{"id":10490,"date":"2025-04-26T09:19:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T13:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/?p=10490"},"modified":"2025-04-26T09:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T13:19:16","slug":"the-charismatic-mushroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Charismatic Mushroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_2,\r\n                .tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_2,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_4  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_4{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" ><div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_empty_space td_block_wrap vc_empty_space tdi_6 \"  style=\"height: 32px\"><\/div>[vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<span class=\"dropcap dropcap2\">My<\/span> husband and I live in a 125-year-old farmhouse where the land has been producing one major crop these days: Fungus. It is thriving. We have trails of wide- capped parasols, shingled colonies of turkey tails and frilly oyster mushrooms, and high up in one tree, a shaggy, slow-growing lion\u2019s mane that we occasionally harvest because eating it is good for the brain. When we first experienced this bounty, I was dismayed to think that these gorgeous, spongy, odd little (or big) miracles are growing from places where our beloved trees are decaying. I\u2019m just glad that they\u2019re there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Truth is, this hasn\u2019t been a great couple of years for the trees in our neighborhood, as wind or human so-called developers have knocked them down. But it has been a rich and beautiful time for fungus. Some of the magnolias are said to have stood for more than 250 years, and they\u2019re fine, but the line of elms and maples planted along the drive when the house was new have mostly lived out their natural lives, and individual trees have been dying out too. But the underground fungal web that fruits into mushrooms has been here for \u2026 who knows how long? And it is having a grand time helping the trees (and itself).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">One particular reason to celebrate fungi is their ability to cooperate with other organisms, most especially Kingdom Plantae. Fungus enables a marvelous system of communication within the plant world, and scientists are only just starting to understand how it all works together. The truth is about as bizarre as an episode in one of Lewis Carroll\u2019s Alice books, in which what seems to be completely fantastical breaks down into a logic that not only makes sense but also inspires joy and hope\u2014and reveals an even greater, even more surprising web of sentience, the ability to feel and to make certain connections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">In fact, that\u2019s a good place to start\u2014with Alice. She knows the underground world pretty well.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><b><i>\u201cWho<\/i><\/b><b><i> <\/i><\/b><b>Are<\/b><b> <\/b><b><i>You?<\/i><\/b><b>\u201d:<\/b><b> <\/b><b>On<\/b><b> <\/b><b>Charismatic<\/b><b> <\/b><b>Species<\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\">Without fungus, life on Earth would be unrecognizable. It is all around us (and on us and in us); we just don\u2019t always know how to see it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">That\u2019s why every kingdom needs a poster child, a charismatic citizen that lures others in and makes them care. The fungus kingdom is not short on that kind of rock star, because mushrooms are glamorous. We take their pictures; we tell their stories. We want to be around them, and we beg them to reveal themselves. We revere them as a symbol of spiritual growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">So let\u2019s talk for a moment about the most famous mushroom in the history of mushrooms, one of the stars of every version of <i>Alice<\/i><i> <\/i><i>in<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Wonderland<\/i><i> <\/i>that has manifested since the book was first published in 1865: that strange fungus upon which a blue Caterpillar sits smoking a hookah. (Rather scandalous, I\u2019ve always thought: Shouldn\u2019t we know what\u2019s in that hookah?) Alice stands up on tiptoes to get a good look, and Chapter 5, \u201cAdvice from a Caterpillar,\u201d begins:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Caterpillar<\/i><i> <\/i><i>and<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Alice<\/i><i> <\/i><i>looked<\/i><i> <\/i><i>at<\/i><i> <\/i><i>each<\/i><i> <\/i><i>other<\/i><i> <\/i><i>for<\/i><i> <\/i><i>some<\/i><i> <\/i><i>time<\/i><i> <\/i><i>in<\/i><i> <\/i><i>silence:<\/i><i> <\/i><i>at<\/i><i> <\/i><i>last<\/i><i> <\/i><i>the<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Caterpillar<\/i><i> <\/i><i>took<\/i><i> <\/i><i>the<\/i><i> <\/i><i>hookah<\/i><i> <\/i><i>out<\/i><i> <\/i><i>of<\/i><i> <\/i><i>its<\/i><i> <\/i><i>mouth,<\/i><i> <\/i><i>and<\/i><i> <\/i><i>addressed<\/i><i> <\/i><i>her<\/i><i> <\/i><i>in<\/i><i> <\/i><i>a<\/i><i> <\/i><i>languid,<\/i><i> <\/i><i>sleepy<\/i><i> <\/i><i>voice.