Other fungi have lives straight out of a sci-fi streamer. Zombie fungus attacks carpenter ants and takes over their bodies, causing them to climb tall grass stems. All the infected ants climb at the same time, clamp their jaws around the stem and in a mass-choreographed event, fruiting bodies burst out of their heads and shower fungal spores into the air.
Cruentamycena viscidocruenta, also known as a ruby bonnet.Credit: Alison Pouliot
In the weird but useful column of fungal life: mycelium can be grown to make packaging, clothing, even buildings; the white rot fungus that produces oyster mushrooms can grow by decomposing used nappies. (Even more unbelievable – the mushrooms that resulted from this experiment were healthy and free from human disease.) More palatably, experiments in India are trialling white rot fungus to break down agricultural waste from palm oil and sugar plantations, resulting in better income for farmers, a healthy food source, reduced waste, and better air quality.
And that pesky stinkhorn? There’s enough force in that thrusting member to lift 130kg, or buckle a road. I won’t be cursing autumn’s crop of fungal fruits, but using them to learn more about the lives of fungi.
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