizome networks that are everywhere the soil is healthy have been almost unknown to humans yet are vast, complex and have many functions.

I believe humans will continue to adjust their concepts of how life is arranged on Earth. Beyond fungi, the world is filled with archae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaea, and protists https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protist and more creatures than we can imagine. Humans are a minuscule part of the vast diversity of life. We do not have a complete knowledge of the insects, animals, or plants, but there are many more microscopic forms of life than there are visible forms.

If you can’t be in the woods meeting fungi in person, start an exploration of what is being learned about fungi with Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life. Once the door to the mysteries of the Fungi Kingdom opens, you will find more to explore. Many people have been quietly learning about fungi, and now their ideas and work are in print https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/fungi. Some of you may have seen the beautiful movie https://fantasticfungi.com/ .

News sources run feature stories about the Fungi Kingdom, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/11/fungi-earth-secret-miracle-weapon. Humans are voraciously collecting and consuming the fungi in forests across the continent. Creative ideas about using fungi for clothing, packaging, new medicines, and more are being explored.

Some of our knowledge of fungi is very ancient. The ‘Iceman’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi who died 5,000 years ago and was preserved in ice in the mountains on the border of Italy and Austria was carrying a piece of fungi with a string through it. The fungi is known to have medicinal properties, and could also be used for making fire.

There may be many kinds of fungi for every plant and tree you see. Under the ground, inside the roots, and through bark fungi weave a vast and complex network supporting all other life. Think about the fungi as you walk along, and you will begin to notice them, popping up everywhere.

Fall is a good season to find many types of fungi. The leaves are gone, the weather is still mild and many fungi appear. I’ve found Conopholis americana (squaw root) in large patches in the fall.

Many more people are harvesting mushrooms now than ever before. Many areas have damaged soil, and many fungi are becoming rare or missing due to our taking so many from their place in the land. Please consider this if you are ‘hunting’ mushrooms. To remain viable most of the fungi need to be left in place. You may take what seems sustainable, but how many others will be taking from the same area? Good stewardship considers the situation for the plants or creatures in question, beyond personal expectations.

Take more pictures, take fewer fungi from the forest. Enjoy their beauty, sample a few, take a picture. They are busy working to keep the whole forest healthy for all of us.