Mushrooms as our values 2.

On Saturday I talked about mushrooms in the context of twenty edible mushrooms.I have been able to touch on a surprising number of topics with these species. The lecture lasted almost two hours. I was really into mushrooms. Yes, these twenty species are really fantastic. I will therefore present each of them in groups of five. See previous post in which we were taken to the poplar groves. The second entry draws your attention to mushrooms in trees, the forest and the fate of pines. This summer has been extremely harsh and a stark warning that climate change is a real threat. Across Europe there have been droughts, with huge rivers falling to critical levels. Drinkable water is an extremely precious treasure! Thirst is hellish pain and death by thirst is terrible. Trees and fungi are thirsty too. Our magnificent oaks are tormented, weakened and destroyed by thirst. The oak Quercus robur is the most noble tree of Békés county. Its extinction is a tragedy. A lot of mushrooms are associated with oak. Like the blusher Amanita rubescens in the first picture. This mushroom has drawn my attention this year to a very important fact, dehydration, how little water is available to trees and mushrooms. The blusher is a common fungus.  It can be found from the oak forests of the lowlands up to the spruce forests of the high mountains. Of course it also lives in the oak plantations of Békés county. Year after year, however, it barely produces a crop. This year, however, the warm and rainy September has brought it out in several places. So the fungus is present, but the weather is not very favourable for the growth of the fruiting body.

The pale chanterelle Cantharellus ferruginascens is our other notable forest mushroom. One warm and rainy October 2015, a shroomer colleague brought it to my attention, and now also I thank her for his kindness. The pale chanterelle is a miracle to me that it can make a living in our oak plantations. A tree plantation isn't a forest, just as a wheat field isn't a meadow. The oak plantation is felled in its eightieth year. That's almost a century, and in that time the remaining natural wildlife attempt to convert it into forest. Unfortunately, what is left of nature is so small that its heroic struggle is hopeless. It breaks my heart when I see mushrooms fighting. Of course, fungi are much greater survivors than us humans! But climate change is testing them too. The trees they are associated with cannot adapt to rapid warming and are dying. When the tree dies, the fungus follows. Pine trees are particularly vulnerable.

The Suillus collinitus is an one of the most adaptable species of its genus. I took this photo of its fruiting body in the city. It has adapted well to the urban habitat. Very often it can be found in private gardens, if there are Pinus species planted as ornamental trees. It is indeed found in many places. But the pines are dying. Most Suillus species are good, edible mushrooms. Their disappearance, along with their tree partners, is a sad loss. I know it's hard to understand, but a well-functioning natural system is our life support system. The disappearance of species threatens its functioning. If the system breaks down, we die! Yes, we die!!!! If we don't get water and food from the landscape, we will die of thirst and hunger. In fact, I've heard that the oxygen levels in the atmosphere are decreasing. Now, suffocating is also very bad. We are killing ourselves! Our species is committing collective suicide. Yes, I worry about the fungi, but I also worry about us.

The copper spike Chroogomphus rutilus is a belongs to the Boletales order in the same way as the previous mushroom, but in a different family. I know, it's hard to believe that this gills mushroom is a relative of a bolete, but it is. The green colour on its English name indicates that it is also a good, edible mushroom. My photo shows a typical fruiting body. Its speciality is that its orange flesh turns purple when cooked. I have never seen it in a city, but I have seen it in a holiday village. In a larger garden with a natural effect, it can also be present in the city. Unfortunately, I have not found it anywhere in larger quantities. If such a unique mushroom disappears, only we mushroom pickers will be sorry. Most people never hear about it. But it is the same with us humans when we die. The masses do not notice our passing. What we have in abundance, and there are many of us, loses its value. We believe that nature is infinite, our technology invincible. Our deadly mistakes. Nature is our life support system. That is the only fact that really matters.

The saffron milkcap Lactarius deliciosus one of the best edible mushrooms. Despite this, apart from a few dozen shroomers, people don't give a damn that it's on our list of losses. It is as endangered as the fungi associated with other pines. I know it's not in front of your eyes, but ancient pine forests are dying. Go to any high mountain and you'll see it for yourself. In fact, there are several genera of pine, the two most important for the shroomer are Pinus and Picea. The saffron milkcap is associated with species of the genus Pinus, while the false saffron milkcap L. deterrimus is associated with species of Picea. To determine the fungi associated with trees, you also need to look at the tree near which the fruiting bodies we were found. Unfortunately, we are not aware of the importance of trees and their fungi. I consider trees to be the pillars of life. If we cut them all down, our world will collapse and we will suffer a terrible fate. It is unbelievable to me that we are doing very little to avoid collapse. Instead, we are destroying our world even more fiercely. See you in hell.