AUROVILLE (Tamil Nadu): A walk in the New Lands forest, spread over 51 acres in Auroville, is refreshing. The chatter in the mind fades away in the deep silence of the forest, and is only punctuated by bird song. There is an occasional flash of colour as butterflies flit past, and there is a play of light and shade as sunlight filters through the canopy of trees.
It is the perfect day for a walk in the woods as a dozen of us decide to go mushroom spotting in this painstakingly regenerated forest in Auroville.
Auroville is an experimental international township, located 10-15 km from the Union Territory of Puducherry, and 150 km from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in South India. The purpose of Auroville is “to realise human unity” where people of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.
Milla, a 27-year-old, fungi enthusiast, leads the walk. I had first met her at a workshop in Auroville, where she spoke about growing oyster mushrooms at home. Milla often organises such mushroom foraging walks.
“We are gathered here to learn more about fungi and how important they are to our ecosystem,” Milla begins as we embark on our walk.
It is interesting to note that the forest we are in is a tropical dry evergreen forest along the Coromandel coast. The area was once a vast barren stretch of land that has been coaxed into growing trees over the last 30 years or so. The forest is dark and cool.
The Wild Decomposers
Fungi are important decomposers in the ecosystem. They are essential for making accessible certain nutrients which aren't readily available to the plants, and they feed on dead and decaying matter, and break down organic matter like wood and leaf, she explains.
The mycorrhizal fungi share a symbiotic relationship with the tree roots. They increase the surface area of the trees' roots to absorb water and nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen and in exchange receive carbohydrates from the tree.
The conversation takes an inevitable turn towards edible mushrooms and Milla is quick to enlighten us that not all mushrooms are edible and that one has to have knowledge to tell the difference.
Milla points out the Suregada angustifolia is known locally as kakaipalai, Discospermum sphaerocarpum locally known as Pachai Nazhuvai, Syzygium cumini or the malabar plum, Tarenna asiatica locally known as tharani and Walsura trifoliolata locally known as Valsura among others.
A Glowing Mushroom
Right away, we spot a splitgill mushroom (Schizophyllum commune). It glows blue under a UV light, Milla informs us. Splitgills can rehydrate and dehydrate, and grow in decaying wood. It is an edible mushroom and is popular in Manipur, where it is called Kanglayen and added to a baked dish called Paknam. In Mizoram it is called pasi, the tiny mushroom. This white-rot fungus has 23,000 sexes!
As we negotiate the uneven forest floor dug up by wild boars, we spot the earth ball, a fungus from the Genus Pisolithus. It is usually found around the root of the Acacia auriculiformis tree. The fungus supports the tree's growth and protects it from environmental stresses like water scarcity and extreme temperatures by helping it absorb water better.
The next fungus on the forest path is from the genus Thelephora. These are usually common on sandy and laterite surfaces and are inedible. Thelephora palmata, a mushroom in this genus, is used in cloth dyeing.
Milla says she is intrigued by the mysterious lives of the fungi. It always makes her think of the inter-connectedness of organisms in the ecosystem. “If I see a fungus I am curious about the tree it shares a relationship with. I like to find out at which time of the year the fungus is at its most prolific,” she said.
We discuss the entomopathogenic fungi found in the Amazon rainforest in South America that attacks ants. We inspect leaf litter, logs of woods, the trunks of trees where mushrooms are most likely to be.
Luckily, we find a log with Trametes flavida. This causes white rot decay, breaking down lignin, one of nature's toughest compounds. A study published by PubMed in 2023, found their potential to detoxify a bio-hazardous dye called Congo red.
Lessons on Inter-connectedness
We wend our way around trees covered in lichens, again a product of a symbiotic relationship between fungus and algae. Lichens are sensitive to pollutants such as sulfur dioxide. Their presence indicates the air pollution levels to be low in that region.
Something that looks like a wooden flower catches our attention. It is a Hexagonia tenuis of the family Polyporaceae. It's another common mushroom in the region. It is hardy and produces an enzyme called laccase which breaks down lignin.
We encounter another flower-like fungus (from the genus Tetrapyrgos) with a black stem. It also plays the important role of a decomposer of the forest, Milla tells us.
Then at last, a big mushroom! There is a buzz of excitement as Milla points out to a mushroom from the genus Ganoderma. The reishi mushroom belongs to this genus. Reishi tea has become widely popular for its many health benefits.
“Fungi lead such complex and diverse lives. They are everywhere. They are vital for so many functions within our body, within our ecosystems, even in the ocean,” Milla says, adding how the fungi taught her an important lesson — that nothing exists on its own, there are systems and an inter-connectedness that help us survive.
Milla recommends we refer to Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy, and Fascinated by Fungi by Gordon Walker. She also follows the work of Giuliana Furci.
As we troop out of the forest, Milla says one should not over-harvest edible mushrooms or gather them before they are fully mature as that stops them from producing spores and propagating.
The walk in the woods made me hungry and all that mushroom talk made me long for chatu patra poda, a mushroom delicacy from my state, Odisha. Locally available mushrooms are marinated with a paste made out of mustard seeds, poppy seeds, grated coconut and some aromatics, mixed with pungent mustard oil. They are then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked. It is definitely going to be mushrooms for lunch!
(Sheetal Patro is an independent journalist based in Auroville. Views are personal.)
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