Mushrooms in mind

At this time of year, a stroll through damp woodlands could become a tranquil hunt for mushrooms – wild wonders that reveal themselves only to those who slow down, stay curious and drop their eyes to the earth

Think of mushrooms and what springs to mind? The little white buttons you pick up at the supermarket for breakfast? The delicious pan-fried oysters in your favourite bar? Or perhaps a vision of the red-capped, white-speckled toadstools of childhood storybooks? Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus and Amanita muscaria (to give them their scientific names) are only three of around 15,000 species of fungi in the UK – and more than two million worldwide. They take an astonishing and under-appreciated array of forms, colours and textures, and spotting some of the more unusual varieties on an outdoor walk is hugely rewarding. But it takes curiosity and patience. It requires you to engage your senses, slow down and pause to look beneath branches, piles of leaves or other undergrowth.

‘Our perception of the world around us changed, and each mushroom we encountered invited us to feel a deeper sense of wonder,’ says Emily Han, a writer and naturalist based in California, who found renewed joy in her daily walks by searching for mushrooms. ‘I’ve always been a pretty slow walker or hiker, apt to “stop and smell the roses” – or in this case, decaying organic matter! But mushroom seeking has given me another way to savour my time outdoors as I feel into the quality of the air or quietly turn over leaves and logs.’