So it turns out that mycelium is some really amazing stuff! The images above offer a very small simple view into its world. Composed of a seemingly infinite amount of tiny microscopic filaments that can mesh together to form fantastical things easily visible to the naked eye, it’s kind of magic!

In brief, mycelium forms this incredible network, under the ground mostly that information, nutrients and water can travel along. It’s a bit like the internet, and also a bucket chain, if you know what that is. But also it’s not like that because it’s so completely unique and we really don’t know nearly as much about it as we should.

Mycelium links up with plants at the roots, a few plants don’t even have roots, and rely completely on mycelium for water and nutrients from the soil! Most plants live in a completely symbiotic relationship with their local mycelium network!

The most important thing I’ve learned though, is the enormous amount I still have to learn!

The way I explain what mycelium is to my 4 year old daughter is that, if a mushroom was an apple, the fruit, then the mycelium is the apple tree. She’s in my target age group, and she seems to be happy with this explanation so far.

The thing about mycelium that’s different than the apple tree though, is that most of it’s hidden underground in the soil, so unless you know what to look for, and you look VERY carefully, you would never know it was there! And mycelium can be everywhere! It can be bigger than a whale! A secret underground whale!

What I’m also finding out, is that it can be quite difficult to grow. As ubiquitous and vital as it might be in global matters of business and the environment, it’s quite sensitive to….well everything!