Dry Continued: Fungi 2023 in Chiba and Kanagawa Prefectures

 

The other day this month, I happened to have an occasion to have lunch with Dr. Toshimitsu Fukiharu and his wife of Natural History Museum and Institute of Chiba Prefecture 千葉県立中央博物館. They are experts for fungi. Dr. Fukiharu said, “This is a strange year. The amount of precipitation is fluctuating wildly in Chiba. Summer and early autumn were dry … In early September we had just one day downpour but basically the rest was for tiny droplets, if any.” His wife added. “So, when we’ve been to forests searching for fungi, we could find only a small number of specimens. Now it’s November and the season for mushroom hunting is over for 2023. How was it in Kanagawa?” So, I told them my adventure in West Tanzawa 西丹沢 early October: it was the same here in Kanagawa (my post for October 13).

In terms of the amount of rainfall, 2023 is not so special according to the stats from Japan Meteorological Agency. Below shows yearly total of January-October rainfall in Yokohama and Chiba City.

Yap, this year we have had below average rain drops, but amount-wise for a year it’s not so bad both in Kanagawa and Chiba. But when we see the monthly and daily changes …

The way droplets came was like “continuous dry days, and a day or two downpour.” Japan was not like that before …

The way heaven gives us water is not ordinary this year both in Yokohama and Chiba. It’s really a “tempestuous” roller-coaster. For humans who can build dams for tap water, as long as the total rainfall is in the range of “not unusual,” we can ride over this. But for fungi that suffer erosion of soil during the heavy rain then the next day is damned dry, 2023 would be a hard year …

I’m not sure if such hard life for fungi was the time for an orchid to exploit … But one thing is sure. In a corner of a forest in Kanagawa Prefecture, we had lots of beautiful flowers of Cymbidium macrorhizon this October. Cymbidium macrorhizon is an endangered species in VU category for 2020 Japanese list. Only its flower comes out from the ground. The plant does not have leaves, or green parts for that matter. It does not photosynthesize. It receives water and nutrition from fungi it lets dwell within its roots. Dr. Tomohisa Yukawa of National Museum of Nature and Science reported he has found DNAs of Russulaceae, Thelephoraceae, and Sebacinaceae from the roots of his lab-specimen of Cymbidium macrorhizon. It’s mycoheterotrophic plants per excellence. I checked if the place where the orchid flowered in abundance had mushrooms in previous years. Oh yes, that part of the forest with the orchid had previous falls beautiful purple-bloom russula (Russula mariae) sprouted. What was happening at that time underground?

Purple-bloom russula (Russula mariae)
in yesteryears

But this year,
purple-bloom russula (Russula mariae) only.
Huh, both are beautiful for sure.

Actually, this has been a bumper year for
flowering mycoheterotrophic orchids in Yokohama.
It is Lecanorchis nigricans in November.
They have completed their fruition.

Meanwhile, in the forests of Kanagawa Prefecture where oak tree wilt is rampant, lots of hard ear mushrooms stick from the dead trunks. I think it’s a normal ecological succession where infectious disease kills trees … Still, is it only because of me? I feel uneasy something …

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/