PORTFOLIO
Rise & Shine
Strange but beautiful fungi and slime moulds are popping up beneath our feet. It’s time to slow down and marvel at a magical techicolour show.
In the limelight (above)
An iconic, fairy-tale fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) stands proud in a damp autumn woodland in 2019 – the start of Dutch photographer Jan Vermeer’s voyage into the mysterious world of fungi. He used a 40-year-old camera lens to create the ‘bokeh’, soft focus effect.
It’s in the name
The shocking blood-red cap of the aptly named bloody brittlegill (Russula sanguinaria) can be seen in coniferous forests. The generic name of the mushroom, Russula, means red, and sanguinea is derived from the Latin sanguis, which means blood.
Microscopic world
“The blue dots are the slime mould Physarum album, which is closely related to mushrooms,” says Jan. “They are tiny, maybe 5mm so you need a special 25mm lens to capture them – a normal macro lens isn’t close enough.” A larva belonging to the Isopod order can also be seen.
Roll up, roll up
You could be looking up at the roof of a circus tent but this is actually sunlight shining through the two-toned gills of Laccaria bicolor – with a small springtail tightrope walker near the centre. “Fungi are what I call ‘nature monuments’,” says Jan. “You have to approach them like a work of art.”
Coastal blue
The astonishing turquoise colour of Stropharia aeruginosa, commonly known as verdigiris agaric, was on Jan’s ‘top 10’ wish list to see, and social media proved helpful. After spotting an image of the mushroom on Facebook, Jan approached the photographer who kindly shared its location in a coastal pine plantation.
Tickled pink
Dependant on elm trees, which were decimated throughout much of Europe due to Dutch elm disease, these wrinkled peach mushrooms (Rhodotus palmatus) are very scarce. Jan travelled 15km every day for 20 days before he found these specimens.
Sponge fingers
A magnifying glass is needed to appreciate the 1cm-long ‘sporocarps’ of Arcyria obvelata, which look rather like skinny fingers with black nails. The slime mould can be found growing on dead wood.
Hairs standing on end
What you are seeing here is actually a fungus on a fungus. The parasitic fungus Spinellus fusiger, or bonnet mould, is growing atop the cap of a Mycena epipterygya mushroom, its hair-like sporebearing ‘sporangiophores’ bejewelled with dewy droplets. Using a backlight and a tripod, 25 images were taken to create a composite image capturing every detail. “You need absolute sharpness from beginning to end,” says Jan.
Close to home
The slimy, branching, bright-orange ‘basidiocarps’ of Calocera viscosa, or yellow stagshorn, is a common sight on decaying pine wood. Jan has travelled to exotic locations to photograph wildlife, but the lockdowns of Covid-19 compelled him to spend time searching for Holland’s 5,000 mushroom species: “You must have a respect for the nature in your own backyard.”
Perfect timing
In deep midwinter, a springtail carefully traces the circumference of a Polyporus brumalis – a mushroom that favours dead hardwood, usually birch. Springtails are commonly found among leaf litter, soil and dead bark, but Jan says it was luck that it turned up here at just the right moment.
Jewel in the crown
Laccaria amethystina, commonly known as the ‘amethyst deceiver’, is a small brightlycoloured mushroom that grows in coniferous and deciduous forests, particularly beech woods. Its deep purple hue makes it stand out against the leaf litter, though the brightness tends to fade as the mushroom ages.
Now you see me
A pioneer of the mushroom world, Omphalina chlorocyanea can be found popping up on the disturbed ground of housing developments. It’s small (just 2cm high) and ephemeral – appearing for a couple of years and then disappearing again.
Keeping schtum
It’s unusual to find oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) outside of the supermarket – more often than not they’ve already been eaten. In a highly populated country such as Holland, Jan frequently found his fellow fungi fanatics reluctant to reveal the whereabouts of the species, in fear of the prized beauties being foraged.
Ice, ice baby
In extreme close-up, the white and translucent branches of Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa resemble coral or upright icicles, but it is a widespread species of slime mould, which can often be spotted growing on damp or dead wood.
Total focus
Often Jan would spend one or two hours photographing his subject – here a Helvella crispa. “To make something new is incredibly difficult, there are so many talented photographers,” he reflects. “You have to focus on a particular subject, go deep and invest a lot of time – that’s the only way.”
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Jan Vermeer is a photographer, author and speaker based in Holland. He has travelled the world as a professional wildlife photographer, visiting over 50 countries. See more of his work at janvermeer.nl, where you can also purchase Paddenstoelen, his recently published book of fungi photography.