Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

A black and white, wide-angle photograph of a thick tree trunk in a dense, overgrown forest. The tree trunk on the left is covered in patches of dark moss and several large, shelf-like bracket fungi with concentric ring patterns. To the right of the trunk, the forest floor is filled with brambles, thin stalks, and tangled undergrowth. In the background, bare, spindly tree branches reach across the hazy, soft-focus woods, creating a moody and textured natural scene.

The Hidden Life of Newton Wood

All was quiet in Newton Wood today. No leaves rustling, barely a bird bothering to sing. Colour drained away. Even the fungi looked as if they had clocked off. Appearances mislead. Fungi are like icebergs. What shows above ground, the mushrooms, is only the fruit. The real organism is the mycelium, a vast web beneath our boots, quietly alive all year, frost included.

In nature, going it alone is for mugs. Fungi grasp this perfectly. Survival depends on alliances, and those alliances underpin the whole woodland. Remove them and the forest starts to wobble.

The key partnership is the mycorrhizal association. Fine threads called hyphae, thinner than spider silk, attach to tree roots and spread far into the soil. It is a neat bargain. The fungus gathers water and minerals the tree struggles to reach. The tree pays in sugars made through photosynthesis. Beech trees, for example, depend on such links, often pairing with fungi like Russula and Laccaria1Trouble ahead for beech? woodlands.co.uk. 14 February, 2025. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/trouble-ahead-for-beech/.

This underground mesh has inspired the idea of the “Wood Wide Web”, suggesting trees share resources and warnings through fungal networks 2Fungi and symbiotic associations, and a Woodlands TV film. woodlands.co.uk. 22 November, 2024. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/fungi-and-symbioticl-associations-and-a-woodlands-tv-film/. It is a pleasing image and has caught the public mood. A closer scientific look has been less starry-eyed. The network exists, but strong evidence for deliberate tree-to-tree communication remains thin. Science, unlike a nature documentary, does not settle matters once and for all 3Fungi and symbiotic associations, and a Woodlands TV film. woodlands.co.uk. 22 November, 2024. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/fungi-and-symbioticl-associations-and-a-woodlands-tv-film/.

Some partnerships are even more extreme. Orchids take dependency to its limit. Their seeds are so small they contain no food reserves at all. To germinate, they must be fed by fungi. Without them, orchids simply do not happen. The flowers may take the credit, but the fungi do the work 4Fungi and symbiotic associations, and a Woodlands TV film. woodlands.co.uk. 22 November, 2024. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/fungi-and-symbioticl-associations-and-a-woodlands-tv-film/.

Death, naturally, is part of the system. Woodlands generate debris on an industrial scale. Leaves fall, wood rots, animals die. Without fungi, the place would smother itself. Saprobic fungi handle this unglamorous task, breaking down dead material with enzymes and releasing nutrients back into the soil. This is a crucial stage in woodland recycling 5Country diary: Willing the wishing to stop. the Guardian. 26 Feb 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/26/country-diary-willing-the-wishing-to-stop?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other, shared with bacteria, insects and other specialists.

Not all fungi play nicely. Some are outright destructive. Dutch elm disease, spread by bark beetles, is a fungal infection capable of killing healthy trees at speed 6Ancient Highlands tree at centre of fight against Dutch elm disease. April 16 2024, The Times. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/ancient-highlands-tree-dutch-elm-disease-last-ent-affric-bjcnk863v. Others weaken trees first, leaving them open to attack by more aggressive species such as honey fungus, which can finish the job 7A call to all oak growers – help please. woodlands.co.uk. 25 March, 2025. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/pests-and-diseases/a-call-to-all-oak-growers-help-please/.

Builder, recycler, executioner. Fungi switch roles without sentiment. The forest floor is not just soil. It is a working system, efficient, unsparing and essential, carrying on whether we are paying attention or not.

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