Then we think of the animals, the hidden deer, moose, raccoons,
coyotes, minks, and bobcats. The forest
is their home, and the trees and other vegetation give them cover and
shelter. And we think of the birds, too,
flitting in and out of the trees, leaving the forest and coming back again at
will. Their nests are high above the
other animals, and their vantage point gives them a clear edge over the rest of
the forest creatures.
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Then it’s on to insects, those buzzing, biting, chirping,
jumping, stinging, crawling things.
They’re tiny but oh-so-noticeable.
The smallest bee can command a great deal more attention than the
largest buck. Respect. That’s what we give to the insects. That, and a very large area to themselves if
we can. They are a nuisance to humans,
although the birds might have a different tale to tell about them.
But there are other denizens of the forest that go largely
unnoticed. They are quiet and shy, and
the fungus in this photo is only one of them.
They are neither of the plant kingdom nor the animal kingdom. They have their own place in the order of
things. We tend to pay so much attention
to the plant and animal kingdoms but give little heed to the fungus kingdom,
but it is important to remember that it is
a kingdom and not just anything gets to have that label.
They’re everywhere. Everywhere. They cover the trees, invade the mosses, and
ferment all the plant life. They recycle
the dead and give it life once again.
Sort of. In a non-animal,
non-plant, darkness-loving, sun-hating kind of way--the opposite, really, of
other life. Their hidden underground
network is called “mycelium,” and it is massive. The largest example of mycelium is in a 2.400
acre site in Oregon
and is estimated to be 2,200 years old and to cover 1,665 football fields. According to Paul Stamets in Mycelium Running, this one mycelium has
killed the forest above it several times and still lives to tell the ongoing
tale.
What you see above ground when you look at a tiny mushroom
on the forest floor is just the “fruiting body.” It is the underground network that forms the
massive kingdom of fungus, the true undisputed ruler of the forest, the
re-fashioner of organic material, the ruler of the world in between life and
death--consisting of neither yet commanding of both.
