We have had quite a lot of rain recently, about 200 ml in the last two weeks. That means that the tanks are full, the dams are full, the bushfire danger has abated for now and there is mud everywhere. Among the damp leaves and mud are all kinds of fungus. On a short walk this morning I managed to discover several kinds of mushroom (or toadstool).
I have no plans to eat these discoveries, but it would be nice to be able to identify them. I found a website that identifies some Australian fungus types but they are notoriously hard to positively identify, so I am far from sure on their identity.
The world is fresh and new again after the rain. Nature once again reminds me that what we know about our own surroundings is a tiny part of what is actually there. The greater part of these fungus lives under the surface for years, slowly spreading and working, until a rain event triggers them to spawn. They send their emissaries into the upper world to spread spores on the wind, these protrusions are what we call mushrooms or toadstools. The thing that amazes me is that the whole world of these fungus is largely lived underground, invisible to us surface dwellers. I love living in the bush.
