In our fragmented society, where concepts of competition and survival of the fittest pervade our way of life, we could learn a thing or two from one of the oldest of relationships.  Somewhere around 600 million years ago fungi and algae formed a collaboration that allowed algae to move out of the sea and onto land.  The beginning of plant and soil life, it is thought to have paved the way for the entire biosphere as we know it.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of fungi – mycorrhizal fungi, which form partnerships with the roots of around 90% of plants on earth, and saprophytic fungi, the “decomposers”, which form vast networks between decaying materials.  Our existence relies on both.

In “Entangled Life” Merlin Sheldrake (was there ever a better name for a mycologist?) deftly and beautifully questions how we conceptualise fungi, postulating that how we try to fit things into boxes, and language itself, might be limiting our understanding.  For example when we look at mycorrhizal fungi, we usually consider it from the plant’s point of view.  Plants invest considerable energy in their root systems to attract and maintain these fungal partnerships.  In exchange, fungi act as a transport and communication network, sharing water and nutrients and warning of pests and disease. Connected plants run the show through their release of exudates, phytochemicals, and whatever else science has yet to deduce.

Things look different when we switch to the point of view of the fungus.  Fungi can selectively unlock nutrients from rocks, and control the flow of water and nutrients within their network. They can solve complex spatial problems, displaying a type of intelligence that we have yet to locate or understand.  As an active participant, could fungi be keeping plants connected and alive for their own needs?  

It is very human-centric of us to think in plant-centric or myco-centric terms.  Perhaps, Sheldrake explores, our concepts of the edge of an individual organism and of symbiosis itself need to be reimagined.  There are more questions than answers in this exquisite book.  Enjoy the ride!