I could start this blog with a clichéd phrase such as “the fabulous world of fungi” or "the magical world of mushrooms". But I prefer to call it the immersive and often quite addictive world of fungi. It’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole, both literally and metaphorically, once you gain an interest in the world of mycology, the study of fungi. It's around this time of year that we suddenly become very aware of the presence of fungi, as autumn, particularly October, is peak fungi season. With many of the summer fungi still hanging on and the huge range of autumnal fungi making an appearance. When in fact, Fungi are all around us throughout the year, they are just not as obvious.

The mushroom we see is just the fruiting body of the fungus itself, an organ to spread spores, which are made at certain times of the year when the climatic conditions are just right. The vast majority of the fungi itself is within substrate or soil in the form of a complex network of hyphae (minute tentacles-like strands, seeking out new sources of nutrition). These individual hyphae create a mat of fungal strands known as mycelium.

In the UK, there are currently 4,000+ species of fungi that we know of. In the past, before we better-understood fungi as organisms in their own right, they were classed as animals or plants. Now the modern world will recognise fungi as its separate kingdom. But fungi possess the characteristics of both animals and plants, which is where the confusion may have occurred. Unlike plants, fungi aren't able to photosynthesise and create their own food, nor do they actively hunt down prey or graze on plant material like animals. Fungi and other various groups of other helpful organisms, gain sustenance from breaking down/decomposing organic matter.

We still know very little about the bigger picture of how fungi interact with the wider world. But we are starting to better appreciate the complex relationships between fungi and plants. Which is often relayed in more anthropomorphic terms and referred to as the “wood wide web”. Fungi create a network of mycelium between themselves and plants, most notably trees, often forming symbiotic relationships with particular species of tree.

One example is that the characteristic red and white outfit which Santa Claus or Father Christmas (depending on what you prefer to call the jolly bearded fellow of Christmas) is based on the colouration of this common species of fungi. Fungi (or the fruiting bodies of fungi) come in all different shapes and sizes. From phallic stink horn (phallus impudicus) to the huge rounded giant puffball (calvatia gigantea), and every possible shape and size in between. There is even a fungi species known as the cauliflower fungi (sparassis crispa), which you guessed it, resembles a cauliflower.

The number one question people have when confronted by the sight of a fungi is “is it edible? Or poisonous?” In reality, very few species are dangerously poisonous. With the majority of species being either inedible or just not worth the time. Of the scary poisonous species, nothing quite compares to the death cap (amanita phalloides). The name says it all. This rather inconspicuous mushroom is a stone-cold killer. If this mushroom is consumed there is nothing modern medical science can do to help.

But enough of the horror stories, as even the most poisonous of mushrooms is only hazardous if ingested/consumed. Given space and respect, even mushrooms like the death cap have a rightful place in our wild and green spaces.

My top Halloween fungi are the dead man’s fingers (xylaria polymorpha). This club-shaped fungus is a common and easy-to-find fungus within woodlands, resembling the fingers of a long dead corpse emerging from the ground… a very scary fungal find!