Now is the hour: it’s autumn, and the ghost fungi of the Illawarra are literally glowing in the dark. The season is only just starting, and they will be visible for the next four to six weeks.
Some tourists travel hundreds of kilometers just to see them.
David Finlay, citizen scientist extraordinaire, will be giving a talk on these most curious life forms at the Kiama Library this coming Tuesday, the 7th of April.
“This week, in Gerroa, I came across a gentleman from the Blue Mountains. He travelled several hours just to see them.
“We get a lot down at Gerroa, at Seven Mile Beach in the National Park, sometimes hundreds on one dead tree, because it is protected. There are plenty of banksias, and they love dead banksias.
“That spectacle is not just seeing half a dozen at the base of a dead tree, it is literally hundreds of these bright green fungi. They look incredible in photographs.”
One of the most fascinating aspects of the ghost fungi is that nobody knows why they glow in the dark, we haven’t been able to figure it out.
“An early theory was that the glow attracts insects, but they also attract plenty of insects during the day because of their smell.
“I have a theory that the light attracts leopard slugs, because we see the slugs eating them once they are old enough to glow. They don’t eat them before they start glowing.
“They digest the mycelium in the fungi, and leave a trail and help distribute the mycelium throughout the forest.”
Finlay says the ghost fungi that we see are just the fruit of the organism, much like apples are the fruit of an apple tree.
“The technical name is mycelium. What we see, the fungi, is the fruit of the mycelium. The fungi digest rotting wood. They live in the dirt and rotting vegetation.
“The ghost fungi live for about 10 to 14 days, but will only glow for about five to seven days.”
Finlay says his fascination with ghost fungi was a natural progression from his interest in science and astronomy as a kid, which got him used to being out at night.
“I found out about them about 10 years ago. That was when I first moved to Kiama. I first heard about them in the Southern Highlands, and would travel up there to see them. Then I found out we had them here as well.
“I have seen them pop up in people’s backyards in Kiama. They have been here long before humans walked the country. These mushrooms are prehistoric. We are encroaching on their territory.”
Finlay gives one warning: Definitely don’t eat them. “They won’t kill you, but you will be violently ill if you do. And they taste terrible.”
David Finlay will be giving a lecture on ghost fungi at the Kiama Library from 5.30 to 7 on Tuesday, 7 April.
The talk covers how to find them and what they look like during the day. His advice is that if you can locate a batch during the day, then come back at night to observe them. As well Finlay explores the season, the season, their life cycle and how to photograph them.
You can follow his work on his Instagram page: @davefinlaydigital
