After watching Paul Stamets’ documentary on the transformational power of fungi, I have a whole new appreciation for this being we call “mushroom”. If you think about, mushrooms have been with us for centuries. Indigenous people have used “magic mushrooms” in their ceremonies and rituals. Today, thousands of people travel to Amsterdam every year to partake in this ancient (and fun!) practice.
But there is more. People stranded in the woods often survive eating mushrooms and berries (if you know what to pick, of course). I myself have childhood memories of mushroom picking in the woods with my parents, and then drying the mushrooms for the winter. And my favourite appetizer has always been…pickled mushrooms!
Wait wait, there is still more! Besides being useful to humans, fungi are an essential part of Earth. Fungi can survive in severely polluted areas. They can clean the soil and prepare it for plants to grow on. It’s not an accident that the “biggest living thing” on Earth is indeed a mushroom, Armillaria ostoyae.
As a tribute to this magnificent organism, I have created a gallery of 32 beautiful and inspiring fungi photographs. Please, learn more about the mushrooms and use them in your Permaculture designs to benefit the Earth and the people.
All of the photographs below are licensed under Creative Commons license.
