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The Amanita fungi, which we categorise as the family Amanitaceae, are by some authorities included in the family Plutaceae, along with Pluteus and Volvariella species. Amanita caesarea (above) occurs in southern Europe and is a prized edible mushroom. Deadly poisonous amanitas include the Deathcap, Amanita phalloides; and Destroying Angel, Amanita virosa. Most famous is Amanita muscaria, the Fly Agaric - a hallucinogenic mushroom that must therefore be treated as poisonous. On the subject of toxins and hallucinogens, Psilocybe semilaceata, the Magic Mushroom, contains Psilobin and Psilocybin, which are hallucinogenic substances; so do many other gilled fungi. Grisettes are also Amanita species, the most common being Amanita fulva, Amanita crocea and Amanita vaginata. Other mushrooms in the group include False Deathcap, Amanita excelsa (synonym Amanita spissa), and Blusher, Amanita rubescens. I find this a horror, and want to assert our human need to do so, even if the ant experiences nothing that we should call suffering, and it is only as drama that the spectacle is appalling. The fact that Ophiocordyceps has evolved to do this and has no choice makes little difference. A creature’s perceptions and desires have turned into enemies steering it to its death. There is no symbiosis or negotiation. Even a farm animal, a free-range one anyway, has some agency while it lives, but this ant has none. It becomes purely a means to an end desired by another. Human beings sometimes do this, and other abominable things that they often succeed in regarding as right, or normal, or not worth noticing, yet humans alone, as far as we know, have a highly developed ability to see their own natural behaviour as wrong. Reading about the fate of these ants made me grab at the idea of a conscience, however imperfect, that makes us different from fungi, or from a male tiger killing a female’s cubs to bring her into season.
Fungi - Medical Microbiology - NCBI Bookshelf Basic Biology of Fungi - Medical Microbiology - NCBI Bookshelf
Kandi V, Vaish R, Gurrapu P, Koka SS, Bhoomigari MR. Cureus. 2020 Apr 10; 12(4):e7616. Epub 2020 Apr 10. The kingdom of fungi is one of the most obvious but least understood of the many (at least six, and some scientists suggest almost twice that number) kingdoms of Life on Earth. The reasons are largely cultural: for centuries fungi were treated as the work of evil spirits, elves or witches; they were classed as 'excrescences of the earth - effectively mineral rather than animal or vegetable (the only two kingdoms of life accepted as such until recent times). Nowadays we know that fungi and neither animals nor vegetables, but they pre-date both in evolutionary terms; and when you begin taking an interest in fungi you soon discover just how fascinating they are.There is also a drop-down menu via which you can get directly to picture galleries of the most popular 'types'. Merlin Sheldrake, a mycologist who studies underground fungal networks, carries us easily into these questions with ebullience and precision. His fascination with fungi began in childhood. He loves their colours, strange shapes, intense odours and astonishing abilities, and is proud of the way this once unfashionable academic field is challenging some of our deepest assumptions. Entangled Life is a book about how life-forms interpenetrate and change each other continuously. He moves smoothly between stories, scientific descriptions and philosophical issues. He quotes Prince and Tom Waits. Identification: One of the most iconic toadstools depicted in fairy-tale illustrations. It has a shiny, scarlet red or orange cap with white wart-like spots dotted across. Cap is 8-20 cm across. The gills are white and free, and the stem is swollen with rings of scales.
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake review - The Guardian
Identification: A grey to fawn cap that is at first egg-shaped and then later bell shaped. The surface is smooth and splits into a few tiny scales from the apex, the edges are often wavy and split. Stem is white and hollow. Cap is around 4-8 cm across and stem is 5-15 cm tall.Fungi are everywhere, and Merlin Sheldrake is an ideal guide to their mysteries. He's passionate, deeply knowledgeable, and a wonderful writer." It is impossible to put this book down. Entangled Lifeprovides awindow into the mind-boggling biology and fascinating cultures surrounding fungal life. Sheldrakeasks us to consider a life-form that is radically alien to ours, yet vibrant and lively underfoot.” Flood, Alison (7 September 2021). "Wainwright prize for nature writing goes to James Rebanks for English Pastoral". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 September 2021. Borrelli-Persson, Laird (25 January 2021). "Iris van Herpen: Spring 2021 Couture". Vogue . Retrieved 4 February 2021.
The Fungi - 3rd Edition - Elsevier
FIVE STARS* “After this book, nothing will seem the same again… beautifully written and illustrated... dazzling… reveals a world that’s both more extraordinary and more delicate than could be imagined.”
What are Fungi?
There’s a feeling of wonder about all of Sheldrake’s sentences which would disarm the most hardened cynic. Yet he’s a very serious scientist. Wonder and scholarship need one another desperately... However much we think we have understood, this book will make us realise how much we haven’t… After reading it you’ll think, ‘The world is a massively more exciting and colourful and charismatic place than I thought.’” The second edition draws on an additional three years of surveying done over a wider area, adding 23 new species to the 177 already described in the first edition After reading Sheldrake's masterpiece I am more convinced than ever that we will never solve the grave problems of our times unless we deeply re-entangle our lives ‘fungus-style’ into the living fabric of our lustrous planet.” a b c Szalai, Jennifer (27 May 2020). "Whether You're Making a Meal or Cleaning an Oil Spill, There's a Fungus for That". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020 . Retrieved 2 September 2020.
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