This is The Metamorphosis Map, where I explore change in life and at work, through the lenses of my passions: travel, sketching, culture, nature and learning.
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It might sound hyperbolic, but mushrooms are vital to the well-being and success of the whole world. They are beautiful, flavoursome, powerful, and brilliant networkers.
This is a celebration of their charms and wisdom.
I adored mushrooms as a child. Eating and drawing them and reading stories featuring their magic and mystery.
Mushrooms and toadstools feature in many stories around the globe. The image of fairy folk dancing around a ring of toadstools is common in England. In France they are known as sorcerer’s rings. And in Japan and the Balkans mushrooms often represent the spirit world.
Mushrooms can symbolise life or death, fertility or decay. The unknown and the supernatural. Or transformation.
Mushrooms are super foods. They are low calorie and high in nutrients including protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. But caution is advisable - some have hallucinogenic effects or are deadly poisonous to humans.
Here are some of my favourite ways to enjoy fungi, from around the globe:
🇯🇵 Japan: Chawanmushi. A savory egg custard steamed in a cup and filled with pieces of chicken, fish cake, and mushrooms.
🇰🇭 Cambodia: Khmer hot and sour soup features staples of Cambodian cuisine - chilli, lime, black pepper and coriander, as well as oyster mushrooms.
🇷🇸 Serbia & the Balkans: Burek is usually a meat or cheese-filled filo pastry. But I like a version made with mushroom, leek and potato. You don’t have to be a vegetarian or observing a religious fast to enjoy the flavours.
🇫🇷 France: A simple omelette made with wild chanterelles and served with a green salad. Foraging is culturally important in France. But it can be dangerous, so many people ask a pharmacist to check that their bounty is not poisonous before eating.
🇮🇹 Italy: Mushroom dishes are particularly popular in northern Italy in autumn and winter. My favourite is risotto ai fungi, made with porcini mushrooms.
Truffles are a prized delicacy and important part of culture and cuisine in many countries, especially France, Italy and Croatia. Difficult to harvest, they require an animal’s sensitive nose to sniff them out.
But mushrooms are not only for eating.
Scientists are only just beginning to understand how important they are to our ecosystem.
Mushroom roots or mycelium connect to those of trees and make a vast mycorrhizal (fungus/root) network of symbiotic relationships, to transport nutrients and send vital messages. Thus the forests that we rely on for oxygen and life are supported by mushrooms.
They also have the potential to contribute to sustainable living. Mycelium can be used to create a range of products including medicines and biodegradable alternatives to leather, fabrics, packaging and cosmetics.
So, mushrooms are even more magical than I thought as a child. Even the ones that aren’t psychedelic.
Mushrooms seem to burst through the soil from nowhere. But their success both takes advantage of serendipity and is deliberate and systematic.
Consider the lifecycle of a mushroom and how it can help us navigate change.
🍄🟫Mushrooms grow from tiny spores carried by air, wind or water.
We can feel buffeted by forces larger than ourselves. A lot of change is thrust upon us, whether personal or professional. But where we don’t have much choice, we can still learn from experience, extracting what we need to grow.
🍄🟫When two compatible spores meet they combine to form mycelium.
Two (or more) heads are better than one. We can achieve more working together, whether we hold shared, complementary or even opposing views.
🍄🟫The network spreads through harvesting nutrients from a substrate (soil, grains or sawdust).
Mushrooms are super-connectors. They use resources wisely and know the value of a health as well as efficiency.
Their network allows fungi to connect with plant roots to form mutually beneficial relationships, exchanging carbon from plants for essential water and mineral nutrients from the soil. They also facilitate communication between trees by transferring nutrients, water, and chemical signals, promoting forest health and resilience.
Similarly, high performing teams operating in a positive culture can produce results way beyond expectations. If they manage resources well, use and develop skills, take risks, and support one another, they can achieve ambitious goals.
They can also inspire others and contribute to a flexible, creative and inclusive environment.
🍄🟫When conditions are right, the mycelium forms fruiting bodies, or mushrooms, tiny at first they grow to maturity and release spores of their own.
The most sustainable results are often delivered over time with incremental changes. Small wins create momentum which feed into bigger goals as well as feeling good in their own right. A goal of any transformation is to be sustainable and make subsequent change easier and more positive.
Humans are more like mushrooms than you might think. Apparently, we share about a quarter of our genetic traits with them. We would do well to copy some of their behaviour.
Because there is more to mushrooms than meets the eye. Most of their power lies beneath the surface and remains invisible for much of the year. But their silent work is vital, and their influence is way larger than appearances suggest:
Individual relationships count and encourage further connections;
Quiet does not mean weak;
Invisible does not mean non-existent; and
Total transformation can start with tiny increments.
Some food for thought as you enjoy mushrooms this season.
Or contemplate change in your life. Wherever you are in the world.
Life is a journey, and everyone’s map looks different. 🗺️
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