A Pisolithus tinctorius truffle collecting hotspot @ CSUSB's parking lot Carob Trees

For three short years I visited California State University in San Bernardino, California on and off while I worked for Campus Dimensions. We promoted financial services and AT&T communications products to the students there. But every time I pulled into the public main Parking Lot, something amazing and incredible always captured my attention. Something was associated with the Parking Lot landscape island's Carob Trees.

Panoramic view of the CSUSB campus against the San Bernardino Mountains. (Amerique 2009)

image - CSUSB

That attention capturing phenomena was the association of Pisolithus tinctorius mycorrhizal truffle formation on the parking area's numerous Carob Trees (Ceratonia siliqua). An amazing tree in in that it is extremely resistence to dry heat and even extreme drought conditions. Also interesting since as a parking lot landscape choice the environmental conditions are increased greatly in the temperature department. All that asphalt baking under an already historically hot geographical location. But Carob Tree toughness alone is not enough. As with many hot and dry climate plants, there are those biological symbiotc associations which further increase survivability. The problem for me was, even though I saw it with my own eyes, I had never read about Ceratonia siliqua being a host specific associate of Pisolithus tinctorius mycorrhizal fungi on any of the official hosts lists inside any of the Scientific Literature. 

image - Marcus Wallenberg Prize

My only connection back then in the  middle 1990s as far as education and technical understanding regarding the mycorrhizal world [aside from years previous personal observation & practices] was Dr Donald Marx of Frogmore, South Carolina who eventually became chief scientist for Plant Health Care Inc. He won a Marcus Wallenberg Prize award for his groundbreaking development of a process for the selective mycorrhizal inoculation of tree nursery soils which greatly increases the growth and survival rates of conifer seedlings used in the reforestation of inhospitable soils like those of abandon mines sites. In particular he was an expert on Pisolithus tinctorius. Don was even skeptical when I informed him of Pisolithus tinctorius  colonization of an Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana) I brought over from Arizona one summer and inoculated after planting. But getting back to the CSUSB Parking Lot. I once collected three medium sized plastic bags of the mature dried PT Truffles under these Carob trees for my own spore inoculum at home on my acreage in Anza California. I was however in the beginning puzzled and at that time attributed their existence to the Eucalypts also present in the parking landscape islands. But it wasn't until a study by researchers associated with the University Mohammed Premier in Oujda, Morocco that the host association I observed made any sense. There is often a feeling when you pour over many science research papers and journals today, that the only good and accurate science findings come only from the good'ol USA or perhaps Europe. It does however make sense that such findings come from researchers from the North African region of Morocco where Carob Trees are native and often farmed for various products. Here is what one reference describes as to tree distribution and uses.

"Ceratonia siliqua is native to the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East and is commonly cultivated in California. Spanish missionaries first introduced the carob tree into Mexico and southern California. In 1856, seedlings were distributed from Spain to the southern states of the US. In 1859, more seeds were brought from Israel. Many carobs were planted as ornamentals and street trees during this time in Texas, Arizona, California, and in Florida. The trees are also used for erosion control and the pods for stock feed, human consumption, commercial thickeners, pet foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals."

So from that brief description we see how these Carob Trees  arrived via the Spanish colonists and the uses in it's own native range. So it is logical researchers from North Africa and the Middle East would have a close vested personal interest in the cultural and economic value of this tree and potential for improved farming methods in understanding many of the natural mechanical components which can be replicated on a commercial scale. But of course I never read any of this until 2012 when it was first published. I've written about this study before, but only from the perspective of Pisolithus tinctorius mycorrhizae colonizing Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera). (HERE)

Image - CSUSB - Parking Lot

image - Global Journals Inc

The truffles I collected at the parking area above were identical to the ones referenced here from the research article done by the scientists at University Mohamed Permier. It's just a pity it took so long to understand the truth of Carob Tree P.T. Mycorrhizal associations. When I tried explaining what I found, it was always explained away by the so-called experts. I was delusional and they were correct. Still, I would imagine the area of the CSUSB parking lot is still a hotbed of truffle collecting for those who know what to look for. So I'm apparently giving up all my former secret Pisolithus tinctorius Ectomycorrhizal truffle collecting site locations >>>  (Like Here)

Image - PlantPoints.com

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

The photograph above is of a typical Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqua). When I went to El Cajon Valley High School in the early 1970s, they were everywhere lining the streets. They were never even watered as far as I could tell and still aren't by the Google Maps App. The CSUSB parking lot landscape trees had many of them along with Eucalyptus trees. Pisolithus tinctorius colonizes the root systems of both trees. But the majority of truffles I always found at CSUSB's parking lots were in the hard hot baked soil beneath the Carob Trees within the narrow parking lot landscape islands. I'm also fascinated by the fact that in some locations, even south of CSUSB at UC Riverside, the Carob Tree is in fact a weedy invasive. Fascinating read on underutilized uses and production of Carob trees in one of the links I've provided down below. Again, as the report brings out below, this Carob Tree and it's economic potential is little understood:

"Carob has been neglected with respect to both cultural practices and research and development. Apart from a few classic works written by interested scientists, references on this crop are scarce. We have tried to review most of the work published over the last 100 years and make useful information available to producers, processors, students, scientists and amateurs."

(Source)

Images by Noureddine Elmtili

Note the Carob on the left colonized by Pisolithus
tinctorius. Note on the right no fungal inoculation.

Effects of ectomycorrhizal fungal inoculation on growth and rooting of carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.)

Quick References to this subject of Ectomycorrhizal Truffle formation on new found 'Host Plants'

Ectomycorrhization of Date Palm and Carob Plants

When Mycorrhizae debunks the Scientific Orthodoxy on what & who they'll colonize

Adenostoma fasciculatum (chamise or greasewood): Worthless Brush or potential Nurse Plant ???

DiscoverLife.org - Ceratonia siliqua

Carob tree. Ceratonia siliqua - Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops 

