Is Mycelium the Connective Tissue of Nature's Global Communication Network?

The Wood Wide Web

Botanists and mycologists have understood this grand symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants for over a century.

Are humans on the precipice of having scientific confirmation of "mushroom intelligence"? Such vetted research does not exist presently. But new research by Andrew Adamatzky, a computer scientist at the Unconventional Computing Laboratory of the University of the West of England, is provocative in raising a series of questions about intelligent life in the world of fungi.

The Woodwide Web

Indications of 'Earth's natural internet' date back to the 1885 when the German botanist and mycologist Albert Bernhard Frank coined the term "mycorrhiza". The mycorrhizae [plural of a single cell mycorrhiza] exist as miniscule, amost microscopic threads called hyphae. These hyphae branch into a complicated web or patchwork called mycelium.

In the words of The National Forest Foundation: "Taken together, myecelium composes what’s called a “mycorrhizal network,” which connects individual plants together to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals. German forester Peter Wohlleben dubbed this symbiotic network affecting about 90 percent of plant life on the planet -- including trees -- the “woodwide web.” It is through the mycelium that trees 'communicate.'

Botanists and mycologists have understood this grand symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants for over a century. But positing the existence of a linguistic communication system founded on 'intelligence' is another subject entirely.

"The Secret Life of Plants"

Almost 50 years ago, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird published in 1973 their mindbending book "The Secret Life of Plants", described as "a fascinating account of the physical, emotional, and spiritual relations between plants and man."

Reissued and updated in March, 1989, the title -- called "beloved" 16 years after its initial publication date -- cast fresh eyes on the "rich psychic universe of plants", as it explored plants' responses to human care and nurturing, plants' surprising reaction to music, their lie-detection abilities, their creative powers and much more.

"The Secret Life of Plants" affirmed the deep ties that humanity has with nature -- even when we disregard its importance in our lives through our actions. Most humans take the natural world for granted, as if it will always exist at our disposal to inspire our senses, grow food for our stomachs, and regulate temperatures on earth.

We do not consider this relationship tenuous, inspiring us to act with care with plants and their own lives, so that we do not perish as a species.

Decades of research, since Tompkins and Bird shared their account of the special relationship between humans and plants, has confirmed their central thesis about interactions between humans and plants.

Prince Charles, Champion of Plant Communications

In 1986 England's Prince Charles explained how talking to his plants helped them grow. Ridiculed, the prince held his ground, affirming his private conversations in 2010, saying "I happily talk to plants and trees and listen to them. I think it's absolutely crucial."

In a spring 2022 BBC1 'The Green Planet' series about the plant world, Sir David Attenborough says that Charles will feel "pretty vindicated because he was ahead of the game." The landmark series shows how plants can think and communicate with each other -- and also respond to human interaction as well.

In one episode, viewers see trees in British forests communicating using fungi networks which connect to their roots.

Prince Charles hunts mushrooms

. . . walking miles for chanterelles instead of shooting grouse.

Stella McCartney Gives Fungi the Fashion and Also Spiritual Spotlight

Fungi have been front and center in spring 2022, thanks to fashion designer Stella McCartney. A decades-long vegetarian and animal welfare activist, McCartney's interest and knowledge competency about the world of mycelium, has grown far beyond her initial interest in developing a vegan alternative to leather.

Stella McCartney has delved deeply into the world of mycelium in her development and commercial work with Bolt Threads Mylo sustainable leather.

As Stella's own mushroom knowledge grew far beyond its original boundaries, the designer not only inspired us to study the world of fungi and mycelium. A McCartney and not a Medici, Stella nevertheless became a Renaissance-style patron of fungi education and learning.

With each new discovery, Stella's own eyes opened wider in amazement, and she has shared this knowledge with the entire world, helping to create a mushroom frenzy that is only taking shape after decades of neglect, misinformed derision and bad laws.

Andrew Adamtzky's Research

Within this quest for more scientific knowledge about fungi, Andrew Adamatzky employed tiny electrodes to record the rhythmic electrical impulses transmitted across the mycelium of four different species of fungi.

These impulses created measurable patterns of amplitude, frequency and duration that when diagrammed bore a striking resemblence to mathematical schematics of human speech. Adamatzky believes that he may have discovered the foundation of a fungal language of about 50 words that are also organized into sentences.

The complexity of the possible 'language' used by different fungi species varied, with the split gill fungus [Schizophyllum commune] using the most complicated communication of those tested.

The possibility that fungi have their own electrical language to communicate information about both opportunity and resources nearby, and also danger, could signal a vast underground intelligence network that covers much of the globe.

Prior research has shown that when one plant is under attack with disease, it communicates to nearby plants about the problem. In some studies, it appears that plants, including trees, can transfer carbon-based compounds such as sugars to their neighbors.

