Mushrooms in the Ecosystem
By Leslie Hubbard, Public Engagement Coordinator at Mt. Cuba Center
Each year at Kennett Square’s Mushroom Festival, more than 100,000 visitors stroll down Main
Street to sample fried mushrooms, stuffed mushrooms, mushroom soup, and even mushroom ice
cream in a celebration of the town’s largest cash crop. What they might not realize is that mushrooms are much more than a delicious food.
Mushrooms are the “flower” of fungi growing under the ground. In the soil, fungi form a tight web of
threadlike filaments called mycelia from which mushrooms grow. Mushrooms form and release their
“fungal seeds”, called spores, which spread to other areas and produce new fungi.
Fungi are tireless decomposers, breaking down decaying
plant and animal matter along with minerals to create nutrient rich soil. This is why a key component of good soil is
the presence of fungi. Amazingly, one cubic inch of soil
contains an average of eight miles of mycelia.
“For millions of years native plants have benefited from
forming partnerships with fungi, specifically mushrooms,” states Tradd Cotter, mycologist, organic gardener,
and educator. For instance, native orchid species need the
presence of certain types of fungi to successfully grow.
“The fungus and the orchid have co-evolved such that the
Orange-mat coprinus (Hygrophorus nitidus)
orchid cannot survive without its fungus.” says Phil Oyerly,
Photo by Michael Maciarello
Mt. Cuba Center Greenhouse Manager and President of the
Native Orchid Conference. “Orchid seeds need fungus to germinate,” he explains, “as the plant sends out
roots and begins to grow, the fungus grows into the roots of the plant and provides sugars and starches for
the plant to eat through microscopic nodules.”
Hygrophorus nitidus
Kentucky lady slipper (Cypripedium kentuckiense)
Photo: Mt. Cuba Center
(continued on next page)
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The link between the two is so strong that the North American Orchid Conservation Center is developing
orchid seed banks and fungi banks to preserve both partners. “We look at orchids as the canary in the coal
mine, telling us when habitats are healthy. The fungi are important to supporting those orchid habitats. If
the fungi are not present in the soil, the orchids will not grow and if the orchids are absent from the habitat,
it’s an indicator that it’s not a healthy ecosystem,” states Oyerly.
Orchids are not the only plants closely linked
with fungi. Everything from oaks to blueberries
depends on fungi to grow. Cotter estimates that
95% or more land plants get roughly 80% of
their energy through a partnership with fungi and
bacteria. “The zones beneath the soil surface
where the partnerships take place can be described as beautiful mosaics of constantly adapting and changing microbial populations working
together to provide nutrients and gasses to the
individual plant species throughout their stages of
development,” he reports. For instance, a pine
sapling trying to grow on the dark forest floor
Wood ear (Auricularia auricular)
needs
extra nitrogen to gain the height required to
Photo by Michael Maciarello
reach sunlight. Nitrogen is hard to come by in
many woodland soils, but through a network of fungi, nitrogen can be shared from one tree to another.
Cotter believes that this network is integral to keeping ecosystems in balance, even in the case of environmental disasters. “Fungi secrete enzymes that break down toxins or harmful chemicals that may be present
in an ecosystem into small enough bits that certain bacteria can take on,” he explains. Thereby, fungi are
able to clean chemicals from the environment.
So as you enjoy a bisque of button mushrooms at Kennett Square’s
annual fungus festival, take a moment to reflect the other 97,999 species that play such a critical role in preserving the natural balance of the
ecosystem.
Learn more about the
world of mushrooms.
Attend “Mushroom
Mania” with Tradd
Cotter at Mt. Cuba
Center 9:00am –
4:00pm, October 11 &
12. For more information, go to
www.mtcubacenter.org.
Oyster mushroom
(Pleurotus ostreatus)
Photo by Michael Maciarello
Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor)
Photo by Ryan Cerminara
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