Mushrooms, the story it tells…

I find mushrooms enchanted. Since I was young, the stories associated with mushrooms just never seems to end. They appear on just about on all Disney fairytales: Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Alice in Wanderland to mention a few and in Tinkerbell series. Movies too never failed to entice viewers of the beauty these creatures especially manifested on the movie Avatar, whereby the movie illustrated some highly admirable characteristics of the mushrooms, it wasn’t just the colors and the shapes, and wow! the elaborate habitat from small to humongous ones as they provides shelter not just to animal but to the inhabitants as well. Like from the movie Smurf or the game itself, provides a captivating shelter for smurfs and is so quite lovely, unique. As unique as the ones created for the Hobbits from the movie Lord of the Rings. Brings your imagination to wonderland and the excitement of the new adventure it brings as the day gone by, refreshing as it goes.

I busied myself on the weekend around my patio. Since I bought a new member to be a permanent home for some plants, I cleaned the woods and threw many of them out. Giving some space to breathe in and space to wander about, at any time of the day. And I found these on the littlest corner of my patio. The brown mushrooms that resembles a hive or a habitat. I was so excited to see and immediately took a picture for soon they will all fade away, trying to capture a moment like as if fairies will pop out and immediately disappear the moment they found out I saw their village. Ah! It was magnificent and some were high and proud while others were on their feet. I tried to search for their name, so I can mention it but lo! I finally realized there are tons of them that exists. Neither animals or plants, these fungi thrive underground or in a decaying wood, many pops out at the side of the trees, from the barks or on the ground –indirect sunlight and humid. Upon searching, I learned that I was housing a unique species that can be either edible or poisonous… hmmm, either helpful or post danger to us. Which is it. Well I searched more and there are truly very harmful ones especially when digested coming from the Amarita genus, the most poisonous that will cause coma to death after being ingested. Anyway, needless to worry as these popular, beautifully attractive species are not native to the tropics but “native to conifer and deciduous woodland” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria). So I don’t have to worry about my pets or my boys to come across such dangerous species.

Oh! Unlocking our surroundings, we find treasures and wastes, and it’s a pleasure to know that I found treasures to behold in the tiniest things as I wandered about the little space on our patio. Perhaps one day I will be able to make a cultivar out these species, the edible ones to make available on my palate and on my plate every now and then. For us to enjoy its tastes not just its beautifully and colorfully shaped beauty. I mean to appreciate them to the fullest.  You? What can you share from the little space you got there? Oh! We all have! Thank u for the read, ‘til next time. God bless!

March 22, 2022
Image: Pinterest and mine