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Conclusions 

Of course in the historical past, neither the Date Palm nor the Carob Tree would have ever been found on any of the approved Host Plant lists for Pisolithus tinctorius or any other Ecto-Mycorrhizzas as provided by most American Mycology records. Much the same with P.T. ectomycorrhizal fungal colonization of (Adenostoma fasciculatum) otherwise known as Greasewood or Chamise or even it's cousin (Ademostoma sparsifolium) Redshank or Ribbonwood. Both generally being endo-mycorrhizal with the exception of heavy wet rainy years such as El Niño events. Neither shrubs are generally popular as landscape fare nor respected as far as a major foundational chaparral shrub as nurse maids to Forest trees which is probably why the Scientific Orthodoxy has ignored them for so long. And yet knowledge of the environmental cues which can trigger an epigenetic responses within Chamise to switch on the manufacture of chemical signaling messages to soil fungal partners plant's root exudates to inform nearby fungal spores or mycelium like PT ectomycorrhizae to form a mutualistic bonds during periods of heavier than normal wet rainy seasons (El Nino Events) could have been a sort of restoration alert to humans to get off their backsides and get busy with reforestation projects. The plethora of lost opportunities in furthering increases in forest ecosystem habitat spread by means of mutual cooperation between Chamise or Redshank and Pines/Oaks is now lost forever. Our present climate change and global extreme drought dilemma is a testament to the inept global scientific leadership we are all forced to be subjected under. Very little is written about these interactions and beneficial phenomena. The very nature of the average scientific animal is that the Lay Person is incapable of teaching them anything. Not all scientists conduct business as usual, but their numbers are very few. While there are some who are enthusiastic about mutualisms and practical applications on a potentially commercial scale, much of their work gets shelved away or appears on few websites where small groups take a real hands on interest. If this were not true, our planet Earth would look like a much different place than it is now. Fortunately many do recognize the value of what they call citizen scientists who are nothing more than folks with a heart felt passion for the natural world around them. They have no vested interest in corporate business profits. So their helpful input is often employed in some research works. Frankly, the present scientiific orthodoxy are beginning to remind me more and more of that fictional headmistress, Miss Agatha Trunchbull of the Trunchem Hall Primary School.

We really are living in the spooky End Times

Snap, Crackle & Pop!, Rumor Has it that the Lightning gods make the Mushrooms (truffles)

File Under: "Peer-Review" - "Settled Science" - "Science-Based" & that holiest of holies - "Scientific Consensus"

Image: greekboston.com

The ancient Greek god Zeus (Roman god: Jupiter) was the incomparable, supposedly the first of the all the other gods and an exceptionally formidable figure of the Olympians. The name Zeus signifies “splendid” or “sky.” Often alluded to as the sky god who controlled lightning (regularly utilizing it as a weapon) and thunder. For years scientists have called the unexplained phenomena of Lightning and Thunderstorms triggering the abundant appearance of truffles after such rainfall events as nothing more than ancient myths or fables propagated by the both Greek and Roman philosophers. In the middle east the Bedouin peoples have for centuries collected the white Desert Truffles after thunderstorms and same with many nomadic peoples of Africa who collect the Kalahari Truffle which colonizes a shrub of the Rock Rose family after thunderstorms. So there is indeed evidence from many historical eras and cultures from around the globe, but as usual our modern world's intellectuals view such accounts as nothing more than anecdotal evidence. So what is anecdotal evidence ? Anecdotal evidence is a term they apply to a story account which regard as unreliable or hearsay. Where there may be only one or a few anecdotes presented in the story, it is then assumed that there is a large chance that the narrative may be unreliable due to biased cherry-picked observations. I've always found the expression, "anecdotal evidence" to be used by intellectuals when they find themselves  incapable of explaining any mysterious phenomena. It's yet another sort of default answer taken from their debate toolbox. In other words in their small Hypothesis Myopia worldview, if a well known respected scientist has researched and written a paper about it, and if this paper has not been "peer-reviewed", and if it has not been published in a respected "science-based" journal, and only if it has been accepted by a "scientific consensus", only then should anyone consider it "settled science." Well, I beg to differ and in my 3 decades of experiencing I always counted on this amazing this phenomena when going out to collect such mycorrhizal truffles which was always fruitful after such monsoonal rainfall events in the summer. And I might add in the same exact locations year after year for a couple of decades. But this doesn't mean that both Greeks and Romans were wrong about what they saw either, just perhaps in the way they went about in explaining the reasons behind what they saw would be odd. I mean, viewing a thunderstorm as a war between gods throwing lightning bolts at each other isn't really scientific is it ? Here is what writer, Anna McHugh of the website, "Crazy About Mushrooms", had to say about those Greek & Roman stories.

"According to some Greek authors, this great god Zeus hurled “mushroom seed” to earth on lightning bolts, which explained the sudden appearance of fruiting fungi after storms. The Romans similarly assumed that mushrooms and thunderstorms were inexplicably linked, and most Roman-era writers who attempted to explain mushroom biology noted that thunderstorms were critically important in the life cycle of fungi. As history informs us, the Roman Empire followed that of the fractionalized Greek world power. As with so many other things, the Romans also looked to the Greeks for an understanding of fungi (truffles), and Roman literature related to mushrooms leans heavily on Aristotle’s Natural Histories, which classified mushrooms as plants with invisible seeds. Other Greek writers called mushrooms “sons of the gods,” because they appeared mysteriously in the wake of thunderstorms and caused much puzzlement to the curious and clever Greek thinkers of the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.

(Source)

Interestingly, another individual by the name of Robert Gordon Wasson (1898-1986), an Ethnomycologist [I didn't even know there was such a thing], wrote this about some written historical accounts of thunderstorms being associated with mushrooms.

"Lightningbolt and Mushroom"

"The inquirer who turns to Littre to learn about truffles, on reading the entry under truffe, comes upon a nugget of curious information that certainly fails to catch his attention. It seems in certain regions of France (presumably there where truffles abound) the country folk in thundery weather are wont to say, Voild un ban temps pour les truffes, 'What fine weather it is for truffles!' Why in thun- dery weather? Not when it rains, mind you, but when it thunders. Nothing in Littre alerts the reader to the mystery that here lies hidden. The saying of these French rustics seems to be one of the surviving traces in Europe of a belief that reaches back in time deep into prehistory and in space wherever Eurasians or their descendants have lived. It is the end of Ariadne's thread that we propose to follow far and to a far-reaching end." 

"Pliny the Elder declared that truffles were disposed to grow in the time of autumnal rains, and above all (in the full-bodied Elizabethan translation of Philemon Holland) 'if the aire be troubled and disquieted with many thunders: during that season there will be good store of such Mushromes, &ic, especially (I say) if it thunder much': 

'De tuberibus haec tradwitur peculiariter: Cumfuerint imbres autumnales, ac tonitrua crebra, tune nasci, & maxime e tonitribus.' [Hist. Nat., bk 19:37]

When Philemon Holland around 1600 rendered tuberibus, 'truffles', by 'mush- romes', the word 'truffle' and the plant it represents were as yet unknown to the English-speaking world. Juvenal wrote of the longed-for thunder in springtime [sic] that replenishes the table with truffles: 

'Post hunc tradentur tubera, si ver tune erit et facient optata tonitrua cenas maiores.' [Satire V: 116-118]

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Possible Explanation for what may be happening by Tom Volk