Exactly how these communication networks work, and the role of fungal mycelia in creating a transmission system is not understood. Adamatsky and partner researchers concluded: "What we can take from the research is that electrical spikes are, potentially, a new mechanism for transmitting information across fungal mycelia, with important implications for our understanding of the role and significance of fungi in ecosystems."

Mushrooms, Fungi and the Circular Economy

What we know for certain is that -- language or no language -- fungi are have always been active in promoting a circular economy. All around us fungi that include molds and yeasts are collectively responsible for the decomposition of many complex plant polymers in soil and compost. In composting, fungi are critically important because they break down tough debris, so that bacteria are able continue the decomposition process, even if most of the cellulose has been exhausted.

If you query google "can fungi eat fabrics", answers awaits you.

Humans take this entire fungi-life-generating-process for granted, having little grasp on the active maze of cellular activity operating around us. It's no different than humans thoughtlessly throwing our clothes away after one wearing -- or sometimes not at all -- with the expectation that it will somehow be disposed of at zero damage to our planet.

We humans have a lot to learn about life on our planet -- and fungi seem eager to teach us. Today's young people do not appreciate speaking of mushrooms as having female identity. They seek a world free of gender -- a world full of human-only potential.

For better or worse, mushrooms historically are associated with witchcraft and the occult; with living in darkness; with liberating the oceanic, great-mother unconscious. The lives of fungi are earthbound and metaphorically female.

In a world that remains patriarchal and is reasserting itself again aggressively against women in many nations including America, the idea of the dark unseen world of an underground mycelium network that is 'female' and capable of saving the world has substantial appeal.

We take up this next chapter of an ever-evolving, totally-fascinating story of life with magic mushrooms next.

Rocio Ramos Seizes the Power of Cardinals for Marie Claire Mexico and LA

Photographer Rocio Ramos [IG] captures unadulterated-red, fashion passion in the October pages of Marie Claire Mexico and Latin America. Model Dalianah Arekion poses in primal, earth-goddesses elegance styled by Abraham Gutiérrez.

Most fashion media will promote the color red as symbolizing new energy and interest in living with the latest seasonal wardrobe. The message is consumption-oriented — which is understandable, especially if we are looking at the latest, earth-loving sustainable fashion buys.

We doubt that is the case here — that we are looking at sustainable fashion. But there are even higher principles at play in these images. AOC knows for a fact that artist and photographer Rocio Ramos is on our wave-length, and she likes the writing her images inspire.

So we will move out on red, into the fast lane.

Red Symbolism

The color red is most often associated with a passion for living and an embrace of love, but also carnal pleasures. Red is known as an emotionally-intense color that enhances human metabolism and increases respiration rate, while raising blood pressure. The impact of the color red on the human body has been seriously studied.

Culturally-speaking we are in a red-alert moment that transcends fashion runways and embraces the duality of competing narratives about our very humanity.

Red is the color of fire and blood, one often associated with energy, war, power and danger. Red is considered to be aggressive and fierce, but also grounding. In the world of 7 chakras, red is the root chakra, and while it’s easy enough to dismiss red as primitive with its positioning on the chakra chart, it is also responsible for our sense of security and stability.

When apes first stood tall and began walking into humanity, their root chakra was in high gear — literally. Rocks and caves were homes to humanity before we created mobile structures made of mammoth tusks. The setting for Rocio Ramos’ fashion story is perfect, because it embraces the necessities of security, survival and being rooted as the very foundation of our lives.

Seizing the Color of Cardinals

Red is also unifying as the color of blood. Surely you’ve heard the expression “we all bleed the same color red” as a statement of our common humanity.

From this AOC perspective, women who wear red are dangerous in many ways, because we often challenge fundamental, but politically-created beliefs that humanity does NOT bleed the same color blood.

In seizing the color of cardinals for our own bodies, we are transgressors against the status quo. We are inspired and challenged onwards by the orisha Oya, a Yoruba warrior-goddess who stands with one foot in Yoruba-speaking Africa and another in northern Brazil. She is my own Orisha, revealed to me in a mind-blowing event in Brazil in 2019.

Oya’s own religion Candomblé, was banned until 1970 in Brazil. In the interests of simplicity, consider Candomblé to be folk Catholicism — except that women have real power in the religion that has been on the move publicly in Brazil since 2005.

To Fight or Not To Fight

It will be women’s choice whether or not we seize the power of red in a transformational way. Increasing numbers of us must be willing to step out of the shadows and find our backbone — our inner Oya. As a daughter of Oya — the word used to describe me on that fateful day in Brazil in 2019 — it is our duty to rise against the prevailing winds of white nationalism worldwide.

