© D. Yael Bernhard Autumn is upon us, and this is the time of year when Maitake mushrooms (Grifola frondosa) fruit from the base of mature oaks. Both culinary and medicinal, this frilly fungus is truly a gift of the forest. Here I've imagined a Maitake as a source of nourishment for a young woman who draws sustenance through its mycelium. She, in turn, will spin new life from her own flesh. The mushroom nurtures the future mother, their flesh tones rendered in the same earthy palette.