Tom Volk, Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, had an excellent scientific explanation for why he believes storms with lightning and thunder trigger the growth of mycorrhizal truffles. His explanation came from another page on his website where the subject titled: "Terfezia and Tirmania, Desert Truffles (terfez, kama, p/faqa) Delicacies in the sand or manna from Heaven?" In this article he mentions the associations between a couple of ecto-mycorrhizal species with plants of various the Rock Rose desert or Mediterranean shrubs (family Cistaceae). He stated that this may also provide an explanation for folklore shared by Bedouins in the Israeli Negev and truffle hunters in Morocco, claiming that truffles will grow where lightning strikes during thunderstorms. So it was nice that he mentioned the folklore of Bedouins who for centuries may have been eye witnesses to this intriguing phenomena as well as African Bush peoples and Australia's Aboriginals, but here he provides a possible explanation as quoted below:

A possible explanation by Lightning triggering Truffles

"Absorption of nitrates by the plant is enhanced considerably by the truffle, because the truffle’s mycelia and ascocarps reduce nitrate at a much higher rate than the rootlets of the plant alone. This is believed to play an important role in the release of spores. It may also provide at least a partial explanation for the persistent observation made by desert truffle collectors that strong lightning during rainy thunderstorms in fall will bring out the truffles in large quantities during the spring. Nitrogen is an abundant element. About 80% of the air is nitrogen. Inorganic nitrogen may exist in the free state as nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-), or ammonia (NH3+). It can also exist in the free state as a gas (N2). During a rainstorm accompanied by lightning, a very high electrical potential is discharged instantaneously, and nitrogen can be dissociated to nitrogen atoms or nitrogen free radicals. The atoms and free radicals can form nitrogen compounds with water molecules, which include hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. These compounds are water soluble and are dissolved in the water drops surrounding them, which in turn carry them down to the ground. The hydrogen-nitrogen-oxygen compounds have ionic nature, and can easily form potassium salt, natrium salt, and other cationic metal salts once they hit the ground where these metal cations selling truffles in the open market.  photo courtesy of M.M. Mirrehare available. Some of these nitrogen-hydrogen-oxygen metal salts are effective fertilizers. Those could be present in much higher concentrations in the soil after massive lightning and thunder rainstorms have occurred. It is known that fungi require nitrogen compounds in order to initiate fruiting. Maybe the persistent claim made by many local collectors that truffles abound in the areas hit by strong lightning and thunder rainstorms, has a scientific base. The Bedouins of the Negev even call desert truffles ‘the thunder fungus’."

(Source)

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Tom Volk's - "Dog Turd Fungus"

Image: Tom Volk

I can hear you thinking, "This is the most beautiful Fungus of the Month ever...." Well maybe not, but this month's fungus is useful and appealing in many other ways.  I can still remember the first time I saw this fungus in nature. I was on one of the Alexander H. Smith Lake States Forays in the early 1990's (way back in the last century...) with other midwestern mycologists, and a jokester grad student found this fungus. He thought he had found some dog droppings, and, trying to make a joke, he brought it on the end of a stick to his professor, saying, "Look at the nice fungus I found for you." However the joke was on the student, because he had actually found Pisolithus tinctorius! Ever since then I have called it the dog turd fungus. I have also seen it called "dead man's fist" (not dead man's fingers), dyemaker's false puffball, and simply "dyeball." In my experience, this fungus can most commonly be found growing associated with conifers (or occasionally oaks) in areas that are very sandy or otherwise have very poor soil. Pisolithus tinctorius is widely distributed throughout North America and other continents, and I have personally seen it in Wisconsin, Mississippi, northern California, Florida, and Massachusetts. It's always a fun find and can be very abundant in some areas. Maybe you can play some tricks on your mushroom hunting companions if you find it.

(Source)

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How Tom Volk's 'Dog Turd Fungus' was a turning point in my understanding of the  importance of Mycorrhizae in 1983

Image: Cheryl Dean (Deep Canyon Blog)

Image: Mine (2014) Julian, Ca

The photograph above is the Hamilton Creek Canyon area east of Anza Valley California. This is taken from a pullout on Hwy 74. What first intrigued me back in 1981 when I first move up into the San Jacinto Mountains and in particular this canyon, was it's rugged fractured rocky geology with almost no soils and the masses of huge Pines and Oaks which inhabited this area. Like most people who were schooled in the 1970s with conventional practices of industrial agriculture and landscaping, I had only really heard slight reference and/or rumor of the incredible mutualism which existed in the natural world's plant communities. Going back to Hamilton Creek Canyon, I was curious how those huge trees were able to exist on what appeared to be an impossible landscape. Both sides of the Canyon walls are made up of this same sterile looking rocky geology. Climbing up these canyon sides was a challenge as the rocks easily dislodge and slippage was often. At a couple of points where I dislodge larger rocks, I noticed on the undersides where numerous white fungal strands of an ectomycorrhizal fungi were everywhere underneath this Martian looking landscape. That was my first huge clue that the rumors were correct. Further up along the tops of the ridges I found my first answers in 1983 where truffle examples of a fungi called Pisolithus tinctorius were all over the place. They look identical to the example I took a photo of in 2014 on my last visit to California you see in the picture above right. The truffles when fully matured and dry look like stones. What I noticed was that they were always associated near and around all Oaks (Scrub, Interior Live, Engelmann, etc) and Pines (Coulter, Jeffrey, Parry, etc). They were also always abundant a month after the first summer monsoonal rains came up from Mexico and more so than Springtime.   

Image: Mine (2014) Julian Ca, next to US 25¢ coin for scale

Back in those days I was pretty much on my own. There was no internet to easily type in key words and/or phrases into a Google search bar and obtain an instantaneous plethora of numerous references to mycology. You either went to the library or consulted an expert on the phone or in person, but it was tough even back  then if you were ignorant of all the terminology used by the experts. Also back then most of the scientific papers were mostly available to other researchers, not really the public. There were no inoculum producing companies in existence and they would be more than a decade away. So trial and error on my part was the norm. Mostly I'd open up the dried powdery chocolate brown puffballs and mix the spore powder in the soils when planting any trees and shrubs. In those days I had no clue of PT Mycorrhizal fungi being host specific to only certain types of trees and shrubs. I had no understanding of the differences between ecto & endo mycorrhizas. But once the 1990s came with the opening of the internet, all sorts of information doors opened up regarding mycology. But not much info on the Thunderstorm and truffle formation phenomena. Mostly if it was referenced at all it was usually in a negative derogatory put down of being nothing more than a myth, fable or something of folklore found only in a Farmer's Alamanac believed on by anti-science Luddites. No matter, my successes with Pine and Oak inoculation, though crude at first was successful. And when I collected them, it was a mere two or three weeks after major monsoonal thunderstorms.