By definition, in accepting my own identity as a daughter of Oya, I am acknowledging the leadership of women of color in this obviously-coming “religious holy war”. As scary as these times are, I am personally propelled forward with the understanding that if red is the lowest charka — the root chakra on the chart — purple is the highest.

Getting to Purple Status

It is true that we can’t advance to purple status, without rising through blue — and we all know that blue is for boys, right? Except that it wasn’t, at least here in America.

Only at the beginning of the 20th century, did some stores begin suggesting ‘sex-appropriate’ colors for newborn boys and girls. Initially, pink was the color for boys. Girls wore blue. That is truth, and I will pick up that narrative soon with much more proof than Britannica.

Frankly, I’m as surprised as you are with this discovery. In understanding that American girls wore blue and boys wore pink, I see Oya’s goddess color of purple on the horizon — if only we can rise together in unity. It’s akin to my long-ago discovery that abortion was not only legal in colonial America, but it was widely advertised in newspapers and on city lamp posts. The facts of history are rewritten always to support the ideological interests of the most powerful among us. At least in liberal democracies, tensions around power and truth arise because arguments that would get me beheaded in Saudi Arabia are more easily expressed in America.

Make no mistake, though. I have been in police protection for a year over a crazed white dude trying to kill me for supporting Planned Parenthood. So we’re speaking of degrees of danger and repression here in America — at least for this white woman. The police were very supportive of me and took the reality of my danger very seriously.

We know that in many cases, such protection would not be offered to a woman of color — straight, gay, lesbian, bi, trans — I’m sure I’ve made a grievous error in this word lineup, but you get my point. ~ Anne

Goddess Hathor's Fifth Dynasty Priestess Hetpet's Tomb Unveiled A Century After Discovery In Egypt

A painting of seemingly larger-than-life Hetpet sitting on a table as her children provide her offerings. Photo via Egypt Today

Archaeologists working in Egypt have discovered a 4,400-year-old tomb close to Cairo, one that contains rare wall paintings and is thought to be the tomb of a priestess named Hetpet. Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced the discovery located near the Giza pyramids. 

“The tomb is in very good condition,” Dr. Waziri said. “There are colored depictions of traditional scenes: animals grazing, fishing, bird-catching, offerings, sacrifice, soldiers and fruit-gathering.”

Hetpet is believed to have been close to Egyptian royals of the Fifth Dynasty, part of a prosperous period in Egyptian history known as the Old Kingdom during which the pyramids, temples and palaces were built under the rule of pharaohs. Hetpet served as a priestess for Hathor, a goddess depicted as a cow and associated with fertility, motherhood and love. By this time in women's history, female priests were not that common in ancient Egypt, but Hathor's priesthood was an exception. 

Hetpet's name was first seen on antiquities uncovered at the site in 1909 by a British explorer who sent them to Berlin and Frankfurt.  The tomb itself was not unearthed until more than a century later in 2017

AFP reports that among the wall paintings are unusual scenes of monkeys, which were kept as pets at the time. "One shows a monkey picking fruit and carrying a basket, and another shows a monkey dancing in front of an orchestra. Only one other painting of a dancing monkey has been found previously, reports the Egyptian newspaper al Ahram, with a monkey dancing in front of a guitarist in the 12th-century tomb of Kal-ber in Saqqara. 

Wall paintings from the newly-discovered Hetpet's tomb near Cairo, located in the Giza western cemetery. Photos via Egypt Today.

Christian Louboutin Does 'Lilith' By Peter Lippmann For Fall 2013

Christian Loubotin goes biblical in his Fall 2013 lookbook, lensed by Peter Lippmann. These baroque, Rubens-inspired scenes are strictly Old Testament. Fiesty creatures like Lilith, Adam’s first wife, were completely written out of the New Testament as just one more example of women’s demise. I think it’s fair to say that Lilith definitely would have worn Christian Loubotin as she stormed out of the Garden of Eden, after refusing to submit to Adam. Or so the Old Testament story goes.

Christian Louboutin and Peter Lippman deliver a fashion cornucopia and two new models of shoes: Artifice Strass and Grusanda and clutches covered with spines. This looks like some serious fashion amo for American women to wear as we did ourselves out of the Republican War on Women amidst a fundamental reality — one that ironically came up in two conversations in the last 24 hours. One was with a Texas Republican, God Fearing man who likes me…  a lot! And the other from a young woman at Baylor University in Waco.

It’s the Baylor research that lies at the heart of the very important book America’s Four Gods. which I highly recommend reading.

Until substantial numbers of American women agree with about half of American men and yours truly (part of the pathetic 2% of American women) that God is not male but genderless, we ladies are easily manipulated by the Good Book. After the holidays, AOC just might get a new writer, who devotes herself to this critical, 21st-century American crusade. In the meantime, viva Lilith because Eve can’t help us. And neither can the Virgin Mary. This is war. ~ Anne