Ferdinand Sibylla was a world traveler, mycologist, and mushroom hunter–and also a kind and generous soul. He traveled far and wide collecting rare and previously undiscovered mushrooms. Each mushroom Ferdinand found reminded him of one of his siblings and he created special collections for each of his brothers and sisters, carefully noting the special qualities and powers of each.

A talented linguist, Ferdinand was fluent in at least twelve languages. It is believed that along with Raven, Rhinoceros, Portuguese, Great Oak, and Japanese, he could also speak many dialects of Mushroomese. Ferdinand considered the fungi to be his friends, and they revealed many secrets about the world hidden beneath our feet. They told about the mycorrhizal threads woven through the soil and roots, nurturing and sustaining plant life above the surface. They discussed ink caps, stinkhorns, fly agaric, fairy rings and destroying angels– and other fungal friends and foes. Ferdinand was generous with his gifts but tightlipped about his discussions with the mushrooms so we can only guess at most of what he learned. 

Our scientists have been listening closely try to hear the mushrooms talking. Sometimes they think they catch a whispered word or two but recordings have thus far yielded nothing. We may never know how Ferdinand’s fungal friends communicated with him or all that they said but we suspect the mushrooms have much more to say if we listen very closely.