But it was this personal observation of numerous truffles emerging from the soils near oaks and pines after first several monsoonal season thunderstorms that gave me the hint there may be something to this so-called folklore. In fact more so than the appearance of the Springtime truffles. Over the years I identified the best places for truffle appearance and would collect a few weeks after the first storms appeared. Like amazing clock work there they always were. I'd wait for some time because with these truffles you want them dried out and cured so to speak. What I wanted was the dried truffles with spores, not the fresh ones with white flesh underground which are edible. On that edible note, I've observed squirrels and soils insects like Sow Bugs and Earwigs eating these PT mycorrhizas which were almost always half ripened. You will often find a dried truffle above ground still growing below ground with the new white flesh. This strategy seems to encourage hungry living things to dine on them while being coating with spores to carry to newer locations. Of course if broken, they will also spread spores into the wind. The PT truffles have a chocolate brown powder which has an aroma reminiscent of English Toffee or Caramel. Caution should always be used in trying not to breath any spores of any kind as they can have an effect on the lungs. This has been noted in the past with many mushrooms and I'll post a link in the references on this below.

forestryimages.org

Everyone should know that this is just one of 1000s of varieties of fungi which benefit plants. Specifically I have always found this one on the fringes of the forests in the hotter drier regions. There are however several unique varieties of Pisolithus all over the globe with uniquely developed characteristics for those regions. I've never really found it in old growth forests, but that's not to say it isn't present there or in other habitats, but I've just never collected it in such environments. Dr Donald Marx of Plant Health Care Inc (PHC) said of all the species of mycorrhizal fungi, this particular PT fungi is the best at old mining site rehabilitation and reforestation. Indeed, I have always found it doing well on the fringes of forests and in areas where tree movement creeps into the chaparral. The region of the southwestern United States benefits by it's presence. It increases water and nutrient uptake by 200%, although some have said as much as 800%. Still, 200% isn't bad. My experience on my property is that when I inoculated pines I've planted on my property (believe it or not most always in Summer), the first occurrence of the truffle on the pines was a small thumb sized truffle like the one you see in the picture at the right here. Other than that there usually will be no other noticeable change observed on the plant. Now I say usually because that doesn't mean that is the rule. I'm just saying that the first month after truffle formation at the base of the small seedling or sapling after I've inoculated, I've just never personally noticed any improvement in growth. But there may well be other circumstances where growth and vigor is immediate. What you will notice are a couple of other important things that following Spring. First. The leaves of Oaks or needles of Pines will always be huge and stem growth from buds often shoot out a foot of new growth. This happened to me a year prior to selling my property in 2001. In 1988 I brought down a meter tall Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) sapling from the town of Idyllwild to the north in the higher elevation country which I had rescued from a Highway road cutout slide one winter when the rains were heavy. I immediately planted it in an out of sight spot on my property's heavy chaparral plant cover. The first two years it did very well, but thereafter it did poorly and I forgot about it. I never inoculated at time of planting because I was rushed and just in a hurry. Mostly I forgot I had it and periodically every couple years I'd stumble across where I planted the tree. The growth of stems at the end of the 1990s was at best one inch off each bud of central leader and side branches per year. Leaves were a mere inch long and the tree just struggled to survive. The summer prior to my leaving I was out inoculating with (PHC) Tree Saver Injectable on other plants, when I again stumbled upon this Black Oak I had planted and forgotten. So I thought what's to lose. I'll post a picture and link about this PHC product in the references below. In my opinion, this specific product is the best on the market for Pisolithus tinctorius colonization, but I'll explain why at the bottom. But after boring several 2 or 3 inch deep holes in the short drip area around the Black Oak and deeply watering, abouta month later the same thumb nail sized truffles appear as per habit at the base of this Oak Sapling. However, the following Spring the effect on growth was both shocking and outstanding. I was blown away and could have kicked myself as to why I did not do this a decade earlier. The central leader and all major branch bud stems grew over a foot in growth length and the leaves were huge with some being 7 inches in length or more. My only regret back then is that I never took before and after photos with a camera. Second. The other observation was that the fungal strands moved underground several meters from the new trees I inoculated and colonized had overwinter already establish the wild scrub oaks which prior to that Spring were also struggling and rangy looking with sparse foliage. The trees were loaded with large leaf foliage and also had truffle emergence on the outside of their driplines as well that same Spring. This debunks the so-called insistence that there is no reason to inoculate because the spores are just out there somewhere in the air and will find the tree roots. It's a farce for anyone to insist this. People can experiment on their own and test out their own applications, but take before and after photos. The entire experience can be satisfying and rewarding. Again, I will post a deeper explanation below in the references and explain what the list of ingredients do within the mycorrhizal mix from (PHC). 
Now take special note of one last scientific take on evidence and innovation of biomimetic application of devices created for mushroom and truffle farms in copying what Nature does with soil fungi through the effects of lightning and rainfall during thunderstorms. This article comes from Cornell University's Mushroom blog. And I have every confidence that some Professors out there who will consider the Cornell University researchers and employees at as anti-science Luddites for even considering this subject. Much the way Harvard Yard researchers and landscape maintenance employees were put down for using a microbial based compost teas for landscape care and dumping all synthetics in favour of this new holistic method and successfully since 2008. They've saved 1000s of dollars a year in the process.

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image: Cornell University

Here is an article from the Cornell University Mushroom blog where this phenomena is intelligently addressed and technological innovations designed to replicate electrical shock to damp soils on truffle farms which have proven to double the amount of truffles or mushrooms on those farms. For anyone who already farms for those underground truffles or above ground mushrooms, then this article and the information it contains will be of great interest for you. So here is a reprint of that Cornell Blog article published in 2013.

"The farmers of Japan say thunderstorms are good luck– they make the mushrooms grow.1 And mushrooms and thunderstorms are partners in folklore all over the world. The ancient god Soma may even have been a mushroom himself. In the book, Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, Gordon Wasson2 argues that Amanita muscaria, the classic red or yellow fly agaric, is the identity of the mysterious Soma, god of the RgVeda, a sacred collection of ancient Vedic Sanskrit hymns. These hymns are some of the world’s oldest religious texts, and from them we know Soma is “the child of the thunderstorm”. Is Soma really a mushroom? Are mushrooms the children of thunderstorms? Read on."

"Science, alas, has had little to say about mushrooms and thunderstorms. Until now. Recently, scientists in Japan have demonstrated a link between lightning and prolific mushroom fruiting. Although their interest in lightning and mushrooms is not driven by a religious quest, their research may inadvertently shed light on an ethnographic mystery."

"In Japan, mushrooms are particularly coveted for their delicious, nutritional, and medicinal qualities and demand is outstripping supply. But now scientists are finding ways to harness the power of electricity to increase mushroom production. Can you imagine farms where man-made lightning bolts strike the ground and induce large flushes of mushrooms? Well, this is what scientists in Japan are doing."

