Mushroom guide uncaps quiet beauty of nature

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/11/2022 (1436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the temperatures plummet and snow blankets the ground, Manitobans can be forgiven for looking towards foretastes of spring and more hospitable weather. Mushrooming, by Canadian artist and professor Diane Borsato and illustrator Kelsey Oseid, is the sort of comfort we need to help endure winter. Packed with lyrical descriptions of more than 120 fungi, Mushrooming is a lively, clever read.

If your forays into the fungal world extend to the supermarket, perhaps with occasional dismay at bathroom moulds, then you’ll find much to marvel at here. There is the stunning indigo milk cap, the horrific destroying angel, and the grotesque devil’s dipstick. The latter is, unfortunately, not an automotive reference. Even more mycologically experienced readers will enjoy vicariously experiencing Borsato’s field forays and eclectic mushroom trivia.

Each short chapter of Mushrooming covers a different fungus. Borsato shares identifying characteristics, typical ecosystems, edibility and interesting information about each specimen.

The tippler’s bane, for example, is edible — that is, unless you plan to drink alcohol in the days following. The world’s largest organism is neither a tree nor a whale, but a honey mushroom thriving in Oregon. Thousands of years old, this mushroom’s mycelial body covers more than 2,000 acres.

We learn about bleeding tooth, green-capped jelly baby and pheasant’s back mushrooms. Each becomes more than dry taxonomic data, transforming back into a piece of a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem.

Borsato’s prose is lyrical, evocative and occasionally hilarious. She conveys authority without condescension or haughtiness. Oseid’s colourful sketches are wonderfully homey. The decision to use higher-quality paper makes Mushrooming less a reference book than a coffee table conversation piece.

The book is emphatically not an identification guide. Borsato is consistently careful to remind readers of the dangers of amateur or over-confident foraging. Where poisonous lookalikes exist for edible mushrooms, Borsato and Oseid ensure both are well-described.

Rounding out the book is a guide to hosting mushroom-gathering forays and a nuanced manifesto of Borsato’s understanding of mushrooming as a complex physical and cognitive undertaking.

More than anything, Mushrooming is a plea for what Borsato calls the “quiet hunt.” This is a relationship to, and experience of, nature that is patient, still and reflective. It’s less about acquiring something to eat than it is about remembering the way that nature is beautiful and inspiring and surprising. To that end, Borsato explores not only the forest floor, but urban landscapes, museums, feminist fermentation projects, burial technologies and art installations.

It would be helpful if Mushrooming included a guide to fungal structure, or even a glossary. Borsato is a capable educator, but she jumps into her subject assuming some degree of familiarity with technical terminology.

Nevertheless, the book remains an accessible and educational book. Its attractive design makes it a great gift for cabin-goers or for any outdoors enthusiast.

Jarett Myskiw is a Winnipeg teacher.