‘Fairy ring’ forming mushroom fungus.............

 

My friend Dr. V.V. Sarma of Pondicherry University initiated a brief on ‘fairy ring’ forming fungi. I am writing below a 'fairy ring' that I and my wife saw last year in Thailand.

 

I had just then joined Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand, as a Visiting Professor, in the first week of June 2013. We were provided accommodation in the University guesthouse quarters within the campus.

The Mae Fah Luang University campus is one of the most beautiful and picturesque places in Thailand with well-laid asphalted roads, neatly grown huge avenue trees, artistically cultivated flowering plants, well-maintained expansive lawns and a number of water-conserving ponds and artificial lakes. It is a residential University with apt ambience for students and teachers to live, study and teach/learn. Accomodated in this charming campus, I and my wife seized the opportunity and took long walks almost every morning. Rainy season had already set in and the weather was very nice.

End of June 2013 on a wet Sunday, during our early morning walk, we noticed a few whitish-brown, fairly big mushrooms appeared below a rain-tree (Samanea saman), just outside our quarters. As walked further, I was pleasantly surprised to see numerous big, initially creamish-white and later turned brown, well-grown mushrooms with white huge annulus sheath hanging from the neck of the stipe, but all appeared in a large circular ring form below another rain-tree, near the guesthouse reception centre. My wife was exited to see this rare site of a beautiful ‘fairy ring’. Immediately, I called two research students of MFU, Mr. Phonguen and Ms. Linda, who were working on taxonomy and diversity of basidiomycetous fungi for their Ph.D. under the guidance of Prof. Kevin D. Hyde. Within 30 min, they arrived at the site of the fairy ring and commenced their mycological studies. They took photographs, measured the diameter of the fairy ring, carefully picked up a few mushrooms for lab studies and scribbled plenty of notes in their field notebooks. I too clicked a few pictures. I had seen fairy rings a couple of times earlier in the forests of Western Ghats in southern India but this was certainly a big one and a very happy encounter which I could show and explain to my wife. Ms. Linda promised that she will get back to me with the correct name of the fungus when she had completed her studies.  

Fairy rings are not very common but formed by ectomycorrhizal mushroom-forming fungi in the forests, grasslands and meadows. It is the appearance of mushrooms of a single species in a circular ring shape. Radial growth of the vegetative part of the fungus underground and rainy wet soil conditions facilitate appearance of the mushrooms in a ring shape, year after year. The present ring was of about 5 meters in diameter and appeared at the base of the rain-tree. I am sure that we will be seeing the fairy ring at the same site, perhaps a slightly bigger ring,  this year also.

Several species of basidiomycetous fungi are known to form fairy rings. I was told that the present fungus could be a species of Amanita or Calocybe. I don’t know. A few pictures that I have taken on that day are given below.

 

 

 

D. Jayarama Bhat

Azad Housing Society family members visited ‘Sahakari Spice Farm’on Sunday, April 21, 2013

Summer months; children in the Society have annual vacation. Some of us thought why not organize a brief day-long ‘outing’ to an interesting place where all can go and spend time together for a while. We felt that such an outing will be very relaxing, fun, educative and curious to all of us. Accordingly, we decided to pay a visit to ‘Sahakari Spice Farm’ in Ponda, Goa, a popular tourist site, on Sunday, April 21, 2013. Two of our Society members, Dr Uday Kakodkar and Dr I.K. Pai coordinated the programme.

The 'Sahakari Spice Farm' is located on the Panaji-Bengaluru National Highway in Ponda, Goa and 35 km from Panaji. It is an extensive areca farm, intermixed with coconut, banana, cocoa, and various spices such as black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, clove and all-spices. Being well-irrigated and well-organsied, the farm is a lush green site, in spite of mid-summer.

 

In all, 44 members, young and old, of the Society joined in this trip. A hired, special bus sailed us to the Farm at 10:30 am in the morning. We were welcomed in a traditional way with garlands and tilak to the Farm. A serene ambience under the dense canopy of areca trees, to begin with we were offered organically prepared health drinks, kokum juice and/or lemon-grass tea, which instantly quenched our thirst . Next, a well-trained guide took us around and nicely explained the various plantations and spices grown in the farm. It took about 1½ hours to go around and see the various herbs, spices, nuts, fruits and learn the details. We enjoyed watching the live demonstration of areca tree-climbing by skilled personnel. Some of us enthusiastically experimented the tree-climbing. It was a great fun! We were brought back to an airy, spacious, and canteen-attached all-weather shed of traditional roof and tiles. It was a wonderful place to settle, relax and eat. First, we were served with cashew fenny as an appetizer, followed by a sumptuous lunch in traditional Goan style. Indeed, it was a luxurious lunch with a number of items to eat, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Leisurely we ate and enjoyed the food, time and place at will. A traditional dance troupe performed Goan dances as we eat our lunch. After lunch, children ran around, jumped and played a lot. We returned back to our home by 5:00 pm.