"Today, shiitake (Lentinula edodes), buna-shimeji (Hypsizygus marmoreus), eryngii (Pleurotus eryngii), and matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake) mushrooms are high value health foods in Japan.1,3 Matsutakes now sell for $439 U.S. dollars a pound. Before you think you might get rich by growing some, you must consider that these are ectomycorrhizal mushrooms that only grow symbiotically with their pine tree hosts, so the world’s harvest is entirely collected from the wild. Although harvest of these mushrooms in Japan peaked at 12,000 metric tons in 1941, harvest declined to 34 metric tons in 2005, not due to lack of demand but due to many threats to these red pine forests, including a pine wood nematode infestation that has been wreaking havoc in these ecosystems.3 People want more mushrooms. Let’s harness the power of lightning."

"The use of direct current (DC) electric fields on living tissue is not a new idea, but has a long and contentious history. Even back in 1985, when Robinson wrote a review of the topic, he was able to find 8 reliable reports involving plant cells and 4 on animal cells responding to DC fields. The reports ranged from growth of neurons towards the negative electrode to a “healing” response of wounds. Many of these observations seem to have been dismissed as “laboratory curiosities,” unlikely to have much real world application. In Japan, though, electrical stimulation has been used in the production of Shiitake, Buna-shimejo, and eryngii mushrooms for almost half a decade. And this technology doesn’t seem to be limited to mushrooms, as farmers are also using electromagnetic field technology in the production of tomato, lettuce, strawberry, and some ornamental plants."

Below is the schematic drawing of the SPLG is from Figure 2 in Islam and Ohga’s interesting 2012 paper.

"The results were yields of matsutake mushrooms just about double the yields in unzapped control plots. A monstrous flush came two weeks after the pulse and a second one nearly as large 3 weeks after. But it wasn’t just the quantity that increased, the quality, as measured by weight and size of individual matustake mushrooms also showed dramatic increases: Harvests from the zapped plots were, on average, almost 70% heavier then controls. If you thought mushrooms were magical all on their own, the combination of mushrooms and electricity might knock your socks off."

"Fungi are mysterious things and the mechanism by which electrical stimulation promotes mushroom fruiting is still not much understood. Perhaps the mushroom mycelium is responding to an apparent threat of death by redoubling its reproductive efforts? Many electrifying questions remain. Like: how does the zapping affect forest trees? Can the high fruiting rates be sustained without damaging the mushroom-tree symbiosis? When’s the next thunderstorm due in my neighborhood?"

"In the meantime, if you feel like experimenting (safely, of course) with mushrooms and electricity, you might want to check out this intriguing post about a New York City mycophile who grew his mushrooms amid Jazz music, artificial fog, and static electricity. Or, next time you go in the woods foraging for mushrooms, look for trees recently struck by lightning. Who knows what you will find. Maybe you will even have an encounter with the god Soma, child of the thunderstorm."

An Assortment of Cornell University's
Reading References

1. S. Tsukamoto, H. Kudoh, S. Ohga, K. Yamamoto, and H. Akiyama, “Development of an automatic electrical stimulator for mushroom sawdust bottle,” in Proceeding of the 15th Pulsed Power Conference, pp. 1437–1440, Monterey, Calif, USA, June 2005 

2. R.G. Wasson. “Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality.” 1968. 

3. F. Islam and S. Ohga, “The response of fruit body formation on Tricholoma matsutake in situ condition by applying electric pulse stimulator,” ISRN Agronomy, vol. 2012, Article ID 462724, 6 pages, 2012. doi:10.5402/2012/462724 

4. K. R. Robinson, “The responses of cells to electrical fields: a review,” Journal of Cell Biology, vol. 101(6): 2023–2027, 1985. 

5. S. Tsukamoto, T. Maeda, M. Ikeda, and H. Akiyama, “Application of pulsed power to mushroom culturing,” in Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference, pp. 1116–1119, Dallas, Texas, USA, June 2003. 

6. W. R. Adey, “Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields,” in Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 51:410-416. 1993. 

7. S. Ohga and S. Iida. “Effect of electric impulse on sporocarp formation of ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria laccata in Japanese red pine plantation.” J. Forest Res. 6: 37-41. 2001. 

(Source Cornell University)

Finally, the western scientific discipline of mycology (and other science related fields) has long disregarded this supposed relationship between lightning storms and truffle or mushroom formation. Either it has been chalked up to be nothing more than superstitious nonsense, in the view of modern man's agricultural obsession with industrial science, or else it is mistaking correlation for causation (accusation of it being anecdotal evidence), as they claim it's nothing more than the same rainstorm which created the lightning and thunder which also delivered the rains that woke up the mycelium from its slumber and provoked the mycorrhizal  fruiting bodies. Hopefully people will reject the ongoing scientific arrogance and go outdoors for themselves and see whether this phenomena is true or not. By all means experiment and have fun doing so. This post is a collection of articles and writings on the phenomena of Lightning of Thunderstorms triggering the emergence of Mushrooms and Truffles along with my own past experiences with this incredible phenomena when collecting these fungal fruits are meant to provide a condensed resource of information on the subject. As always with any of my posts, I'll periodically update as newer research appears in the science news feeds. It's my hope that everyone finds this compilation of subject materials invaluable, because you won't get this from the conventional Academic sources which are shackled to corporate business interests. I've never bought into the assertion, assumption or conjecture that the lightning in the atmosphere changes theg aseous nitrogen into something water soluable and therefore the water from Thunder Storms is like a kind of Miracle-Gro for plants. I've tested all manner of trying to create super solutions to stimulate growth and nothing close to what Thunderstorm water has on the effects pf plant growth. FACT - It's all about physics and the restructuring of water molecule structure size into something far smaller and energized. I'll write more about that on another page. You'll be amzaed. 😍

 Update 2018

High-Voltage Methods for Mushroom Fruit-Body Developments

Update 2020

Stimulatory growth effect of lightning strikes applied in the vicinity of shiitake mushroom bed logs

(Courtesy: EricABCAT/CC BY-SA 4.0 - 2020)

Lightning seed: shiitake mushrooms growing on a log

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Some Fun Reading References

Tom Volk: Lightning and the Truffle (Desert Truffles)

National Geographic: Lightning Makes Mushrooms Multiply

Modern Mechanix: "Tiny Thunderbolts Help Mushrooms Grow (Apr, 1923)"

Some Precautions on avoiding breathing the Truffle or Mushroom Spores

CDC: Respiratory Illness Associated with Inhalation of Mushroom Spores -- Wisconsin, 1994

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Some things to seriously consider about Plant Health Care Inc's  product PHC® Injectable for Trees & the list of ingredients within and what they do.

Plant Health Care Inc - PHC® Injectable for Trees

I've read several of the articles by internet Sciencey Guru types whose sole purpose in life on the Net appears to be debunking perceived or imaginary gardening and landscape myths about the uselessness of soil inoculation. I've already mentioned the "Spores are everywhere out in the Air" dogma by the Scientific Orthodoxy, but there is far more. Often I've seen criticism & demonizing of many of the other ingredients which are also present in many mixes. Here are a few and what they are for. Take the list of ingredients on the package of PHC® Injectable for Trees in the picture above.

