Hela madarch – Hunting for fungi on the Graig, young people of Pontypridd lead the way into the undergrowth and spot these magical clusters of Fly Agaric!
Hela madarch ar y Graig, pobol ifanc Pontypridd yn ledio’r ffordd i’r prysgwydd ac yn cael hyd i’r clystyrau hudol hyn o Amita’r Gwybed!
Last September we joined Mark Steer and Steven Murray from Glamorgan Fungus Group for an exciting Graig Fungi Walk. We discovered a large variety of mushrooms alongside the accessible footpaths and open spaces on the Graig and in a fenced off meadow behind the Ty Mogfen bungalow. (image2). All of this means good news for the Graig related to the healthy soil beneath our feet and biodiversity. (image 3).
Ym mis Medi’r llynedd aethom yng nghwmni Mark Steer a Steven Murray o Grŵp Ffwng Morgannwg am dro cyffrous – ar Daith Gerdded Ffwng y Graig. Daethom o hyd i amrywiaeth fawr o fadarch ar ymyl y llwybrau troed a’r mannau agored hygyrch ar y Graig ac ar ddôl wedi’i ffensio’r tu ôl i fyngalo Tŷ Mogfen. (delwedd2). Mae hyn i gyd yn newydd da i’r Graig o ran y pridd iach dan ein traed a bioamrywiaeth. (delwedd 3)
Provisional list of found fungi on the Graig: Bracket fungi (polypore or shelf fungi), Helvella crispa, Parrot Waxcap, Amethyst Deceiver, Wood Blewit, Milkcap mushroom, Puffball, Spindles, Miller, Boletes, Mottlegill petticoat (panaeolus papilionaceus)
Rhestr dros dro’r ffyngau gafwyd ar y Graig: Ffwng ysgwydd (polypor neu ffwng silff), Helvella crispa, Capiau Cŵyr Parot, Twyllwr Piws, Coes Las y Coed, madarch Cap Llaeth, Coden Fwg, Gwerthydau, Cap y Melinydd, Boledau, Brithdegyll Eddîog (panaeolus papilionaceus)
Bracket fungi Helvella crispa Parrot Waxcap Amethyst Deceiver Wood Blewit Milkcap mushroom Puffball Spindles Miller Boletes Mottlegill petticoat
Ffwng ysgwydd Helvella crispa Capiau Cŵyr Parot Twyllwr Piws Coes Las y Coed Madarch Cap Llaeth Coden Fwg Gwerthydau Cap y Melinydd Boledau Brithdegyll Eddîog
Also fungi-interesting on the Graig, is an old oak tree that you will pass when you follow the Pontypridd Circular signs from the Graig over the hill in the direction of Treforest.
This partly hollow oak is a subject of research into decomposition fungi in oak (heart-rot) by PhD student Rich Wright and Prof Lynne Boddy, Professor of Decomposition / Fungal Ecology at Cardiff University.
Lynne is an ardent communicator of the mysteries and importance of the amazing hidden Kingdom of Fungi and over the course of the project we hope to connect with her. (image 4).
Peth arall diddorol ar y Graig, o ran ffyngau, yw hen goeden yr ewch heibio iddi pan ddilynwch arwyddion Taith Gylchol Pontypridd o’r Graig dros y bryn i gyfeiriad Trefforest.
Mae’r dderwen hanner gwag yma’n destun ymchwil i goed derw (rhuddin pwdr) gan y myfyriwr PhD Rich Wright a’r Athro Lynne Boddy, Athro Dadelfennu / Ecoleg Ffyngau ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd.
Mae Lynne yn frwd dros draethu am ddirgelion a phwysigrwydd Tiriogaeth y Ffyngau, syfrdanol a chudd, ac yn ystod y prosiect rydyn ni’n gobeithio cysylltu â hi.(delwedd 4).
A mushroom is the fruiting body of a fungus. Mycelium is the vegetative body of the fungus which consists of thread-like hyphae, the equivalent of roots in plants. You could describe mushrooms as the flowers of mycelium networks hidden beneath the soil. These underground mycelium networks help decompose organic compounds in the soil and help other plants and trees to take up nutrients from their surroundings, forming symbiotic partnerships with them, supporting each other. For our project we want to use this metaphor as a vehicle to represent our interconnection with everyone in the community but also with all living organisms in nature that we humans are part of and give equal value to each.
