To me, fungi are some of the most fascinating organisms (right after bees 🙂).
Since they don’t have chlorophyll, they can’t make their own food so they feast on other organisms - some are parasitic but many actually eat dead cells, so they’re very valuable as decomposers in the forest for example.
That’s why you often find them on dead logs or stumps, like on my photos from today’s walk.
They prevent dead trees and leaves from piling up and at the same time they create nutrients from that matter for other, still living organisms.
They’re stretching under the entire forest soil, forming what some call a wood-wide web.
A German forester Peter Wohlleben actually thinks they act as a communication system for the trees:
“Trees share water and nutrients through the networks, and also use them to communicate. They send distress signals about drought and disease, for example, or insect attacks, and other trees alter their behavior when they receive these messages.”
You can read more of his thoughts in this very insightful article. Some say his work is controversial but I think we’re underestimating the intelligence of the nature.
There’s also a very interesting documentary on Netflix called Fantastic Fungi. If you’re interested in the subject, I really recommend you check it out.
Seems like the following thought is perfect to end this post.
