Getting ready for fungal season
Last year I decided to get into fungus. I bought a copy of Bruce Fuhrer's A field guide to Australian fungi, signed up to iNaturalist and started looking.
I did not have to look far. My local area is absolutely bursting with weird, colourful, tenacious fungi. I love the crowds of inky caps that force their way through packed dirt. Apparently they can push through bitumen if they want (do it!!).
The red cage fungus I found in the park—bright red lattice hatched from white eggs—seemed so improbable as to be fake.
I was intrigued by the signs in the Royal Botanic Gardens warning of death caps. Yes, I know they're an obvious target for horror fans, but look, I really enjoyed We have always lived in the castle. I hope I find one so I can ogle from afar.
In his book Sprinter and Sprummer, a favourite of mine, botanist Timothy Entwisle argues we should celebrate Autumn as the fungal season. Here in Melbourne, he explains, we can expect fruiting fungus to peak in April and May, and then a bit more in June.
We don't have a good grasp of what things the fungi are responding to but maybe it's something to do with rainfall, cooler temperatures (but not too cool) and/or the day of the year. Whatever it is, if the fungi have appeared then something has changed and that means the season has changed.
As I have alluded to earlier, I am currently counting March as part of Summer which is an idea I swiped from Sprinter and Sprummer. Now the weather has suddenly cooled (for the moment! There are some oddly warm days approaching) and I am on the lookout for weird fungus.
As well as keeping my eyes to the ground in general, I'm taking some time off work in a couple of weeks and I'll be exploring some areas that are known for their fungal riches. I'll be looking, photographing, and then leaving them to rip up the bitumen as they deem appropriate.
