Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures

by Merlin Sheldrake

there are few pockets of the globe where fungi can’t be found. Tens to hundreds of species can exist in the leaves and stems of a single plant. These fungi weave themselves through the gaps between plant cells in an intimate brocade and help to defend plants against disease. No plant grown under natural conditions has been found without these fungi; they are as much a part of planthood as leaves or roots.

It’s amazing to observe the diversity of fungi that crowd into even small patches of leaf. Place a hole-punch sized circle of leaf on a dish and you can see them emerge over the course of a few days as they unpack themselves from the plant cells — a display of fuzzy reds, purples, blues, yellows, whites, browns seeping outwards.