PHC® Injectable for Trees - Ingredients List

The ectomycorrhizal lest contains a single species and the is Pisolithus tinctorius (1.78 Billion spores/Lb Pisolithus tinctorius). I have no idea how the count these spores. Next they list four VA Endomycorrhizal (VAM) Fungi (each @ 20,000 spores/Lb). Next they list six species of beneficial soil bacteria in the mix (each @ 4 billion cfu/Lb). Most of the criticism I've read about the ingredients list are these others which I'll talk about a few. First off, none of this is any type of fertilizer for the plant, which is often what I have rad from critics which in actuality exposes their true ignorance. So let's take a few of them.

SOIL/PLANT AMENDING INGREDIENTS

15.8% Humic acids (derived from Leonardite)

Anyone know what humic acids are which are derived from Leonardite ? For the purpose of this discussion, these humic acids are included within the mix not as a fertilizer as they are present to stimulate the plant's root growth and in particular those tiny root hair. In order for germination of the spore to take place, the root tip with end cap must have active growth and actually touch the spore for germination to be triggered. Next, what is Leonardite ? Leonardite comes from coal fields, especially brown Coal which is a lower grade coal and otherwise known as Lignite. These products were formed by the decomposition of organic plant material. Most all of it was created during the Earth's massive extinction even (irrespective how one wish to spin or fairytale that event) where ancient forests and other dense plant community ecosystems were scoured from the surface of the earth being thrown together and immediately buried with tonnes of sedimentary debris, much like the action of a volcanic lahar which bulldozes everything in it's path and buries it at the end of the flow with tonnes of mineral fill. Leonardite is the further degraded and refines part of Lignite (comes from the term "Lignin" which is what gives wood it's strength).

0.2% Formononetin

Doesn't sound like much, but the Flavonoid, Formononetin, stimulates the mycorrhizas to activity on their hosts. Only a trace is necessary for the desired effect of hormonal stimulation, much the way a mere trace of BisPhenol-A contamination has on a developing fetus with major endocrine disruption. Here is a link on it's importance to potato plants and mycorrhizal effectiveness. 

Influence of a flavonoid (formononetin) on mycorrhizal activity and potato crop productivity in the highlands of Peru

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MICROBIAL NUTRIENTS - 68.9%

11.2% Soluble seaweed extract (derived from Ascophyllum nodosum)

Seaweed or Kelp extract are another target of critics who say it does nothing as a fertilizer for plants, hence the criticism on compost teas which contain this product. Again for all those critics out there, this is never professionally meant as a plant fertilizer, but rather as the subtitle here suggests, it's a microbial stimulant. This is to stimulate the microbial community into action for the benefit of feeding and caring for their host plants. 

0.2% Yucca plant extract (derived from Yucca shidigera)

While you may find many who will describe this on the internet as a feed for plants, it's main purpose here while encouraging the microbial community, is also a great replacement surfactant to the petroleum and other synthetic surfactants presently used in Agricultural spraying of any kind (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, etc). Plant Health Care sells the Yuccah quarts and gallons. The recommendation is use in all spray and/or injection applications as a wetting agent and soil penetrant (allows mycorrhizal spores to also move easier within soil pores). Keep in mind that this product I'm describing above is actually an injectable to be used in an actual injection machine. Try mixing any fungal spores with water and see what happens. They float on the surface. This is why such products as Monsanto's Roundup is loaded with synthetic surfactants to allow the Glyphosate to completely emulsify within the water or it would float on the surface. The surfactants used in Roundup however are dangerous to aquatic environments, so the Yuccah version is meant as an ecological replacement. So the next time you read about negativity of soil inoculents being worthless and the other ingredients are having no effect, understand that these self-promoting intellects have probably never done their thorough homework on them despite what they spew in type.

PHC Yuccah Wetting Agent & Soil Penetrant  

Periodically come back and look for updates

What happens to Earth's Mycorrhizal Community when their Hosts fail above ground ?

"You don't have to inoculate because spores are  found everywhere in the Air."  Oh but I beg to differ, yes it does matter!

image: John Upton

Discover magazine published an excerpt from biologist Edward O. Wilson’s recent book The Diversity of Life, in which he listed the extinction of thousands of species of birds, fish, and insects, as well as species usually dismissed as unimportant: 

“Many of the vanished species are mycorrhizal fungi, symbiotic forms that enhance the absorption of nutrients by the root systems of plants. Ecologists have long wondered what would happen to land ecosystems if these fungi were removed, and we will soon find out.”

A pine seedling roots flush with mycorrhizal fungi,allowing the plant to
obtain nutrients from a bigger volume of soil.
Image from David Read, author of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis.

It's almost impossible to believe that mycorrhizal Fungi themselves are in danger of massive deterioration and possibly extinction in some areas of the Earth, especially when the prevailing faith affirmation is that "Fungal spores are just everywhere in the air". In other words, don't worry, it'll be fine. I often hear this [mainly by native plant nursery experts who are supposed to be in the know] when I reveal to them that I always inoculate even when I suspect microbial life in the ground is healthy. I just refuse to not take a chance, and besides, there are some species of fungi which are superior in starting a plant out successfully than others do. I'm not trying to be cute here, but there's more to the story. Like everything else, Micro-organisms are not immune to human idiocy. So no it's not invincible as we once thought, or at least not anymore. Does it stand to reason that if plant life above the ground earth wide is suffering and in severe cases failing, that the conditions underground, just possibly the microbial community isn't doing so hot as well ? More and more there is scientific evidence that this just may be the case. It's always been a given that for the most part, where ever in the world's cities , Humans use massive amounts of science-based chemical Fertilizer solutions and other deep tilling practices have been employed, the microbial community is either limited or entirely gone. Further, when areas of an agricultural landscape are plowed up near the surface, this will often kill off the mycorrhizal network, and made even worse with the chemical fertilizer applications. In the post I did on the habitat restoration project at Thousand Palms oasis where it was necessary to physically remove Tamarisk trees, two types of method were employed in the removal and as noted, there were two stark contrasts in results of plant community response.

"Most areas were cut by hand, thereby selectively cutting out the tamarisk while leaving the native shrubs unharmed. Only a 7.5 acre (3 ha) section that was heavily infested (> 95%) was cleared using a bulldozer." 

"In the 7.5 acres (3 ha) that was bulldozed, natives established much more slowly than in the hand-cleared areas." 

(Source) "A Success Story Tamarisk Control at Coachella Valley Preserve, Southern California" 

Did you notice that the method in which the crews hand removed the invasive vegetation, but left the other native shrubs intact ? These regions were reported to have recovered faster. The Bulldozed land which was stripped entirely and replanted recovered far more slowly. This method is often employed by the US Forest Service in replanting Timber species Pine trees and success is much slower than leaving some chaparral intact. While they make no mention of the mycorrhizal grid, no doubt this was obliterated at the Bulldozed location at the time of disking and scraping. I also found this in my own case where I always hand removed only a handful of chaparral when planting trees and leaving much of the ecosystem intact. But something else is going on now that is causing the mycorrhizal network to fail in many areas. The really scary thing now is that this disappearance phenomena may also be happening in many of the Earth's wildland areas and not limited to those regions disrupted by Humans. But why is this ? 

