Why you should care about fungi

Some of the coolest creatures on earth...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Idukki India!

I spent the last week in the rainforests and cardamom plantations of Idukki. This was a much-needed break from the hustle of university life. Studying in Haryana, I momentarily forgot what real “greenery” looks like. I think everyone must visit a rainforest to see what a lush jungle looks like.

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This week, I wanted to draw your attention to an overlooked set of creatures—fungi.

Most people don’t bat an eyelid at fungi. Heck, most people don’t even know what fungi are.

The more informed among us might know that mushrooms are related to fungi. But mushrooms aren’t fungi per se. Rather, they are the fruiting heads of fungi.

There are an estimated 3.8 million species of fungi in the world, most of which are not described. For context, there are around 6,500 mammal species in the world. That includes charismatic large animals like tigers, elephants, wolves, bison, whales, pandas, and rhinos. Let that sink in. 

Fungi hiding behind tree bark

Much of the fungal world is unexplored because fungi can appear, on the surface, boring. But there’s a lot under the surface, and I mean that literally as well—a lot of the fungal world is underground. And the existence of this world is much of the reason the world functions the way it does.

First of all, fungi are not plants. They are more closely related to animals. They help break down rocks and decaying matter. They remove pollutants from the air and produce anti-bacterial properties (heard of penicillin?). Many fungi serve as extensions of the root systems of plants. 

The largest fungus in the world is a honey fungus found in Oregan, US. It spread across 10 kilometres and could be around 8,000 years old. 

Fungi reproduce with spores, which are loose equivalents to plant seeds. They release around 50 mega tonnes of spores into the air every year, the weight of 500,000 blue whales. Many of these spores help in cloud formation, influencing rain patterns across the globe. 

Many fungi “launch” their spores explosively, with an acceleration 10,000 times faster than that of a space shuttle at takeoff, reaching staggering speeds of 100 km/hour. 

All these insights come from an eye-opening book called “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake. My aunt gifted me this book, which has opened up an entire new world. So, as I’ve been in the rainforests of Kerala for the past week, I’ve spent my time trying to find all the fungi I can. 

I was so engrossed in my explorations that I didn’t take pictures of all the fungi, especially the big ones (there was one 2 feet across). But be assured, there is a whole world of undocumented creatures out there. Will you help unravel their secrets?

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Postcard

This might not be an aesthetically pleasing photo, but it documents an interesting natural history moment. Here, a white-bellied treepie attacked a racket-tailed drongo off a perch. This was taken a while back, and it was an interesting incident to witness, prompting questions of how different species interact with one another in this landscape…

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‘The only way to learn is to live’ - Matt Haig

Have a creative, wild and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

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