In recent years a new mycelium grown material has been identified as an ecologically friendly bio material that can return to the earth to support a circular economy. This biodegradable material can be a substitute for packaging material, fashion and building materials. Also artists are exploring this. Anybody interested in growing a sculpture from mycelium material? We might actually succeed in doing just that.
Ffrwyth ffwng yw madarchen. Myseliwm yw corff llystyfol y ffwng sy’n cynnwys hyffae, yn cyfateb i wreiddiau mewn planhigion. Fe allech chi ddisgrifio madarch fel ffrwythau’r rhwydweithiau myseliwm ynghudd dan y pridd. Mae’r rhwydweithiau myseliwm hyn yn helpu i dorri i lawr gyfansoddion organig yn y pridd ac yn helpu planhigion a choed eraill i godi maetholion o’u hamgylchoedd ac yn meithrin partneriaethau symbiotig â nhw, fel eu bod yn cefnogi ei gilydd. Ar gyfer ein prosiect mae arnom eisiau defnyddio’r metaffor yma’n gyfrwng darlunio cydgysylltiad â phawb yn y gymuned ond hefyd â phob bod byw ym myd natur rydyn ni fodau dynol yn rhan ohono, a rhoi’r un gwerth ar bob un.
Mewn blynyddoedd diweddar canfuwyd bod deunydd newydd a dyfir o fyseliwm yn fio-ddeunydd ecolegol gydnaws sy’n gallu dychwelyd i’r ddaear i gefnogi economi gylchol. Gellir defnyddio’r deunydd pydradwy yma yn lle deunydd lapio, ffasiwn a deunyddiau adeiladu. Mae artistiaid hefyd y chwilio hyn. Rhywun â diddordeb mewn tyfu cerflun o ddeunydd myseliwm? Fe allen ni lwyddo i wneud hynny’n gwmws.
Lastly, find here an excerpt from writings by anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, writer of the book ‘The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins’:
“Our time is the “anthropocene,” the age of human disturbance. The anthropocene is an era of mass extinction; we must not forget that. Yet the anthropocene is also an era of emergence. What has emerged? I use the term “contaminated diversity” to refer to cultural and biological ways of life that have developed in relation to the last few hundred years of widespread human disturbance. Contaminated diversity is collaborative adaptation to human-disturbed ecosystems. It emerges as the detritus of environmental destruction, imperial conquest, profit making, racism, and authoritarian rule—as well as creative becoming. It is not always pretty. But it is who we are and what we have as available working partners for a liveable earth.”
(Ref: Tsing, Anna. “Contaminated Diversity in ‘Slow Disturbance’: Potential Collaborators for a Liveable Earth,” In: “Why Do We Value Diversity? Biocultural Diversity in a Global Context,” edited by Gary Martin, Diana Mincyte, and Ursula Münster, RCC Perspectives 2012, no. 9, 95–97.)
Yn olaf, yma gewch chi ddyfyniad o waith gan yr anthropolegydd Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, awdur y llyfr ‘The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins’:
“Ein amser ni yw’r ‘anthropocene’, yr oes o aflonyddwch dynol. Cyfnod o ddifodiant torfol yw’r anthropocene a rhaid peidio anghofio hyn. Er mae’r anthropcene hefyd yn oes o gyfodiad. Beth sydd wedi ymddangos? Rwy’n defnyddio’r term ‘amrywiaeth llygredig’ i gyferirio at ffyrdd o fyw, yn ddiwyllianol ac yn fiolegol, sydd wedi eu datblygu mewn perthynas i’r rhai canrifoedd diwethaf o aflonyddwch dynol. Addasiad cydweithredol i ecosystemau sydd wedi ei aflonyddu gan ddyn yw ‘amrywiaeth llygredig’. Mae’n ymddangos fel y detritws o ddifrod amgylcheddol, concwest ymerodrol, elwa, hiliaeth, a rheol awdurdodaidd – yn ogystal a ymarferiad creadigol. Nid yw bob amser yn bert. Ond dyma ni, a dyma yr hyn sydd gennym fel partneriaid ar gyfer daear trigadwy.”
(Cyf: Tsing, Anna. “Contaminated Diversity in ‘Slow Disturbance’: Potential Collaborators for a Liveable Earth,” In: “Why Do We Value Diversity? Biocultural Diversity in a Global Context,” golygu gan Gary Martin, Diana Mincyte, a Ursula Münster, RCC Perspectives 2012, no. 9, 95–97.)