Look under any log lying on the ground and you will see fine fuzzy growths called mycelium, a web of cells which, in one phase of its life cycle, fruits mushrooms. Mycelium courses through virtually all habitats—like mycelial tsunamis—unlocking nutrient sources stored in plants and other organisms, building soils.

With each footstep on a lawn, field, or forest floor, we walk upon these vast sentient cellular membranes. Fine cottony tufts of mycelium channel nutrients from great distances to form fast-growing mushrooms.

Mycelium travels across landscapes up to several inches a day, weaving living networks over the land.

Mycelium is the mother of us all.

Paul Stamets