Fantastic fungi

A meander through UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage

BIRD'S NEST FUNGUS If you go down to the woods today, you might encounter a weird and wonderful species Other common names: Elfin cups, fairy goblets, fluted bird's nest, pixie's purses, splash cups Found all over the world, this tiny charmer is actually quite complex. This delicate inedible mushroom looks exactly like a tiny bird's nest cradling precious eggs. The ‘eggs' are actually spore sacs, or periodoles, containing millions of spores, and a single nest can hold up to twenty of these. The spores are dispersed by raindrops, which splash them out of and away from – up to 1.8 metres – the ‘nest'. Colours range from bright orange to dull brown. Most common in autumn in clusters on dead and decaying wood and wood mulch, they can be found year-round in more…

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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, September 2023

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