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Major Groundwater Deficit Out West Might Hold Some Clues

image: Earth Observatory - NASA

The people at NASA came out with a map just a couple of days ago referencing groundwater deficits especially out in the western states. Here is what they said:

"Long-term drought and aggressive seasonal wildfires have consumed property, lives, and farmland in the American West. The dry weather and blazes are battering regional economies and putting residents and agricultural businesses in several states on a path toward water restrictions. At least part of this story of water woes lies underground."

"The map above combines data from the satellites of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) with other satellite and ground-based measurements to model the relative amount of water stored in underground aquifers in the continental United States. The wetness, or water content, is a depiction of the amount of groundwater on July 7, 2014, compared to the average from 1948 to 2009. Areas shown in blue have more abundant groundwater for this time of year than comparable weeks over the long-term, while shades of red depict deficits compared to this time of year." 

(source)

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Many Native wildland Plant Communities are in major decline or out right dying, Why is this ?

Anza Valley viewed north @ Thomas Mountain off
Mitchell Rd & east of Kirby Rd next to Agri-Empire Well (2014)

The photograph above was taken in a northerly direction from a commercial well head owned by Agri-Empire just north of the dirt road part of Mitchell Road and east of Kirby Road. What caught my attention here, and this had been seen elsewhere, the Parry Pinyon Pines are failing all over the place. Believe it or not I actually wrote about what was going to happen back in early 2013 before I came over that Spring. I already was aware of Parry Pinyon's decline and some of the efforts to help save these trees within the San Jacinto Mountain range. The account from the Press Enterprise falsely cursed and demonized Chaparral as hindering the successful life of Parry Pinyon. But the efforts of their chaparral clearing programs were less than successful, especially given the lack of knowledge by well meaning people who were in a position of authority to have known better how specific ecosystems [like Pinyon/Juniper woodlands] actually work. The leadership should have known better:

Little Did I Know at the Time, Parry Pinyon was only the Beginning! 

Any Pinyon and especially the Parry Pinyon,  has always been one tough tree. But like other living things, this tree also has limits as to what it will endure. Historically they have always germinated newer trees with great ease, especially on a steep southern facing slopes of Thomas Mountain to the Anza Valley floor which is dominated by Chamise or otherwise known as Greasewood. Not many trees would tolerate such a habitat. These trees in this area for example have always produced 1000s of pine nuts per year and it could be observed that 100s of seedlings emerged successfully after germination over Winter, whether they made it through the first year or not. The above photo isn't the best close up shot I could get, but I had a delicate Rental Car that was never made for the offroad. From a distance however you could see numerous skeletal outlines of the Parry Pinyon tree silhouettes. Many Pine trees will normally shed leaves or needles from oldest years to the newest during times of drought stress. Most of the pines at my old place still contain needles which go back 5 or 6 years, but many of these Parry Pinyon trees had only two years worth of needles which reveals their present drought stressed struggle for life. Some were outright dead which can be seen from a drive along Hwy 371 leaving Anza Valley heading to Paradise Corners. This unfortunate observation is just not normal, especially for these Pinyons up there around Anza. Of course all the Coulter and Jeffrey Pine are being effected as well. That entire southern face of the eastern end of the Thomas Mountain chain had always attracted my attention because the trees always stood out in stark contrast to the surrounding Chaparral plants. Now you can't even tell the difference. But one wonders what has happened to the mycorrhizal fungi community under the ground which normally is the foundational support of the above ground ecosystem. Why isn't it not up to the task of it's assigned  job ? Let's see how it works when all pistons are firing.

The foundation of every single ecosystem on Earth is the fungi community. Depending on the system, the variety of plants and animals living within that system are determined by the health of the microbial system of the fungi along with the right kind of beneficial bacteria. The foliage mechanisms of all plants that are above the ground act as factories which produce energy from the sun, manufacture food and allow the plant to reproduce. The mycorrhizal community under the ground draw off the nutrition the plant manufactures in the form of simple sugars or carbohydrates which the fungi are incapable of producing on their own. Obviously the Fungi provide generous amounts of raw materials in the form of water and nutrients in exchange for the food the trees and shrubs generously provide. An important factor in all of this working together and cooperation is available moisture which provide the major support in this cooperation. Look at any shrub or tree this way, think in terms of purchasing a factory stock muscle car from the 1960s. Certainly the vehicle has many outstanding qualities on it's own and will perform just fine. But this vehicle can be further enhanced by modification of the cars various mechanical components which relate to higher performance. The fungal community under the ground acts as just such a modification partner. They provide an energy performance to helping out the plants during the rougher  times. They provide an antibiotic system which protects plants root infrastructure from diseases which would otherwise wear down it's mechanical components. They create a sharing interconnection exchange of nutrients and moisture between the entire the plant community, and create a much larger resource base by which further moisture and nutrients can be drawn from a greater area. If any of the modified components shut down for any reason, then the entire system can be effected negatively.

It is the same with any vehicle. If the  header exhaust system, gears, or the high performance carburetor starts to fail for any reason, the entire system suffers. With the plant world, we are now seeing complete failure in many places. This is true for example in Anza California. Off hand I'd say it's the inconsistent rainfall totals I have been following throughout Southern California over the past couple of years. Totals are extremely uneven with some areas getting doused with rain and others receiving only a trace. This past rainy season especially, most totals are extremely way down throughout California and this downward trend has been getting worse over the last few years. Seasonal rainwater and other forms of moisture to an ecosystem are like what gasoline is to a car. Lack of water will also create and cause total shutdown in most plant ecosystems, and all other life will be likewise effected. People aren't the only ones with a stake in this water crisis emergency.

