10/05/2021
When you go hiking in the forest, do you look up into the trees or do you gaze into the distance hoping to catch a glimpse of an animal or bird? If you’re from the city, out for your weekend dose of Mother Nature, chances are you won’t be scanning the soft ground beneath your feet, except to avoid a potential tripping hazard.
In the fall time, First Nation Peoples however are likely to be looking down, searching for the fruit that grows from a fungus. When the summer heat is over, it becomes mushroom-picking season.
In the Cascade Mountain range of southern British Columbia, the soils in the forests are very deep and rich with organic debris which support the growth of various fungi species that includes many edible mushrooms, as well as several poisonous ones. The most popular edibles are the pine and chanterelle mushrooms found here in the Fraser Canyon - provided you know where to look. First Nations prize these delicious foods and individuals tend to find their own areas where they will return annually. You’ll also find they’re unwilling to share the whereabouts of these mushrooms with anyone. One of the reasons for this secrecy is because mushrooms must be harvested with tremendous care to ensure their continued growth for many years to come. One can’t go tromping through these areas and pull, tear or scrape out these mushrooms with rakes but must be carefully picked one by one, or in the case of morels, the stems cut above the ground.
From mid-August to late November, pine mushrooms can be found scattered singly or in groups on the forest floor. Pine mushrooms flourish best in old forests that are at least 100 years old and grow amongst Douglas fir, spruce and sometimes hemlock or pine. Chanterelles can be found in 50–80 year-old forests of Douglas fir, hemlock or spruce trees. Chanterelles grow well in soft moss. All mushrooms require the correct balance of water and temperature to flourish. Unlike plants such as stinging nettle and huckleberries which create their own food through the process of photosynthesis (using sunlight), mushrooms draw their food from decaying wood or crumbling tree roots. Mushrooms are just one of 144,000 known fungi species and all of them are extremely vital to supporting life on our planet.
Culturally these mushrooms are very important to First Nations as a food source. However, they are also important economically to seasoned mushroom pickers, who negotiate with mushroom buyers from the city, who in turn often export them to other countries. Pine mushrooms are often shipped to Japan, while chanterelles and other mushrooms will go to Europe and other North American cities.
Aside from these mushrooms being treasured gourmet delicacies, medical research supports the belief that consuming mushrooms can prevent illness by boosting immunity, which suggests demand for these foods will likely increase.
Indigenous Peoples view all things in our environment as being alive. Perhaps there is nothing more alive or important than soil. Soil fertility is integral to the growth and abundance of nutritious foods needed to live a healthy life. All fungi, including mushrooms, convert dead organic matter into biomass, which is the renewable organic material coming from plants and animals and stores energy from the sun. The mushroom and its fungi relatives are all essential to the sustainability and smooth functioning of our ecosystems. Fungi contribute to decomposition, the cycling of the nutrients and energy that flows between organisms living in our environment. It’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship, with one species supporting the other. The “green” plants which depend on light, makes molecules such as sugar, then supplies them to the fungus. The fungus in turn supplies water and mineral nutrients like phosphorus to the plants.
Historically, BC’s Forest management decisions have been based on the timber destined for logging but rarely have they taken into consideration the life of the forest floor, where Indigenous foods such as wild mushrooms, berries and medicinal plants are found. This life is part of the botanical ‘understory’ of BC’s rainforests and has been largely ignored by the $30 billion forest industry. First Nations, conversely, look at inventories of trees, what can be responsibly logged and what needs to be left behind. The value of our forests, beyond the trees, requires increasing First Nations’ jurisdiction over their lands.
Trees are living ‘communities’; each one linked below ground with their “kin”. All the living systems overlap one another, giving the entire forest its resilience. When a seed drops from a tree, it germinates and taps into the fungal growth in the soil where it is given the nutritional boost needed for growth and survival. Protecting our old growth forests is essential so that birds, animals, plants, fungi and all the other organisms can continue to support one another as well as human lives.
Next time you venture into the woods, ask the Forest Spirits for permission to enter and lay down a gift of to***co. And please … do watch your step.