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>\u201cWho are you?\u201d said the Caterpillar.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Maybe not for Alice, but \u201c<i>Who <\/i>are <i>you<\/i>?\u201d (emphasis on both words) had been quite the catchphrase in London around 1841 and after\u2014a way of saying hello in a tavern or, I would guess, a hookah lounge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Who\u2014or what\u2014is Alice, and how does she fit into this strange world? The plot of <i>Wonderland<\/i><i> <\/i>keeps asking how to classify Alice, physically as well as figuratively. The underground world varies confusingly in scale, and she is constantly caught between returning to her old self and adapting to fit each new setting. Along the way, mistakes are made. Her head might<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">shoot suddenly through a treetop, or she might nearly drown in a sea of her own tears. This is the adolescent condition; it\u2019s also the human condition: looking for your place amid a messy set of deceptive signals and slippery language, growing, shrinking, \u201csaying what you mean\u201d <i>vs.<\/i><i> <\/i>\u201cmeaning what you say,\u201d to borrow from a famous conversation between Alice and the March Hare.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">There\u2019s a parallel question in <i>Wonderland<\/i><i> <\/i>for all of us: How do we define the objects and creatures we encounter? Or rather, how do we recognize them for what they are, beyond our own preconceived ideas? That mushroom, for example \u2026 It might not be what you\u2019ve always thought it was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Scientists are only starting to untangle the fungus puzzle\u2014how it lives, <i>where<\/i><i> <\/i>it lives, and even what it is. Our word <i>mushroom<\/i><i> <\/i>seems to derive from the medieval French <i>mousseron,<\/i><i> <\/i>which refers to moss. For most of scientific history, fungus was part of the plant kingdom. But then researchers started to scratch their heads: Fungus does not photosynthesize and turn light into nutrients, as plants do. Its cells are made of chitin, like insects\u2019 and crustaceans\u2019 exoskeletons (which are very close to human hair). It is a heterotroph, meaning it cannot produce its own food; to absorb nutrients, it takes in molecules of other organisms\u2014a fancy way of saying it eats basically the way animals do. Some species (like the turkey tails on our fallen logs) secrete digestive enzymes to hurry the process along.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">So since 1968, we have recognized Kingdom Fungi. Long may it flourish!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">And keep in mind that as we study it, it might be studying us. In <i>The<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Light<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Eaters:<\/i><i> <\/i><i>How<\/i><i> <\/i><i>the<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Unseen<\/i><i> <\/i><i>World<\/i><i> <\/i><i>of<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Plant<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Intelligence<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Offers<\/i><i> <\/i><i>a<\/i><i> <\/i><i>New<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Understanding<\/i><i> <\/i><i>of<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Life<\/i><i> <\/i><i>on<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Earth,<\/i><i> <\/i>author Zo\u00eb Schlanger proves that the animal brain is only one form of \u201cmind,\u201d only one way to think of intelligence, memory, decision-making, and sentience. We need to expand our idea of intelligence to embrace other kingdoms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\">Because mushrooms might be smart.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_cta h2=&#8221;Continue Reading In The Mushroom Issue!&#8221; txt_align=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;flat&#8221; color=&#8221;grey&#8221; add_button=&#8221;bottom&#8221; btn_title=&#8221;Subscribe Today!&#8221; btn_style=&#8221;flat&#8221; btn_color=&#8221;mulled-wine&#8221; btn_align=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221; btn_button_block=&#8221;true&#8221; btn_link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fenchantedlivingmag.com%2Fcollections%2Fsubscribe|target:_blank|rel:nofollow&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"5d7459\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #5d7459;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10436 size-medium aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-231x300.