Not just soup: Decode the secret life of mushrooms at Empress Botanical Garden walk

Indian Express

26-06-2025

'Mushrooms are the only fruiting body of a fungus that is underground. We can't see that fungus, but we are familiar with the reproductive part of some fungi in the form of mushrooms,' says Shreyas Pattanshetty, co-founder of Pune-based Capparis Eco Solutions, which works on urban biodiversity.
Some fungi are well known, like the Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria ostoyae), which is also the world's second largest known organism, growing in Oregon's Blue Mountains in the US.
Swara Bakshi, Associate Partner with Capparis Eco Solutions belives that the lack of knowledge among people about mushroom's could be a result of its short lifespan. . 'They are highly seasonal and appear only when it rains and the conditions of habitat and humidity are suitable. These organisms, fungi, produce their fruiting bodies or mushrooms. So, every fruiting body is not called a mushroom, but every mushroom is called a fruiting body,' she adds.
On June 28, Bakshi, Pattanshetty and ecologist Kedar Champhekar are conducting a 'monsoon special' nature event, 'Insect and Mushroom Walk', at Empress Botanical Garden from 8 am to 9:30 am.
'Insects and mushrooms are, both, easily overlooked. We don't really see them and we don't like them, especially insects. The idea of the walk is to show how insects and fungi have important ecological roles to play. They are important to the cycle of nature and connected to our lives,' says Champhekar. He adds that monsoon is a good time to learn about a larger category of arthropods including millipedes, centipedes and spiders. 'Insects are only a section of these creatures that we see around us,' says Champhekar.
In an four-month-long assement carried out by Pattanshetty and Bakshi at the Empress Botanical Garden in 2024, more than 50 species of mushrooms were identified and a small pbooklet was published to be used as a field guide. 'Mushrooms are critical to study as we can't tell the species just by looking at a sample,' says Bakshi.
Though not visible to the naked eye, fungi are always present in the soil as networks of microscopic threads called mycelia.
Fungi and bacteria in the soil are nature's recycling. 'If there are no mushrooms, there will be piles and piles of waste and wood and leaf litter. Decomposing is the primary function of mushrooms,' says Pattanshetty.
At the Empress Botanical Garden, one is likely to see mushrooms growing on tree trunks and branches, leaf litter, sticks and dead wood in shades of brown and white and many sizes. 'Generally, mushrooms are umbrella shaped but there is no hard-and-fast rule. Cup Fungus or Bird's Nest Fungus, for instance, do not look like typical mushrooms, but they are fruiting bodies of a fungi,' says Bakshi.
Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read More