Organikind
My first encounter with mycelium was fairly recent. It came up in the documentary called Fantastic Fungi directed by Louis Schwartzberg. I was fascinated by its deep involvement in our world, functioning as the nature’s veins and nerves that transport nutrition and information among plants and other organic beings. Mycelium is composed of cobweb-like threads of organic life called hyphae (Simard). Particularly, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi produce extraradical mycelium that establishes uninterrupted connections with plants, also beneficial for the fertility of the soil. The mycelia decompose dead leaves and other organic waste and transforms it into nutrients for the growth of new organisms. For mycelium, death and decay are simply the beginning and fuel of new life. They are the naturalistic representations of the Fates in Greek mythology that controls the birth, life, and death of the ‘organikind' (1).
Mycelium works in a collaborative and nurturing way to assist and maintain the homeostasis of the organisms in the ecosystem. The complex projection of the threads onto organisms facilitates communication so that every being is included and accepted in this massive network unless harmful and destructive organisms enter this safety net. In such an invisible world, the boundaries have disappeared and everything is discursive, the uniform construction of the mycelium has enabled communication to be undisturbed and continuing. This deeply intertwined network has inspired me to imagine a similar Utopian society in the human world, and how this simplest organic being, mycelium, could transform into the "narrative threads" that reach every individual that ensures the flow of caring and connection. Internet works in a similar way that connects people, however, the difference is that such medium is lifeless, whereas the mycorrhizal networks are not only live “cables”, but every thread has agency and takes part in survival decision-making. Sheldrake called it as “Wood Wide Web”, a natural algorithm designed for life.
Combined with this week’s Timothy Morton’s reading on ecological thought, the massive network of mycelium is perhaps a guidance for how we think about the interconnectedness of everything, as Timothy suggested, “a truly ecological reading practice would think the environment beyond rigid conceptual categories – it would include as much as possible of the radical openness of the ecological thought.”
Notes:
1. ‘Organikind’ is a word that I fabricated, substituting the word “human” in “humankind” with “organic”, which refers to all life forms.
References:
Pepe, Alessandra et al. “Lifespan and functionality of mycorrhizal fungal mycelium are uncoupled
from host plant lifespan.” Scientific reports vol. 8,1 10235. 6 Jul. 2018, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28354-5
Stamets, Paul, and Louis Schwartzberg. Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift
Consciousness & Save the Planet. Earth Aware Editions, 2019.
Williams, Bethany. “The Fates in Greek Mythology: Hanging by a Thread.” TheCollector, 25 May 2022, www.thecollector.com/fates-greek-mythology.
