ix: Book Club Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms can Heal, Shift Consciousness & Save the Planet (Stamets, P. [ed.]; Earth Aware, 2019) Reviewer: Marianne Hughes This is a good introduction to the impact of fungi on our planet, and on our bodies, and our spiritual perspectives. The 25 chapters are organised into these three themes, so you can dip into your area of interest and follow up with the many references provided. The wonderful colour photographs give the impression that this is a ‘coffee table’ book— and it can be enjoyed in this way —but there is also much thought-provoking content. There’s also a film of the same name, produced by Louie Schwartzberg. In his introduction, editor and contributor Paul Stamets suggests we categorise the world into flora, fauna and fungi. He describes discovering his bees feeding on the mycelium of woodland polypore mushrooms. He found this mycelium dramatically reduced viral loads in these bees, extending their lifespans. Steve Sheppard explores this further in chapter six; whilst In chapter four, Giuliana Furci recounts successfully campaigning with the Fungi Foundation to extend Chile’s general environmental regulations in 2013, thus stimulating further study of fungi. In chapter eight, Tradd Colter calls fungi ‘first responders’ and ‘keystone species’. He notes— alarmingly —that the Earth’s topsoil, 12 to 15 feet deep in the 1900s, is now merely 5 to 8 inches deep. It takes fungi 500 to 600 years to make one inch of topsoil, which then holds moisture and expands the capacity for biodiversity. Crazily, I had never considered why forests are not stacked miles high with the leaves they drop each year. It seems obvious now that I’ve read about it, that it’s the processing action of fungi that releases nutrients which are then dispersed via mycelium, and that these co-operative networks are the foundation of life. Still in the first section, I learn about the international network of Radical Mycology groups, about the use of mycelium to combat oil spills and toxic
waste (‘mycoremediation’), and about lowtech, portable mushroom kits with the potential to save over three million people a year by using mycelium to filter bacteria out of unsafe water. The chapters in the second section focus on the impact of fungi on our bodies. We share more DNA sequences with mushrooms than we do with plants and, in chapter ten, Andrew Weil suggests this genetic relationship might explain the many medicinal effects of mushrooms. Chapter sixteen takes the example of Agarikon (Laricifomes officinalis)— a fungus which can live up to 75 years —to outline the impacts of fungi on our immune systems. This section also boasts a wide range of historical, culinary and medicinal essays. I was interested to learn that, of all the mushrooms, desert truffles— now threatened by climate change and urbanisation —appear to have the longest recorded history of continuous use. Elinoar Shavit’s chapter thirteen details the role played by mushrooms
