Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures

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a b c Cooke, Rachel (23 August 2020). "The future is fungal: why the 'megascience' of mycology is on the rise". The Observer. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020 . Retrieved 31 August 2020.

Massospora, a species completely unrelated to Ophiocordyceps, infects cicadas: it rots away the abdomen of an infected insect, leaving it tipped with a yellowish plug of spores that looks like a mass of pollen. Infected cicadas are not incapacitated or ill: in fact they become ‘hyperactive and hypersexual despite the fact that their genitals have long since crumbled away’. Rushing between mates, they become ‘flying salt-shakers of death’, dusting other cicadas with Massospora’s spores. Some fungi have tens of thousands of mating types, approximately equivalent to our sexes (the record holder is the split gill fungus, Schizophyllum commune, which has more than twenty-three thousand mating types, each of which is sexually compatible with nearly every one of the others). The mycelium of many fungi can fuse with other mycelial networks if they are genetically similar enough, even if they aren't sexually compatible Francis Gooding writes about the relationship between plants and mycorrhizal fungi ( LRB, 20 May). Fungi extend the reach of plants’ roots, bringing them water and essential nutrients in a form they can absorb; they also protect them from pests and diseases. In return plants provide the fungi with the carbon that makes up their bodies; many fungi are entirely dependent on plants for this. However, when plants are given fertilisers, they have less need of the fungi and will stop supplying carbon ‘exudates’. All of these characters tell their story in personal terms rather than scientific detail. Children who read this book might see the forest floor in new ways, engaging with the natural world as if it were intelligent, sentient, and friendly.

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The science in the book is soft, entering into the narrative both through fun language and interesting illustrations. In many ways, the science is slipped into the story like crushed-up medicine in a tasty treat. Admittedly, a lot of these criticisms are just my own personal prejudices, and other readers may not be bothered by them. Entangled Life was written well enough, even if it wandered, and if you're a reader interested in the more philosophical side of fungi, you will likely LOVE this. But I really just wanted the biology with a few side stories thrown in, so this wasn't my cup of tea. Carey, John (23 August 2020). "Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake, review". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020 . Retrieved 2 September 2020.

Mycelium, Sheldrake says, is the tissue that holds together much of the world. The filaments thread through the soil, and through living and decomposing bodies, plant or animal. Each exploring tip is looking for water and nutrients, which it will begin to absorb, sending chemical signals to other parts of the network. In some species, scientists have also detected electrical waves. Other filaments nearby that receive these messages turn towards the nourishment. The network can store information. Scientists have tried removing the food source and severing all the connections. New filaments appear and set out in the right direction. It is hard not to call this “memory”. they describe fossilized mycelium preserved in the fractures of ancient lava flows. The fossils show branching filaments that "touch and entangle each other." The "tangled network" they form, the dimensions of the hyphae, the dimensions of spore-like structures, and the pattern of its growth all closely resemble modern-day fungal mycelium. It is an extraordinary discovery because the fossils date from 2.4 billion years ago, more than a billion years before fungi were thought to have branched off the tree of life. Written for four to eight year olds, Mushroom Rain explores all of the ideas and interesting things about mushrooms that adults know and love. From the underground information networks to the wild and fascinating expressions of fungi in nature, your child will get an appreciation for the wonder that fungi inspire. Sex? Well There's the Stinkhorn, which, I now know, does indeed stink terribly. Yet its Latin name - Phallus impudicus - has been known to make some genteel souls blush: Merlin Sheldrake (isn't his name the coolest!?) talks about these things and so much more. Bunches and bundles and gobs and heaps of fungi facts!Fungi can reconfigure their digestion to consume all sorts of toxic things people produce: cigarette butts, used diapers, radioactive particles, even plastic! The mycelial networks in the ground “compute” information encoded in spikes of electrical activity, allowing plants to communicate with each other. When an aphid begins eating the leaves of a plant, it can send out an alarm to others of its kind through the mycelial network, prompting them to put off chemicals that will keep the aphids away. Identification: One of the largest fungi in the UK, it is similar in size to a football. The young fruiting bodies are solid, white, thin and smooth and then later turn olive, then finally brown when it opens. When mature it is roughly 20-75 cm across. There is no stem, however it can be connected to the ground by a fine root like filament. makes 30 liters of juice, and ferments it for two weeks. It was delicious! “The taste was dry and delicate, with a gentle fizz. … It elicited elation and mild euphoria.” Bravo!