Truly, the 'outing' was very nice and we will remember this always!

 

 

 

D. Jayarama Bhat

We celebrated ‘VISHU’ festival, today....!

 

Today, April 14, 2013, ‘VISHU Sankranti’ (Sauraman Ugadi), is the beginning of New Year for those of us originally belonged to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts in Karnataka State. Prior to linguistic reorganization of the Indian states, these two districts were in the administrative domain of Madras Presidency and shared most of traditions and cultures of north Malabar in Kerala.  Today, entire Kerala State and all temples therein celebrated Vishu festival in a very auspicious and grand manner.

We got up early morning today, we washed the whole house, took bath and kept ’Vishukkani’, meaning – decoratively arranged home-grown fresh vegetables (tendli, chillies, etc.), fruits (mango, pomegranate, banana and jamun), coconut and flowers (hibiscus, jasmine, etc. ) and a few coins on a silk shawl-laden wooden plank in the puja room. Lighted lamps were kept on either side of the vishukkani. Vishukkani is the first sight to be seen and reciting a few verses of Ramayan is said to be very auspicious on this day. We worshiped our family deities, did arathi and then took breakfast. Adding to the festivity, we will have 'payasam' and ripened mango ‘rasayan’ for lunch. On this day, we wish that coming days will be very delightful to everyone. Indeed, traditional festivals and cultures add lot of values to our life.

On this happy occasion, we wish everyone good luck, happiness and prosperity.

D. Jayaram Bhat

Research opportunities in Mycology

There are opportunities for any good student of biology who wants to do PhD on mycology in Kunming, China (must have a MSc in life sciences already). It will be on mushrooms. The institute will pay about 8000 RMB per month. Kunming is in southern China, weather will be good and it’s cheap to live there.

One to two PhD opportunities are available to any good student (with MSc in Life Sciences) in Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand. It will be on taxonomy and phylogeny of micro-fungi. They will pay about 8000 Bahts per month. Chiang Rai is in northern Thailand, a beautiful city. Its rather fine to live there.

Those interested may contact Dr Kevin D. Hyde, Institute of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University,  Chiang Rai, Thailand, with intimation to me.

 

D. Jayaram Bhat

We performed an ‘Ekadash rudrabhishek pooja’ at our house on Sunday, 7/4/2013

Bhagwan Shri Vishnu, in Ramavatar, lived as ‘Maryada Purushotham’, i.e. embodiment of a perfect and ideal human being. In Ramayan, it has been said that Bhagwan Shri Ram, before crossing the high-Sea to Lanka, established a Shiva-Lingam at Rameswaram and performed ‘Rudrabhishek Shiv pooja’ to express his devotion to Bhagwan Shiv and seek his blessings, for prosperity. This pooja where Almighty Shiv, worshiped in his ‘rudra’ form, is eloquently hailed in ancient vedic writings and by saints and sages as one of the greatest poojas - aimed at removing all ill effects and afflictions and further attaining peace, prosperity and happiness.

One of the sacred methods of worshiping of Bhagwan Shiv is ‘Ekadash rudrabhishek pooja’. In this pooja, Bhagwan Shiv is worshiped in his eleven forms of Rudra. Rudra-japam is recited 11 times. Rudrabisheka pooja is reciting of rudra-japam and pouring different ingredients (milk, honey, ghee, curd, coconut water, sugar, flowers, tulsi and bael leaves) on the sacred Shiva Lingam; following the abhishekam, the Almighty is beautifully decorated with flowers, tulsi and bael leaves. Bael leaves are very sacred and it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi resides in them. The Shiva-Pooja commences with worship of Bhagwan Ganesh, followed by puja-sankalp and kalash-staapan. Following these initiations, shri rudrabhishekam is performed. This is followed by Astothara Pooja and Nivedyam. Finally Mangalarathi is performed. The pooja is followed by anna-santharpan to friends, neighbours, relatives and family members. Reciting ‘Om Namo Bhagavathe Rudraya’ and ‘Om Namah Sivaya’ is very auspicious and fitting during Shiv Pooja.

We performed ‘Ekadash rudrabhishek Shiva pooja’ at our house on Sunday, 7/4/2013. Our son, Krishna did the pooja under the supervision and guidance of Sri Vinayaka Bhat, priest of Curca Nagesh temple and a team of other 3 priests. Reciting of rudra-japam took about 2 hours. Arathi was at 12:30 pm and followed by lunch. We also took this auspicious occasion to felicitate two noble personalities, viz. Dr J P Tiwari, Senior Professor and Nephrologist at the Goa Medical College, Bambolim, Goa, and Sri M.S. Upadhyaya, progressive agriculturist and a relative from our native place, for their dedicated service to society at large. About 90 people including our close friends, neighbours and relatives graced the occasion.

 

Jayaram Bhat