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-231x300.avif 231w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-789x1024.avif 789w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-768x997.avif 768w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1183x1536.avif 1183w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1577x2048.avif 1577w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-323x420.avif 323w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-696x904.avif 696w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1068x1387.avif 1068w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1920x2493.avif 1920w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-scaled.avif 1972w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><i>Enchanted Living<\/i><\/em> is a quarterly print magazine that celebrates all things enchanted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Subscribe now and begin with our Mushroom<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/em><b style=\"font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/b><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">issue!<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<p>[\/vc_cta]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_column_text css=\"\"]My husband and I live in a 125-year-old farmhouse where the land has been producing one major crop these days: Fungus. It is thriving. We have trails of wide- capped parasols, shingled colonies of turkey tails and frilly oyster mushrooms, and high up in one tree, a shaggy, slow-growing lion\u2019s mane that we occasionally [...]","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":10493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80,91],"tags":[3611,3610,3627,3613,3612,3620,3609,3614,3623,3621,3624,3628,3615,3617,3625,3616,3626,3618,3622,3619],"class_list":{"0":"post-10490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fiction","8":"category-writing","9":"tag-alice-in-wonderland-mushrooms","10":"tag-charismatic-mushrooms","11":"tag-fungal-art","12":"tag-fungal-intelligence","13":"tag-fungal-networks","14":"tag-fungal-sentience","15":"tag-fungi-communication","16":"tag-kingdom-fungi","17":"tag-lions-mane-mushrooms","18":"tag-mushroom-ecology","19":"tag-mushroom-facts","20":"tag-mushroom-storytelling","21":"tag-mushroom-symbolism","22":"tag-mycelium-web","23":"tag-nature-and-intelligence","24":"tag-plant-fungi-relationships","25":"tag-redefining-consciousness","26":"tag-the-light-eaters-book","27":"tag-turkey-tail-mushrooms","28":"tag-zoe-schlanger"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Charismatic Mushroom &#8211; Enchanted Living Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dive into the charismatic world of fungi with Susann Cokal\u2014how mushrooms might hold the key to redefining intelligence, communication, and our connection to nature.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Charismatic Mushroom &#8211; Enchanted Living Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dive into the charismatic world of fungi with Susann Cokal\u2014how mushrooms might hold the key to redefining intelligence, communication, and our connection to nature.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Enchanted Living Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Faerie-Magazine-65239508296\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-26T13:19:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Alices-Adventures-in-Wonderland-by-Lewis-Carroll-illustrated-by-Gwynedd-M.-Hudson-British-Library-Alamy-Stock-Photo-scaled.avif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1972\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susann Cokal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Faeriemagazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Faeriemagazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susann Cokal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Susann Cokal\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aabd89b1a001d6b1ce5359118fd651d4\"},\"headline\":\"The Charismatic Mushroom\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-26T13:19:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/\"},\"wordCount\":1108,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Alices-Adventures-in-Wonderland-by-Lewis-Carroll-illustrated-by-Gwynedd-M.-Hudson-British-Library-Alamy-Stock-Photo-scaled.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Alice in Wonderland mushrooms\",\"charismatic mushrooms\",\"fungal art\",\"fungal intelligence\",\"fungal networks\",\"fungal sentience\",\"fungi communication\",\"Kingdom Fungi\",\"lion\u2019s mane mushrooms\",\"mushroom ecology\",\"mushroom facts\",\"mushroom storytelling\",\"mushroom symbolism\",\"mycelium web\",\"nature and intelligence\",\"plant-fungi relationships\",\"redefining consciousness\",\"The Light Eaters book\",\"turkey tail mushrooms\",\"Zo\u00eb Schlanger\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Fiction\",\"Writing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/the-charismatic-mushroom\/\",\"name\":\"The Charismatic Mushroom &#8211; 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