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Mushroom expert Merlin Sheldrake: "The soil is the intestines of our planet"

2020-09-20T09:16:58.683Z


Their webs weave around the world, they hunt, kill worms and can even control human thoughts - mushrooms are underrated wonder creatures and the secret rulers of the earth, says the biologist Merlin Sheldrake.


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Ecologist Sheldrake

Photo: Andrea Artz / DER SPIEGEL

Sheldrake, 32, holds a PhD from the

University of Cambridge

in Tropical Ecology;

he had researched the mushroom networks in the Panamanian rainforest.

Since then, the strange creatures have not lost their magic for him;

He has summarized his findings in a book (*).

During a walk with

SPIEGEL

editors, he reports on his insights into the mysterious spheres beyond flora and fauna.

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Sheldrake, we are here in the Hampstead Heath Park in London.

This place means more to you than any other.

Why?

Sheldrake:

This is where I grew up.

I learned to walk here.

Later I built tree huts here and later celebrated parties with friends.

And discovered my interest in nature.

SPIEGEL:

For nature in general or for mushrooms in particular?

Sheldrake:

Both.

I've always been particularly interested in how things change.

How they grow and disappear again.

I was amazed how piles of leaves disappear over time.

How did this transformation come about without my being able to see anything?

Composting, I understood, is largely the work of mushrooms.

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Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2020-09-20

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