This is a re-post of a blog from 2023, but this time with the new film by WoodlandsTV, in which April Windle [of the British Lichen Society] examines the role of the many complex chemicals found in Lichens. Lichens are plant-like organisms that are rather unusual in that they are an amalgam of two (or occasionally three) organisms : a fungus and algae (or cyanobacterium). They are symbiotic systems, where the partners in the association work together for mutual benefit.  The fungus makes up the bulk of the lichen's form (known as the thallus), it is a complex network of fungal threads (hyphae) that surround the algal cells.  The algae (green algae or cyanobacteria) are essential to the symbiosis as they can photosynthesise, capturing carbon dioxide and providing both partners with organic carbon compounds (often in the form of sugar alcohols). Lichens produce an amazing variety of chemicals - many are secondary metabolites.  It is thought that some of these may  have medical / pharmacological properties.  Some species  of lichen are brightly coloured because of the chemicals.. The colour may vary from a golden yellow to a deep red. The pigments responsible for these colours belong to the anthraquinones.  However, these insoluble, phenolic pigments can have toxic effects. To avoid harm by these pigments, the lichen exports* the pigment from the fungal component of the symbiosis. [caption id="attachment_39795" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Moss and lichen growing together[/caption] The pigment then accumulates / crystallises on the surface of the lichen. The layer of pigment crystals reflects harmful radiation in the form of ultra-violet light and also blue light, whilst still allowing enough light to pass through for photosynthesis by the algae / cyanobacteria. Exposure to ultra-violet light can damage DNA, inducing mutations.  The pigmentl layer is effectively a ‘sunscreen’ for the lichen. * Recent work at Imperial College and RBG, Kew has identified the genes responsible for pigment production, and the transport of the pigment out of the fungal tissue. In the past, certain lichen pigments were often used to dye clothing materials.    Parmelia saxatilis, also known as grey crottle, was used to dye wool for Harris Tweed.  This lichen is often found growing on tree trunks and gives a red / brown colour to the material. For more information on the various chemicals found in Lichens, see the WoodlandsTV film below : The Chemical, Medicinal and Biofluorescent Properties of Lichen. [embed]https://youtu.be/AEc263aQ1rQ?si=00FwDTH5LljetQ0A[/embed] Curious fact : Some specimens of the lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum are thought to have lived for thousands of years.  

Most months, Jasper has introduced us to a new fungus or group of fungi that have made their appearance in woodlands,  some on trees or branches or leaves, others simply emerging from the soil.  Some fungi are parasitic or biotrophic requiring a living host organism on which they feed.  Then there are those that live in and feed on dead and decaying matter in the soil; these are termed saprobic or saprophytic.  The structures that we normally see (particularly at this time of the year) are the fruiting or reproductive bodies of the fungus / fungi.  The majority of a fungus exists as a network of microscopic ‘tubes’ that permeate either the host organism, or the soil / decaying matter in which the fungus has made its ‘home’.  An individual tube is known as a hypha and collectively they form a complex network - the mycelium. The fungal mycelia present in the soil form a vast underground network.   Some of these fungi enter into beneficial associations with plants - mycorrhizal associations.  The fungal hyphae wrap themselves around (and sometimes into) the roots of plants and trees, with whom they share minerals and nutrients. Generally speaking, the fungus helps to supply the plant with mineral nutrients (like nitrates / phosphates) and in return receives carbohydrate material from the plant’s photosynthetic capacity.  These mycorrhizal systems form part of what has been termed the ‘wood wide web’.  Dr. Suzanne Simard, a forest ecologist from the University of British Columbia, coined the term to describe the complex relationships between fungi and plants in woodland and forest ecosystems. It has been suggested that (millions of years ago) fungi helped plants transition from their aquatic home to life on land, with the fungal network serving as a ‘root system’.  Fungi (and bacteria) release enzymes (biological catalysts) and these help break down the complex compounds (like lignin, cellulose and starch) present in dead plants and animals.  As a result of this decomposition, humus is formed. Humus is a colloid.  A complex mixture of materials, some in solution, some in suspension. Humus binds the inorganic mineral particles of the soil together, is a store of nutrients and helps water retention.  The fungal network in the soil sequesters enormous amounts of carbon.  The soil is one of the Earth’s main carbon ‘sinks’.   If soil is over-worked or damaged by the intensive and extensive use of chemicals in farming, then it degrades and with it the rich microbial network. Damage to the soil and its complex microbial population can impact on the growth of plants - from the simplest green plants to the largest trees. Not only are soil fungi and bacteria involved in the cycling of carbon and nitrogen, but they help maintain the fertility and structure of the soil.  Soil is the ultimate recycling system, we need to cherish the soil and its fungal and bacterial populations - it helps maintain the ecosystem services on which we all depend.  Without healthy soils, we face a very bleak future.  