What I noticed this past rainy season is that even if an area was officially recorded as receiving an inch of rain, other storms that followed were few and far between. An inch of rain doesn't soak very deep, especially when it's not followed up by other rain amounts. The sun and wind dry up what was made available and the pores in the soils seizes up tight once again. No amount of moisture build up is allowed, which explains why invasive weeds didn't even do well in these areas this past year. The ground water availability chart above provided by NASA bears this out. Most of the chaparral I saw on my trip hadn't even put on a new season's growth, which tells me they are in survival mode at any cost. When this happens, plants and trees will either restrict or hinder altogether giving any carbohydrates to their mycorrhizal partners in life. The plants right now are in extreme survival mode when they shut down and don't produce. Many go drought stress deciduous. For the past decade I have not once found PT Mycorrhizal Truffles in either my favourite wild collecting spots not specific places within cities which were colonized.

image: Roger Gosden

In every ecosystem around the globe there are ecological switches that exist which push the system through a succession of changes until maturity is reached, and the same could be true in reverse when the ecosystem begins to collapse as a result of disturbance from the norm. Reverse engineer anything and you notice a gradual breakdown. Seriously, look at Earth's Climate mechanisms. If we go back to our automobile comparisons, fast forward to our present computerized run modern cars which are loaded with sensors which send instantaneous signals to the computer's programming brain which continually monitors temperature, timing, fluid levels, etc, etc, etc, this mimics beautifully what goes on in the plant world deep down inside on a very molecular level which is controlled by sophisticated sensors & on/off switches on the genes located within the plant's DNA which constantly monitor the surrounding environment for change. The signals the plant genes receive from this feedback by means of chemical signaling which require a response for the organism's next move. This makes more sense to me now, given the info I read a while back from the 2005 report by the US Forest Service which came out admitting that Pisolithus tinctorius does work within chaparral plant community & likes to colonize Chamise. Note the quoted text below where Chamise will allow itself to be colonized, but only & especially during wet years like the El Nino event of 1978 thru 1984. This would also account for the Parry Pinyon's healthy establishment successes within the Thomas Mountain ranges above Anza California which were always productive truffle collection hot spots for me for over two decades. From 2003 onward however I found no truffles [even signs of older mummified ones] in all areas north of hwy 371 on the old Dune Ranch now owned by Agri-Empire. If even the Chamise or Redshank are under stress as a result of drought conditions, it makes sense that certain sensing mechanisms detect environmental ques picked up by the plant's epi-genome, then this must certainly require a disconnecting signal which means the chemical that allows and encourages the colonization process with mycorrhizae must be shut down and may be a survival strategy for these chaparral. Even this year was a bust when I visited Anza, UNTIL => my Julian visit June 30th 2014. Below here is a paragraph explaining & documenting the Chamise PT Truffle association.

"Greasewood or Chamise ( Adenostoma fasciculatum ) normally forms arbuscular mycorrhizae with all genera found in the region. However, during wet years (El Niño), we found EM associated with its roots and EM fungi in the stands (Allen and others 1999b). There was a high diversity of fungi ranging from Cenococcum and Balsamia spp. (ascomycetes ) to a variety of basidiomycetes such as Pisolithus species." 

When Maverick Mycorrhizae debunks the Scientific Orthodoxy on what & who they'll colonize

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Wow, what an awesome surprise before returning to Sweden. Truffles, Humbolt Lilies and more 

image: Elisabeth: Desert View Inspiration Point

It was June 30th 2014, my wife and I were returning back to El Cajon after staying at my brother's place in Ranchita, California for a few days. We stopped in Julian for a chocolate malted milk shake, then pushed on south to see what Cuyamaca State Park looked like now. This photo above is the desert view turnoff on Hwy 79 south of Julian called "Inspiration Point. Years ago someone planted Cuyamaca Cypress all around the parking area and median island. They spread out into the chaparral in the old days before fire swept through here. I recall finding seedlings everywhere in the 1970s. I know, it's faith shaking shocker when a much worshiped doctrine gets blown out of the Fire Ecology water, but life is like that. There were some small narrow unmarked trails where persons who visited have created through the chaparral so I followed a few, but something curious caught my eye as I veered off trail an in between Manzanita and Scrub Oak I found what for me is the glittering of gold, a mother load of sorts. Stone-like truffles of Pisolithus tinctorius. 

photo Mine Inspiration Point Hwy 79 south of Julian

The above image has been manicured a bit so that viewers get the full flavour of what they actually look like. Here I have pulled back some of the dry grasses, leaves, dirt and other debris for the camera. To most people hiking in the outdoors, they look rather like small stones. But I've always got my nose to the ground every time I go out, just a habit I guess.

Photo Mine: Now on my FB page

Here is the same image of the above truffle with another I've cut or broken in half to reveal what's inside of these gems. Unlike normal puffballs most folks might be familiar with which explode in a cloud of dust when opened, these have a compartmentalized interior. Mocha brown inside and gives off the scent of caramelized sugar of English Toffee in my opinion. Often referred to as the Dog Turd Truffle, it is a main pioneer fungi for most all ectomycorrhizal plants which are just getting started. Below here is a picture of a truffle which I have not removed the debris around. You can understand why most people wouldn't notice such a gem.

Image Mine

But now look below here, they do come much bigger

Image Mine

Two images of the same truffle above and below here. The lower one allows you to view the American Quarter coin much more clearly which I used for scale. Almost the same size of a Swedish Kronor. I've seen these things get much bigger before, often on my own property in Anza in the past. Once on the backside of Palomar Mountain in 1983, a friend of mine and I went up the forestry road behind Aguanga off Hwy 79 and up near the top in a previous years wildfire burns and after the monsoon Thunderstorms had dumped rain over the last several weeks, we saw large white Puffballs larger than the size of a Basket Ball all over the blacken landscape with which it contrasted beautifully. I really wished back then I had thought to carry a camera.

Image Mine

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Other things discovered at "Inspiration Point"

Image Mine

Okay now time to pay attention here for a moment. This is looking south from the "Inspiration Point" area and the hill where some trees are recovering from the 2003 Cedar Fire which took this place out almost completely. I still have nightmares of watching Ed Lenderman of KUSI over dramatizing the high winds at this spot live. As you can see there are some pines trees and even Cuyamaca Cypress growing back. Although for a recovery that is eleven years in restoration, it's clear that even rain here has not been in great abundance. Okay anyway, is there any colour that stands out place and jumps out at you in this photograph ? I'll give you some hints, it's not any shade of green, nor sky blue. It also has nothing to do with the reddish brown soil at the bottom foreground of the picture.

The chaparral here at "Inspiration Point" was the healthiest and most beautiful in all of San Diego County, something I had not seen anywhere, but a few places like Palo Colorado Canyon up in Big Sur California off of the Cabrillo Hwy 1. Okay, to the right here is a Humbolt Lily which was growing up out from a medium sized California Coffeeberry Shrub. Not what most people would consider ideal gardening conditions for any kind of Lily. But that's the native chaparral ecology. Fungi makes many things work when all pistons are firing properly. I have some more pics and more stories of things I did here. Like planting Native Plants in hot weather, inoculation and watering properly under harsh conditions. Some natives can be watered and others not. Inoculation is always a must if you want to succeed in the urban landscape or garden. However, unless things weather and climate-wise change radically, I do not believe any remote wildland area restoration will succeed, even if you inoculate with a great mycorrhizal blend. You need rain, not necessarily heavy rains, but back to normal rains will work. There is so much going wrong in the outback environment. To much to ponder. Get outdoors and discover how different Nature is from what the textbooks insist is truth. You'll be amazed.