"Therefore, nature will heal every wound with kindness. With the mediation of a thousand small mosses and fungi, the most ugly objects become radiant." — Henry David Thoreau

Yes, Thoreau is right. Moss and fungi can make most objects beautiful, especially on cold and dark days. Walking in the woods now, you won't find any plants blooming. Well, maybe it is a kind of stinky cabbage that appeared early, but it is specially equipped to deal with the cold, ice and snow. It is heat-generating.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot to do in Mother Nature’s garden. If you look closely at the ground, especially the half-rotted logs and tree stumps, you will find a miniature world, a thriving wonderland. There are moss and fungi everywhere, and many of them are beautiful. Even in severe winter, moss is still vibrant green, and many moss feel very soft to the touch. Fungi are also still active, especially those that live on rotting wood.

The easiest to recognize is the turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), a colorful fungus/mushroom that grows on dead deciduous tree stumps and logs; it is not uncommon to see the entire tree stump covered by this fungus. The turkey tail mushroom is crumpled and grows in a frame-like layer; it is a scaffold fungus or mushroom. Each mushroom has concentric bands of different colors, usually white, gray, brown, cinnamon, and reddish brown. Sometimes there is a green line, which is caused by algae. The folds and bands of different colors make the mushroom resemble the fan-shaped tail of a turkey, hence the name.

Turkey tail mushrooms grow slowly. It has no stem; the hat is attached directly to the wood on which it lives. The turkey's tail also has no gills. Instead, it has pores to hold spores.

Turkey tail mushrooms play a vital role in the forest by breaking down dead wood, recovering nutrients and making space on the forest floor for new growth. It is a white-rot fungus, which means that it consumes lignin faster than cellulose, which makes dead wood soft, white and sticky.

These mushrooms are not poisonous, but very hard and not particularly delicious. They have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine. Since the Han Dynasty, turkey tail mushroom has been used to make tonics to treat lung, liver and spleen problems. Recently, some research has been conducted on the potential use of turkey tail mushrooms in decomposing industrial products such as dyes and pesticides.

Turkey tail mushroom is one of the most common mushrooms in North America and is also found in Europe and Asia. Next time you are in the woods, look for this mushroom with wrinkles, soft colors and pores. Remember, although it is beautiful, it is also an important promoter of forest floor changes. It is an important part of the life cycle.

PhD. CYNTHIA WOOD is a master gardener and has written two columns for the Herald. Her email address is Cynthia. Crew 23930@gmail.com.