Monsoon Mushrooms

During the monsoon season, it is fascinating to observe nature's reaction to the rain.  Mushrooms and fungi spring out from various locations and they surprise as well as arise your curiosity.

Knowing when to look is also important. Mushrooms are not formed until temperature and moisture conditions are right for them.  Look out a few days after monsoon rains and you will find small mushrooms sprouting in the lawns.

Mushrooms and other fungi grow almost everywhere, on every natural material imaginable. Some fungi grow only in association with certain trees. Others grow on large logs. Mushrooms are also found in soil, on decomposing leaves, and in dung, mulch and compost.

Mushrooms are fungi. Fungi are as uniquely different from plants as plants are from animals. In fact, fungi and animals are now in the same super-kingdom, Opisthokonta.

Many mushrooms grow towards light, following the sun just like plant. Unlike with plants, scientists do not yet know how mushrooms use sunlight; only that they do.

  

Fungi recycle plants after they die and transform them into rich soil. If not for mushrooms and fungi, the Earth would be buried in several feet of debris and life on the planet would soon disappear. Some of the oldest living mushroom colonies are fairy rings growing around the famous Stonehenge ruins in England. The rings are so large that they can best be seen from airplanes.  Under the right conditions, some mushrooms' spores can sit dormant for decades or even a century, and still grow!

The spores of mushrooms are made of chitin, the hardest naturally-made substance on Earth. Some scientists suspect that mushroom spores are capable of space travel; a few even believe that some fungi found on Earth originally came from outer space!

Dried mushrooms are good props for 'Ikebana' lovers.  This Japanese art of flower arrangement is particular about staying true to nature by using dried leaves, flowers and mushrooms as props with fresh flowers to make a statement.

Mushrooms are useful not only as food and medicine; some are also being used in bioremediation, to absorb and digest dangerous substances like oil, pesticides and industrial waste, in places where they threaten the environment.

The world of fungi holds many secrets yet to be discovered.

Walking in the fields at Kangra (H.P)

The highlight of visiting my mother-in-law, who stays in Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), has always been the prospect of walking through the lush countryside. I was there late October, just before winter set in.
As always, the countryside is ever changing and never fails to reveal something new for my camera to capture.
The mongoose family scurrying about the neighbour's vegetable fields was amusing.



So was the sight of giant wood spiders alongside walking paths. The females are nearly ten times larger than the males, I believe. They weave the strongest and largest spiderwebs known to us. Shiny legs with yellow joints are their hallmark. Giant wood spiders are the subject of research- Humans would love to know the secret of creating the strong golden websilk. "In modern times, the Golden Orb Web Spider's silk is set to become a major product. The silk is almost as strong as Kevlar, the strongest man-made material which is drawn from concentrated sulphuric acid. In contrast, spider silk is drawn from water. If we could manufacture spider silk, it would have a million uses from parachutes, bullet-proof vests, lightweight clothing, seatbelts, light but strong ropes, as sutures in operations, artificial tendons and ligaments. Studies are now being done to have genetically engineered plants produce fluid polymers which can be processed into silk"



The wild red and white berries were all over.



The fields had spawned metallic mushrooms which vied with the pebbles lying around.



My husband was only too pleased to pose for a photo, framing a wagtail which he was pointing out to me!


More on my next visit!