Alison Pouliot

NewSouth Publishing

RRP $29.99

Don’t be misled by the title, this book is not a raunchy tale of a dangerous passionate liaison between two members of the French underground during the second world war. 

It’s a semi scientific book about the often strange, bizarre and sometimes deadly lives of something most of us think little about except perhaps when we tuck into a plate of mushrooms on toast. 

The subtitle gives it away. It is Encounters With Fungi. 

Alison Pouliot is an ecologist, photographer and author who has chosen to make fungi her life’s work. We learn early on in the book that those who specialise in the study of fungi are called mycologists, which was a new word to me.  We are told that Pouliot roams the forest daily ‘exploring fungi through multiple lenses.’ Her earlier books were titled The Allure of Fungi and Wild Mushrooming.

Even though Pouliot is a scientist, this is not in any sense a heavy inaccessible textbook although, given the nature of the topic, it does contain some unavoidable scientific jargon. Pouliot cleverly weaves the science of fungi in and around many of her own personal experiences travelling around the world to places such as outback Australia, Iceland, and the mountains of the western United States. 

Whilst Pouliot’s book might not succeed in making fungi sexy or be a great page turner, it does contain much interesting, important, and sometimes surprising information which will be new to most readers. 

One important point made by the book is the relationship between fungi and plants. We are told that:

The survival of most plants relies on their beneficial unions with fungi, or mycorrhizas as they are known. The term mycorrhizas – literally, ‘fungus roots’ – refers to the mutually beneficial relationships formed between fungus mycelia (the matrix of thread-like branching of fungal cells) and the roots of most plants.

Pouliot then goes on to explain in detail how this all works and its importance.

Some of the interesting issues the book goes on to deal with are:

The role that fungi played in the lives of Australia’s Traditional Custodians and their use.

The various misunderstandings about fungi and why some are seen as enemies of agriculture. She points out that most ‘fungal outbreaks’ are a symptom of poor human management.

The effect of fire on fungi in forests. She explains that older forests have more complexity and diversity and are therefore have more resilience to fire and then discusses the controversial issue of fuel reduction burns and their effect on fungi. 

The impact of climate change on fungi and how the impact on fungi is often ignored in the debate. There is a discussion about the role that fungi play in relation to carbon sequestration.

How some fungi are parasitic. One gruesome example is that of a fungus that makes its way to the insides of caterpillars and then liquifies the innards of the caterpillar taking it over completely, transforming it into a fungal mummy.

The fact that there is a relationship between Peter Rabbit and the world of fungus. Apparently in the years before she created the world of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter was an amateur mycologist, but because she was a woman, she was denied membership of the prestigious Linnean Society which we are told is the oldest active biological society in the world.

One of the interesting and timely discussions in the book is about how forests and fungi are affected by disturbances created by logging. Although as a scientist Pouliot recognises the need for objectivity she tells how she was emotionally affected by witnessing the devastation caused by modern day logging methods:

Logging operations and the conservation of rare and threatened species seldom align.

All around us lay smashed remnants of a broken forest. Crippled limbs lay severed and twisted. The once luxuriant moistness of the forest floor crunched underfoot. And it smelt bad. The usual mingling of forest scents was reduced to the cloying funk of slowly baking mud. Old logs had been bulldozed into piles on the side of the track….

In the middle of the felled area, a solitary tree – a supposed habitat tree.…stood pathetically alone…. Little more than a battered and splintered trunk remained.…I realised that it was a farce. What animal in its right mind would choose and isolated and damaged habitat tree as home?

…this tree had only a slim chance of survival.

Powerful stuff, which should be read by all those who continue to support the insane logging of our native forests.

Pouliot comments that she was once asked by a politician why the preservation of biodiversity was important. She says that she was initially flabbergasted by such a question. However, it underlines the fact that many people do not understand the complexity of nature and the interdependence of all plants and animals. Reading this book about fungus would be a good place for anyone wanting to better understand why biodiversity and the conservation of the natural world is so important.

I expected this book to be pretty mundane and dry. I was surprised at how accessible and interesting it was. It’s well worth a read.

John Watts