Exploring the World of Indian Mushrooms and Fungi

Ganoderma curtisii/lingzhi

Welcome to the world of mushrooms and fungi, the world's most underrated and ignored organisms!  Fungi play an important role in recycling organic waste, in most cases they thrive on leaves, dead trunks of trees and in some cases even on living trees. Some fungi, however, can cause great harm to living trees as they literally eat up a whole tree from root to stem causing the infected tree to crash to the earth in a storm revealing a completely hollow trunk!

The Ganoderma curtissi, Ganoderma Lingzhi, or the Golden Reishi mushroom is important in medicine. Its exudates contain mycotoxins, antimicrobials, insecticides, and antiviral, and anti-cancer agents. Some of the exudates might contain high levels of a heparin-like substance which if ingested might cause the person to die of haemorrhage since it inhibits coagulation of blood! Golden Reishi Mushrooms, also known as Ganoderma mushrooms can often cluster in large colonies around the trunk of a tree.

An interesting phenomenon noticed in Ganoderma mushrooms is the process of guttation. Guttation refers to the process whereby plants and mushrooms exude droplets of exudates and liquid matter from their bodies which can be seen on the mushroom's surface. These droplets could be clear in colour, or even dark in colour. In the photograph, I am sharing below, the exudate can be seen as dark droplets scattered all over the surface.

An example of guttation in mushrooms

Phallus Stinkhorns

Fruiting Phallus Stinkhorn

Stinkhorns are among the most complex of all fungi. They have a complex life cycle starting with oval-shaped white eggs popping out of the ground. These eggs grow in time cracking upon maturity to release phallus-shaped fruiting bodies which emit a typical stink that is overwhelming. The mushrooms in these photographs were feeding on the stump of the trunk of a dead tree.

Egg of the Phallus Stinkhorn

Wineglass Shaped Mushroom

Wine-glass-shaped yellow mushrooms

I was able to photograph these strange wine-glass-shaped mushrooms in the park today and was fascinated by their shape. At first, I ignored them, but then on my second jogging run realised that they were mushrooms. I have been trying to identify the species of this mushroom variety but have failed to do so! A stranger variety of mushrooms was spotted by me looking like fake corals, or even somewhat like a Cauliflower with larger fans.

Coral-shaped mushrooms


Coprinus comatus

And of course, you have the normal mushrooms that we see so often. These mushrooms can be spotted growing on the forest floor, often close to the trunk of a tree. These mushrooms might be poisonous and thus inedible.