Fascinating fungi-facts
Nandini Dholepat
When I took out my cell phone, I noticed missed calls from Sujatha, and a message asking, “What is this?” with a photo of a branch.
In the photo I could notice someone holding a piece of a tree branch. I asked her to bring it home, so that we could talk more. The following evening, both Sujatha and her daughter Rini came to my house with the branch.
Sujatha said, “Rini brought this from somewhere. I found it unpleasant and asked her to throw it out. She is not willing. She says she wants to show it to you first before throwing it away. As you were out of station, I had to wait for you.”
“This is a dead tree branch. The small white growth on the branch are mushrooms. They are fungi,” I replied.
Branch
Photos courtesy: Nandini Dholepat
“Oh my god, that is bad. Last rainy season there was too much dampness in our house. A bathroom wall was completely covered with black fungal growth. I developed sneezing and allergy because of it. Does this also cause infection?” Sujatha frowned.
“Not to worry, Sujatha. Fungi are part of nature. These mushrooms help to breakdown dead matter,” I replied.
“Where did you find this Rini?” I asked.
Rini replied, “Aunty, you know there is a narrow stream behind our society and some trees on the other side, I picked it up from there.”
“This girl goes anywhere. I am worried. There may be snakes also,” Sujatha closed her eyes tight shut.
“Rini, keep the branch in the corner in the balcony. I will get you something to drink.” I made them sit on the sofa and moved towards the kitchen.
I served fruit juice and placed a container in front of them. “See, you are familiar with these mushrooms, we use for cooking.”
Oyster mushrooms
“I know these are oyster mushrooms. Rini’s father likes them. He says they are rich in proteins, but my parents do not eat them,” Sujatha said.
“Yes, generally older people hesitate to eat them as they grow on dead and decaying matter. What we buy commercially are cultivated on hay though and mushrooms are commonly used with other vegetables now-a-days,” I replied.
“How to know which fungi is good and which bad?” Rini asked.
“The yeast granules which we add while baking bread are fungi. Penicillin, which is given as medicine, is also derived from fungi. So not to worry about that now. Next week we will go near the stream and try to find out more. You can also invite your friends to join,” I suggested.
“That will be great! I will invite Anand, Vivan, and Shilpa too. Amma we will all go with aunty,” Rini said excitedly.
“Sure, next Saturday morning we all will go there. We all wear long sleeve shirts or t-shirts, pants, and shoes. It is a marshy area and will have mosquitos,” Sujatha cautioned.
“Get some carry bags, scalpel, or scissors, in case you need to collect something,” I added.
Saturday morning, we all walked towards the stream. As we crossed our society compound, the grass welcomed us. “See these small white umbrellas? We call them ‘nayikode’ or dog’s umbrella.” Anand pointed towards the mushrooms on the floor, “Ha, ha, ha… dog’s umbrella, so funny.” All the children laughed.
“Can we touch them?” Vivan asked.
“Sure dear, but they are very fragile, they will easily tear off,” I replied.
When we reached the bushes, Rini showed us the place from where she brought the dead branch. Vivan pointed towards a huge fallen log. He almost shouted, “Oh! See there are so many design plates on the log.”
I tried to explain, “Living trees collect many materials from the environment like energy from the sun, water, and minerals from the soil. All these will help to
Polyporus on wood
produce, timber, leaves, flower, and fruits. When it becomes old and dies, the important process of returning nutrients back to the environment begins. We can see succession of life over the dead wood. First come the fungi, then mosses, lichens, termites, and many other life forms. Decomposing wood creates rich humus soil, for the germination of fallen seeds on the forest floor and begin the cycle once more.”
“Are fungi plants? Do they produce leaves and flowers?” Rini asked.
“They belong to a different group. They do not synthesize their own food like plants or feed on other things like animals. Mushrooms which you see here are fruiting bodies.”
I uprooted a few mushrooms and kept them on a piece of paper. “Look under this umbrella like structure, you can see many cross walls which are called gills. From here spore spreads, which later germinates to form filaments called ‘hyphae.’ At the base of the stem, they have a thin network of filaments called ‘mycelia,’ which collect water and nutrients to nourish the fungus,” I tried to simplify the description.
“How do they get nutrients from dead wood aunty? These mushrooms are turning black. Are they dying?” Vivan asked.
“The mycelia release some chemicals called enzymes, which help breakdown the dead wood and get the nutrients. The lifespan of these sporulating bodies is very short like one or two days,” I replied.
“O..ho! we cannot take it home and grow. But how do we get mushrooms in the market?” Vivan asked.
“Those are commercially cultivated on a large scale. It requires a special setup. Farmers regularly harvest, pack, and supply it to market. Is it not Nandini? Madhavi asked.
Sujatha cautioned everyone. “It is slippery here, step carefully to cross the stream. The green thing on the stones, is making it slippery.”
“What is this green growth? Why it is slippery?” Rini asked.
“It is algal growth. They are a kind of small plant, which grow in moist places. They secrete mucilage on the surface. The slimy surface is slippery,” I replied.
“See this, green and white hair like. Looks something different, what are these?” Vivan showed another tree branch.
Lichen on rock
“These are lichens. Algae and fungi living together. The relationship is symbiotic. The algae synthesize food and fungi provide nutrition and substratum for algae to grow,” I replied.
“These are lichens. Algae and fungi living together. The
relationship is symbiotic. The algae synthesize food and fungi provide nutrition and substratum for algae to grow,” I replied.
“This is interesting. I can see small flower like patches and in some places, it is growing like threads.”
“Here you can see two different forms of lichens: ‘Fruticose’ with hairy branches and ‘Foliose’ is leaf like. They are very sensitive to atmospheric pollution, as they are directly exposed to air. In less polluted areas, like land away from industries and townships, you may come across a lot of lichen growth. They are considered indicators of pollution levels. Look here, it is growing on the rock too,” I showed them white growth on a rock.
“Oh! this is interesting. My grandmother keeps something like this in our kitchen and calls this ‘Kallu huvu’ or stone flowers,”Anand added.
“Yes, Anand. Traditionally, it is used to prepare some food and medicines also. The weather is cloudy, it may rain now. I hope you have collected interesting materials in your bags,” I said.
“Yes, we should return now. Nandini, how to learn more about these fungi and lichens?” Sujatha asked.
I said, “I will request my friend Prof. Reshma to spend some time with us. She works for the bioscience department at the university.”
“Can we go to the university? I am ready. Please talk to your friend and confirm our visit. I would really love to go there and learn more.” Sujatha was excited.
“Sure, I will try. Meanwhile, when you go home, keep the collected material in the open air, in your backyard or balcony and take pictures. Label them properly.” Let’s return now.
Suggested activities:
- Use your internet skills and try and name the fungi that grow in and around your neighbourhood.
- Make a list of beneficial fungi.
References
- https://biosci.sierracollege.edu/materials/4/lecture_notes/b4ln_fungi.pdf
- https://northspore.com/blogs/the-black-trumpet/introduction-to-fungal-biology
The author is a botanist. She has been involved in teaching and research for more than 25 years. Currently she is involved as a consultant for Intellectual Property Rights, and is a visiting faculty member at RIWATCH, Roing, Arunachal Pradesh. She can be reached at nandinidholepat@gamil.com
