A blog on Peace after violence

A peaceful winter walk through the woods can be rejuvenating. Add a dash of colourful fungi. Mix in some witchy folklore. And, you get a recipe for wonder.

I came across this witch’s butter fungus (tremella mesenterica) on a snowy holiday walk, and I was intrigued by its vibrant resilience to our harsh winter climate. Most fungi that survive our mountain winters have extremely tough dry exteriors, akin to bark or wood. This one has a shiny jelly-like texture and presents more like a misplaced tropical coral. My imagination lit up. What is this fungus’s story? How did it survive such cold weather without protectively shriveling up? What had kept it so animated and full of vibrancy? Well, there are a couple of cool explanations.

The scientific explanation is that witch’s butter has deep roots within the bark of a dead or dying tree, where it gets a continuous supply of nutrients from another fungus living within the bark. This reliable nutrient supply helps it survive cold winters. Normally, the outer part of the fungus would shrink and dry out during winter. It would then reanimate when snow turns to rain in the Spring. The particular fungus in my photo might have frozen solid before it had a chance to dry out. Alternatively, the tree it was rooted in was somehow keeping the fungus warmer than the outside freezing temperatures.

My favourite explanation, though, is the one that’s full of mythological folklore. In Northern Europe, witch’s butter was once thought to be infused with magic. People believed it had supernatural powers that could influence a person’s health and well-being. If found growing on a front door, it was believed that the home had been cursed by a witch. The only way to lift the curse was to poke holes in the fungus until it eventually died. On the flip side, witch’s butter was also believed to have protective qualities. It was burned by spiritual healers to help ward off evil spirits. Today, witch’s butter is being studied for possible anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic properties. Perhaps the folklore did have some scientific roots after all.

I didn’t need to burn witch’s butter for it to help ward off evil. Coming across it in the woods made my day. The simple encounter lifted my spirits. Its seemingly magical properties protected me. The wonder shielded me from complicated feelings that can weigh heavily on lonely gray days like this one. The littlest things can make a world of difference.