Activity Report Explorer

Polly Dyer – Seattle • Entered by Penelope Peterson on December 31, 2023

GOB Book Club

October 24, 2023 – October 24, 2023

Key Issue: Doesn’t apply
Activity Type: Education & Outreach (tabling, films & lectures, regional B-walks/works)
Key Partners: Polly Dyer Seattle Broads and a few Broads from other states

Short Description of Activity

We met via Zoom at 7 pm on October 24th to discuss, “Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds & Shape our Futures,” by Merlin Sheldrake. Our recording secretary, Wendy Roedell, has suggested this book at the end of our last Book Club meeting, and the group voted to read it. The entire book is about fungi. As I usually do, I prepared questions on the book in advance of our meeting. Here are the questions I prepared, including some of the answers:

1. In chapter 2 Sheldrake suggests that fungi are capable of cognition (p. 65.) What is Sheldrake’s evidence? Do you believe that fungi show “intelligence?”Why or why not?
Sheldrake explores how these networks have shown “intelligence” in various laboratory studies: They are able to solve mazes, remember information, and pass chemical signals, electric impulses, and nutrients over huge distances. These adaptations have allowed fungi to occupy nearly every habitat on earth.
2. In chapter 3 Sheldrake explores symbiosis. What is the symbiosis of entangled life?
The symbiotic merging of algae and fungi to form lichens enabled the rootless ancestors of all our plants to emerge from water. Ninety per cent of all plants depend on fungi for minerals. The study of lichens has led to the discovery of symbiosis and the idea that all life on earth might inherently rely on other life for survival.
3. What else happens in chapter three?
Chapter 3 delves into the history of lichens, a type of composite organism of which fungi make up one element. Lichenology shook scientific orthodoxy in the 19th century when Simon Schwendener discovered that lichens were a partnership between a fungus and one alga. The study of lichens has led to the discovery of symbiosis and the idea that all life on earth might inherently rely on other life for survival. This chapter also discusses extremophiles—organisms, many of which are lichens, that can live in the most inhospitable conditions on earth.
4. How do lichens defy the boundaries that define individuals?
Lichens are miniature ecosystems that exist as single organisms, calling into question the basic notion of what constitutes individuality.
5. What impact have fungi had on our existence?
6.. Fungi have made life on earth possible. How?
7. How do fungi communicate with humans, animals, and plants?
Through scent. For most of the year, truffles exist as underground mycelia. But there comes a time when they must reproduce. They can’t do that underground, where there are no air currents or animals to disperse their spores. So truffles must find a way above ground. For this, they release their signature irresistible aroma –⁠ and soon, animals and humans come to unearth them. Through smell, truffles speak in a language understood by all.
8. What could fungi do for us?
Chapters 5 and 6 delve deeper into mycelia, exploring how fungi helped root-bearing plants come to exist, proliferate, and evolve. These chapters also introduce what Sheldrake is hesitant to call the “wood wide web,” a complex system of mycelia, bacteria, plant roots, and other matter that underlie every ecosystem. The study of these concepts is just beginning, but the findings have the potential to change the world.
Fungi, plants, bacteria, and trees are connected via “wood wide webs. The Pacific Northwest is home to lush, green forests. But among the thickets of vibrant emerald, in the shadiest parts of the forest, small patches of stark white plants can be found pushing up from the ground. These plants, known as “ghost pipes,” are the species Monotropa uniflora. The networks are mycorrhizas (mai.kaw.ree,zah) which are symbiotic associations between fungi and plants.
9.. Sheldrake cites the work of another author we have read. Who?
Suzanne Simard who wrote about the “Mother Tree.”
10, What happens in chapter four?
The fourth chapter outlines various methods by which fungi control the minds and actions of humans, animals, and insects. It focuses primarily on psilocybin mushrooms and cordyceps fungi. Psilocybin has been used as a mind-altering substance for thousands of years, and cutting-edge research shows that it is an effective treatment for severe mental illness. Cordyceps, which have become popular in the human imagination, are the “zombie fungi” that infect insects and cause them to march to their deaths, all for the benefit of the fungi.
11, How might fungi contribute to improving our world?
Sheldrake ends the book by discussing the future of mycological research, especially how fungi may be used to save the environment. Several companies and a wide network of amateur enthusiasts have begun to develop methods of using fungi to build new things, to influence damaged environments, and to consume harmful waste.

Reflection/Evaluation

Ten Broads participated in this Book Club discussion. Most said that they had learned a lot about fungi from this book that they didn’t know before. Broads also noted that Sheldrake’s writing about fungi connects with books we have read previously about trees and forests. Our Book Club has read six books about trees, and the authors of these books talk extensively about how trees are connected and communicate. The foundation for this communication is the “wood wide webs” discussed by Sheldrake. Our Broads ended the discussion by concluding that Sheldrake has penned a fascinating book about fungi that is well worth reading.