Mushrooms may be thin on the forest floor at the moment, but if you raise your eyes you can find more permanent fixtures higher up on tree trunks and stumps in the form of a surprisingly diverse array of tough and hard-wearing bracket fungi. It is a class I have tended to avoid, largely because many of them look so similar, but also because they can be quite difficult to manipulate into aesthetically pleasing photographic compositions. However, this is only if you look at them from a certain angle. Anyone who has ever expressed an interest in the mycological world may well be familiar with the frustrating habit some friends have of sending them “What is it?” messages alongside blurry smartphone snaps of the top of the nondescript muddy brown shelves of certain finds. The crucial thing one has to remember about bracket fungi is always to look underneath.  Read more...

There are many reasons why resupinate or crust fungi fail to attract much in the way of love or attention even among fungi fanatics. For starters, there are hundreds of different types, and the vast bulk of them are incredibly difficult to identify, lacking that one significant feature amongst other identifying criteria such as colour and habitat: a three-dimensional form. They instead appear as flat blotches, skins or coatings of various hues and textures, and mainly on dead standing or fallen trunks and branches, sometimes parasitizing living wood. Read more...

There are some who argue that the prime fungi hunting season basically comes to an end with the first frosts around November time. There is still plenty to see on those wintry woodland walks around the turn of the year however. In these mid to late winter months, the more conventional cap-and-stem types might be thinner on the ground, but if you care to cast your eyes around to more woody substrates, you should be sure to find a variety of crusts, brackets, tiny ascomycetes and, the subject of this month’s fungi focus, jellies.  Examples of fungi that form soft and gelatinous fruitbodies include the blobby types like Orange Jelly Spot (Dacrymyces stillatus) and Crystal Brain (Exidia nucleata) to more complex and distinctive fruiting forms like the branching Yellow Stagshorn (Calocera viscosa) and the subject of a former post, the Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae).  Read more...

In the last post [see related posts to the side], I broadly introduced the Elder Whitewash as an example of a resupinate crust fungus that is typically found growing on elder.    At first glance, this particular species might not seem the most obvious candidate from these regular Monthly Mushroom posts to be split into a one-off two-part focus, save for the fact that is so regularly seen yet little remarked upon. No doubt we’ve all seen it and probably passed it by. Hugill and Lucas in The Resupinates of Hampshire (2019 edition)  describe it as “surface rough, waxy when fresh, somewhat fissured when dry. Pure white to greyish white. Very common.” Michael Jordan in The Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe writes of its “white, chalky fruiting body tightly attached to substrate, looking like matt emulsion paint or distemper… resupinate with irregular margin, the hymenial (upper) surface having a chalky consistency.” Read more...

They are among the first of our trees to burst into leaf, and any moment now they should be yielding up their perfumed blossoms for cordials, champagnes, fritters or whatever your fancy is. There are those, however, who believe our native Black Elder, Sambucus nigra, to be something of a mixed blessing, best confined to the hedgerow rather than the woodlands. Fast growing, spindly and brittle branched, they spring up in unsightly shrub-like tangles in those nitrogen-loaded hotspots left uncolonised by more majestic species. The featured image is the Elder Whitewash - a crust fungus regularly found on elder . As John Lewis-Stempel poetically writes in The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood (2018), Read more...

The mushrooms, toadstools or fungi that attract the most attention tend to be the more colourful, exotic, rare, recognisable or tastiest types. The Clouded Funnel can lay claim to none of these virtues. They are as common as muck and, while at one point considered edible, are now seen as best avoided for the table. Nevertheless, despite the prevalence of the species in both coniferous and broad-leafed woodland environments, this belle laide of the mushroom world does have its charms if you are prepared to look more closely. Read more...