Where Trees and Fungi Work Together: A World-First Planting at Mount Stuart
P5 children from St Andrew’s Primary School joined Professor Paul Thomas, Lyndsay McFarlane of Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd, and Mount Stuart Trust’s Garden Team Lead Lisa McFarlane to plant specially inoculated mushroom trees in Mount Stuart’s Kitchen Garden – this is part of some of the world’s first trials of this kind.
The trees, provided by Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd, who also run the National Truffle Centre on the Isle of Bute, included:
• Pine – inoculated with Carrot Milkcap (Lactarius quieticolor), planted near the top of the kitchen garden, by the glass pavilion.
• Picea – inoculated with Penny Bun (Boletus edulis), planted in the middle section.
• Pine – inoculated with Bay Bolete (Imleria badia), planted at the bottom of the garden.
This project represents a world-first demonstration in emerging mycoforestry, and the only trial site that is open to the public, combining edible mushroom cultivation with tree planting. The young trees are carefully protected with tree guards and continued weed control around the bases of the young trees is crucial in supporting their establishment and growth. While mushrooms are not expected for at least two to three seasons, it will be exciting to watch their development over time.
The project forms part of ongoing research led by Professor Paul Thomas in collaboration with the University of Stirling, Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd, and the National Truffle Centre here on the Isle of Bute. It draws on the principles of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) cultivation, where mushrooms grow in partnership with living trees. This approach has the potential to produce high-value food while capturing carbon, reducing the need for deforestation, and encouraging tree planting.
Professor Thomas, Honorary Professor at the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, spent two years analysing data in partnership with Professor Alistair Jump, Dean of the Faculty. Their research, recently published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), highlights the potential of mycoforestry to support sustainable food production, encourage afforestation, and deliver socio-economic benefits in rural areas.
This hands-on planting at Mount Stuart gives young visitors and the wider community the opportunity to engage with sustainable forestry, discover the fascinating world of fungi, and see cutting-edge research in action.
We’re grateful to the pupils of St Andrew’s Primary School for their energy and curiosity and to Mycorrhizal Systems and the National Truffle Centre for selecting Mount Stuart’s Garden as a site for these pioneering trials!
