Churchyard Nature Note with Andrew Tompsett
September 2011
Fungi, recyclers of the natural world,
and some more troublesome ones.
The time of fungi is here again. The sudden appearance of fairy rings and mushrooms on the lawn reminds us that autumn is drawing on.
The churchyard will be revealing a range of fungi as their roots (mycelium) explore any dead wood or organic matter and their fruiting bodies appear. An unwelcome visitor is the well known and feared Honey Fungus (Armillaria) which, given time, can kill whole trees. Several old stumps in the churchyard bear the black threads or ‘boot-laces’ and the honey coloured toadstools which produce spores to spread the fungus, like seed.
However, most fungi have a beneficial role in digesting dead material so that its nutrients are recycled to feed future generations
of plants. Without fungi our compost heaps would not function at all.
Probably the best known fungus is Potato Blight, a constant scourge of potato crops. Fortunately, today’s farmers have the means to combat it with sprays such as Bordeaux Mixture containing copper sulphate whose fungicidal properties were first discovered when it was applied to vines in France in 1884, to deter pilfering.
Unfortunately this finding was not in time to save the Irish from the devastating famines of 1834 and 1835 when blight destroyed their staple food and millions either emigrated or starved.
One of the deadliest fungi ever to afflict the human race was Ergot which, in the middle ages, widely infected rye. As potatoes
were to the Irish, rye bread was the staple diet of millions in France and Central Europe. Those eating contaminated rye bread rapidly became ill with what was known as ‘Holy Fire’ causing death or madness and a loss of limbs due to gangrene. Whilst
some claimed this was God’s retribution for disobeying the Commandments, the cause was eventually revealed in the 19th
century. In recent times the fungus is seldom seen and research on many fungi continues since we never know if and when new diseases or more virulent strains of existing ones may arise.
For example, in recent years, Dutch Elm Disease has wiped out most Elm trees in England and continues to kill any that regrow. Incidentally, we have two disease resistant trees in our churchyard, one near the tower and the other near the north gate.