Mushrooms: They’re beautiful, dangerous and unnoticed

SPRUCE PINE — The woods of Franklin County are full of wonders. Some grow so quietly most people never see them, unless they’re looking down.

Mushrooms, in every shape, color and texture, bloom from the forest floor after summer rains. Some are edible. Some glow in the dark. Some bleed red when broken.

Witches bonnet – Little Bear Valley.

And a few, says Joel Pounders, are so toxic they can kill you.

“You’re holding death in your hands,” he said, describing the destroying angel, one of several dangerous mushrooms found right here in northwest Alabama.

Pounders, an outdoorsman and photographer, has documented more than 60 species of fungi on his land. His fascination began with a camera and a simple truth mushrooms don’t run away.

“One neat thing about mushrooms that’s very entertaining is you don’t have to chase them,” he said. “They sit still.”

What started as a photographic subject soon became something more. Mushrooms opened up a new world, a third kingdom, as Pounders put it, that most people have never really learned about.

“God made three kingdoms,” he said. “Animal, plant and fungi, but most of us were never taught about that third one.”

The mushrooms that appear after a summer rain are only fruiting bodies. The real organism, the mycelium, lives underground in long, threadlike networks that connect to trees and soil, forming a quiet infrastructure that helps keep the forest alive.

“They form what scientists call the wood wide web,” Pounders said. “Trees and fungi share nutrients. They even help each other survive.”

In this underground network, older trees can support younger ones by sending them extra carbon. Trees under stress can receive help. Fungi, in turn, receive sugars they can’t produce on their own.

This hidden communication system is one of the reasons Pounders finds mushrooms so fascinating.

But not every mushroom is safe to admire up close. Several highly toxic species grow in Franklin County. Among the most dangerous are the destroying angel, the death cap, the funeral bell and the angel’s wing.

All of these can cause severe organ failure, and in some cases death.

“There’s no antidote,” Pounders said, “only a liver transplant.”

Indigo Milkcap – Little Bear Valley.

He also points out mushrooms that won’t kill you but will make you wish they had not been on your plate. One of the most common is a member of the Russula genus commonly called the sickener. These red-capped mushrooms look harmless but cause intense stomach problems.

Among the mushrooms Pounders has observed are chanterelles and jack-o’-lanterns, both vivid orange and easy to spot after summer rains.

Apple bolete – Little Bear Valley.

Chanterelles, he said, are beautiful and prized as a choice edible. Jack-o’lanterns, by contrast, “will make you very sick.”

Experts with the North American Mycological Association and the Alabama Mushroom Society note that beginners sometimes mistake the two, since they can appear around the same time and share a similar color.

But jack-o’-lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus illudens) have true gills and typically grow in dense clusters on decaying wood, while chanterelles have false gills and grow singly or scattered on soil.

Violet cort – Little Bear Valley.

Pounders advises people to observe mushrooms with curiosity, not with appetite.

“I know a lot of people who forage, but they’ve spent years learning,” he said. “If you’re not sure what it is, don’t eat it. Buy mushrooms from the store.”

He encourages people to wash their hands after touching wild mushrooms and to teach children not to handle them unsupervised.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that young children may take exploratory bites, and mushroom poisoning cases can lead to serious illness, including liver failure and permanent neurologic damage.

Peach Amanita – Little Bear Valley.

The Alabama Poison Information Center advises that all wild mushrooms ingested by children should be considered dangerous. If ingestion occurs, experts recommend calling 1-800222-1222 immediately.

Still, Pounders doesn’t want people to fear mushrooms. He wants them to notice them.

“There’s so much beauty in the woods if you slow down and look,” he said.

He mentions the blusher, which turns pink when touched. The Old Man of the Woods, which looks like a vanilla cone with chocolate sprinkles, bleeds red when broken. The indigo milk cap, blue on the outside, bleeds green on the inside.

“The colors are unreal,” Pounders said. “You break it open and it turns green right in your hand. My daughter saw it and said, ‘How does it do that?’ It’s like magic.”

Blusher Amanita – Little Bear Valley.

Some mushrooms, like Reishi, are hard as wood and highly valued in traditional medicine.

Others, like the Earth star, open and close in response to moisture. And a few, like the jack-o’-lantern, are bioluminescent and glow in the dark.

His photographs of mushrooms have been featured in publications and selected as photo of the month by the Alabama Mycological Society.

He says you do not need a fancy camera to get started.

“Your phone is enough, if you know how to use it,” he said.

Different mushrooms appear in different seasons.

Chanterelles are most common in June and July. Lion’s mane shows up in the colder months, often November through January. Indigo milk caps thrive in the height of summer.

“If you miss June, you miss the chanterelles,” Pounders said.

His advice is to go out a few days after a summer rain. Mushrooms prefer damp, shaded places and often appear where the ground stays moist.

“Most people avoid the woods when it’s hot, buggy and miserable,” he said, “but that’s exactly when the mushrooms come out.”

He encourages people to explore the forest, take photos and learn. But he also hopes people will be careful with the land itself.

Old Man of the Woods – Little Bear Valley.

What most people don’t realize,hesays,isthatmushrooms grow in specific spots and often return year after year. Some form long-term relationships with particular tree species. If that patch of woods is disturbed or destroyed, the mushrooms may disappear forever.

“You might bulldoze a hillside in the fall and never know you wiped out a whole colony of chanterelles,” he said.

Mushrooms, he explains, play a vital role in the forest. They break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil. They recycle carbon and feed trees.

Without them, the forest would struggle to survive.

“They’re a symbol of renewal,” Pounders said. “They break things down so other life can grow.”

Scientists estimate there are more than three million species of fungi on Earth. So far, only about 150,000 have been described.

“You could find a new species in Franklin County today,” he said.

For those who’ve seen a near-perfect circle of mushrooms in the grass, that’s called a fairy ring.

One of the most common culprits is Marasmius oreades, also known as the fairy ring mushroom, whose mycelium grows outward underground, producing mushrooms along its edge.

Chanterelle (smooth/golden) – Little Bear Valley

Other species can also produce rings.

And one more fascinating fact: The largest living organism on Earth isn’t a whale. It’s a mushroom.

A single underground fungal network in Oregon stretches over three miles and is considered the biggest living being on the planet.

Mushrooms, Pounders says, may be strange and sometimes dangerous. But they’re also essential, beautiful and surprisingly common.

“You don’t have to be scared of them,” he said. “Just don’t eat anything unless you really know what it is.”

And if you want to see something amazing?

“Put your boots on and go out there,” he said. “A whole world will unfold before your eyes.”