A patch of green and splashes of red and white.

Taken with my Canon 5DsR and Sigma Art 24–70 in Surea, between Gilze and Oosterhout — a gray day, yet the forest was alive with colour and quiet stories. On a bed of moss and fallen leaves stood a single Amanita muscaria — the fly agaric — but not as we usually know it. Its brilliant red cap was covered in a delicate white layer that resembled a dusting of snow. Only later did I realize: this wasn’t weather, but another fungus growing upon it. A fungus infecting a fungus — a rare and fascinating encounter.

In mycology, such infections occur when parasitic species like Hypomyces invade the fruiting body of another mushroom, spreading their hyphae through its tissues. They slowly consume the host’s nutrients, altering its colour, texture, and even shape. This quiet struggle plays out unseen, yet it’s part of the forest’s endless cycle of decay and renewal — nothing in nature is truly wasted.

I crouched low in the moss to capture it, trying to show not just a mushroom, but a story of resilience, interdependence, and the hidden wars of the microscopic world.

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The Wonderful World of Fungus – Part 2

After last week’s rains, the Kampina near Oisterwijk revealed a hidden kingdom—one that thrives quietly beneath our feet. This week, I set my lenses to macro mode and explored the intricate, often overlooked life of fungi and slime molds.

First, I found Rickenella fibula, a tiny moss-dwelling mushroom just a few millimeters tall, its orange caps glowing against the green carpet. Nearby, Mycena stylobates stood on delicate stems, their translucent caps perched above fallen leaves. Looking closely, I could see the long, thread-like hyphae weaving underneath—nature’s living network, breaking down leaf litter and recycling nutrients.

Then came the slime molds. One bright orange species looked like clusters of tiny eggs, each a potential transformation into a spore-bearing structure. Another, still a mystery to me, appeared as a single white, chalk-like sphere on moss—perhaps the fruiting body of another slime mold, or something else entirely. Nature loves to leave puzzles for us to solve.

After hours in this miniature world, I reached the heart of the Kampina and paused at a weathered workman’s hut before heading home. My Canon 5D Mark III with MP-E macro lens captured the fine details, while the Canon 7D Mark II with Sigma 100–400mm kept watch for the bigger picture.

Next up: Part 3—The blooming heath and wildflowers of the Kampina.

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