“The difference between animals and fungi is simple: Animals put food in their bodies, whereas fungi put their bodies in the food.”
― Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
The shady forest where I live in Montreat, North Carolina is filled with Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees. These tall, graceful evergreen trees are native to the eastern United States reaching heights of around 70 feet with a spread of up to 35 feet. It was used by Appalachian settlers for its lumber in the past, and Native Americans used the inner bark, roots, and needles for various medicinal purposes. We aren’t, however, here to talk about the Hemlock today, but an organism that preys upon it – the Hemlock Varnish Shelf fungus.
Fungi are neither plants nor animals, but a separate kingdom of life all together that perform an incredible array of important functions including fermentation, bioremediation, and pest control. Hemlock Varnish Shelf (Ganoderma tsugae) fungi are polypores, a group of fungi with spore-producing pores on the underside that form shelf and/or bracket shaped fruiting bodies. In spite of their reputation for pest control, these fungi are pests themselves and feed on the heartwood, the strength-giving aspect, of trees consuming the cellulose fibers that are bound together with lignin. To paraphrase Merlin Sheldrake “they put their bodies in the food”, which, as a point open to debate, has a distinctly animal feel to it.
During one of my outdoor walks in mid-spring, I located a Hemlock Varnish Shelf fungus. The image above is a youngish fungus, they tend to turn a much darker reddish-orange overall as they get older and develop a leathery cap like the far right image. I watched this fungus over a period of months and harvested it at the leathery stage. To me it looks a bit like cherry cream cheese pie – leathery cap being the cherries, the subiculum is the cream cheese, and the spore-containing pore tubes – the crust, which are eventually released to begin the cycle anew.
My watercolor sketches/observations above and finished digital artwork below are an attempt to document my investigations in this fungi. I’m not a scientist or a tree expert, however, as an artist, these initial investigations made me curious. There is literature stating fungi have a significant impact on the economics of paper-making, a topic I’m familiar with as an artist – I use paper designed for watercolor sourced from a tree. This realization raised questions: so how do polypores aid, contribute, or restrict the paper industry? Should they be protected and part of a forestry-managed program focused on a dual conservation/model? You be the judge – my function here is to be the eye. Comments are 100% welcome!
