Nature Notes
by
Philip Radford
Many people have mixed feelings about fungi, although they are of great
importance in the world, by softening and breaking down dead wood and plant
material and sometimes animals as well. Subsequently, the resulting helpful
chemicals are returned to the soil.
Fungi are remarkable in that some species are highly poisonous while others
are edible and tasty; in addition, some species are strikingly coloured and attractive
in appearance. With fungi, what we see above ground as mushrooms
and toadstools are the fruiting bodies; below ground, there is the often extensive
network of mycelium and hyphal threads and it is this system that infiltrates
and breaks down dead tissue. Perhaps surprisingly, the mycelial network of
some fungi can reach a remarkably large size, but all underground.
Anyway, one brightly coloured toadstool is the
Fly Agaric, red-capped with white spots and
which grows in autumn on the Quantocks in
association with birch trees. The fungus, after
being broken up and scattered in milk, was used
to stupefy flies in some country area; also, it will
stupefy people if eaten and give them
hallucinations too. Without doubt, it is preferable
to admire the wonderful colouring of the agaric
rather than think of eating it!
I understand that Reindeer like to eat this fungus, and get intoxicated by it;
however, I have no evidence that Red Deer will do the same. The only animals
I have seen ingesting Fly Agaric are slugs which seem to thrive on them.
Annoyingly, if one wants to photograph the fungus, so often the red cap carries
extensive slug damage.
Then, another important fungus which can be discovered
on the Quantocks is the Death Cap, usually found with
oaks. They are not common but just one can kill a man,
by delayed poisoning of the liver or kidneys. Death Caps
are recognised by their pallid, greenish caps and white
gills; the smell is sweetish but somehow unpleasant.
There is also a False Death Cap with a yellowish cap and
which, strangely, smells of potatoes; this mushroom is
edible but, with its white gills it is much better avoided as it
might be confused with the real thing!
Why not go for Field Mushrooms? Yes, Field Mushrooms are delicious when
fried with bacon; they have pink gills, darkening to brown and, of course, grow
in late summer and autumn on pastureland. The cultivated mushrooms we buy
in shops are delicious too, but they are a different species from the wild ones.
Most people enjoy either species but some individuals cannot tolerate them,
being affected by nausea and vomiting; I have known people who are able to
eat cultivated mushrooms but not the field ones. They miss a lot!
Both Death Caps and Field Mushrooms have radiating gills which produce their
spores. But there are also tube or sponge-gill fungi; these are in the Boletus
group which is usually well-represented in Somerset woods in most years.
Some Boletus species will only be associated with one
tree and one colourful and large example is the
Orange Birch Bolete; here, the cap is tawny with a
bulky, scaly stem and white flesh. This fungus is good
eating, but hopefully only after precise identification.
Most sponge-gill agarics are not poisonous although
species with red pores are highly suspect.
But the really delicious sponge-cap is the Cep or
Penny Bun, often found growing in some mature
Quantock woods in autumn; the cap is brown and the
flesh white, with a very pleasing smell too. If cut, the
flesh does not change colour but some Boletus
species, notably the red-gilled species, will turn blue
if bruised. The colour change can be dramatic, and is
further evidence of the surprising and complex
chemicals produced by some fungi.
Worldwide, there are thousands of different fungal species and there are plenty
of them in Somerset too, mostly without any common name. Even so, they are
remarkable and specialised structures, whether we come across them as
brackets, toadstools or puff-balls, where the spores are produced internally.
Fungi are not plants and are in a class of their own. Curiously, they are formed
mainly of chitin, which is the chemical present in beetles and the skeletons of
insects! Moreover, fungi do not go in for photosynthesis; nutrient chemicals
must be absorbed through the walls of the hyphae, as part of the mycelium.
On occasions, some fungi will live on animals and ringworm is an obvious
example. Without doubt, the world would be a very different place if fungi did
not exist. Meanwhile, we can admire them for their colours, their varied
structures and the production of powerful chemical poisons, quite apart from the
sometimes delicious food!