[Lewis Thomson (OP)]

Nhlanhla wrote in this question to the office,

"I cut a pine tree few years ago in my house. What remaining is a small trunk. In three occasions, the small trunk has been struck by lightning and after a few day, a bunch of mushrooms grow on the trunk. What causes this and how do I prevent it?"

Can you help them find an answer?

[evan_au]

Mushrooms grow by breaking down dead wood (or other organic substances). They are nature's great recyclers.

It has been said that without mushrooms (or their larger family, fungi), all life on Earth would cease, because all nutrients would be locked up in dead trees and plants, leaving none for new plants or animals. So embrace your mushrooms as a beautiful and varied form of life.

In recent years, it has been discovered that fungi have an underground network that shares nutrients among living trees in the forest. This has been nicknamed the "Wood-Wide Web".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network

PS: Humans benefit more directly from fungi in the manufacture of bread, beer and many other brewed food products. They also form an important part of our microbiome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fermented_foods

[evan_au]

Another comment about mushrooms: Some varieties are edible, but others are deadly - and they may look identical to the untrained eye.

Even trained and experienced people can be fooled; there have been cases where Chinese people coming to Australia have picked and eaten mushrooms that they regularly ate in China. Only the Australian variety silently kills all the cells in your kidneys within 24 hours.

Moral of the story: Unless you are with someone who really knows what they are doing, only eat mushrooms that you find in the shops...

[Petrochemicals]

In recent years, it has been discovered that fungi have an underground network that shares nutrients among living trees in the forest. This has been nicknamed the "Wood-Wide Web".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/606952-largest-living-organism


It may also be the oldest