Another fast-growing, yet established, muse for the modern naturalist. Mushrooms really do have hidden worlds holding the forest together. Among the more obvious and visible is true tinder fungus or chaga, a name that belongs to the old school of bushcraft; chaga belongs rather more to the modern naturalist. The former earns its reputation once it is thoroughly dried, when it can catch and carry a coal for fire lighting considerably better than one might expect from a fungus. The latter makes a semi-pleasant tea, something one could get used to with sufficient repetition and a willingness to acquire health bents in every direction. Chaga grows on healthy birches and ironwoods without, as far as I can tell, doing them no particular harm.

There is also false tinder fungus (horseshoe fungus), which, despite the name, can produce a decent material for carrying a coal if properly prepared. Apparently even fungi have to deal with advertising claims. -Chad

The following mushrooms have been found on the cliffLAND property. All photos by Barrie Clifford.