Mushroom Posting - Blog Posts

Found these neat mushrooms, not sure what they are but I can't wait to eat them!

Ghost pipe flower

The Ghost pipe flower is a pale white flower that lacks chlorophyll. Instead of photosynthesizing, it gets its nutrients by tapping into the network of fungi beneath the forest floor. Sometimes they are referred to as fungus flowers due to their resemblance of pale mushrooms.

CONGRATS (TO MOST OF YOU) FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT FUNGI!!!!!!

To those of you who voted mushroom B, I am giving you a light slap on the wrist

Happy April fools!

Let's play a game! :D Which of the following mushrooms are you going to eat?

In this game you can't say none of the above. You have to choose. I promise at least one will be a tasty snack. The other one is less so. Good luck :D

Mushroom fact of the Week!

Lichens are extremely durable. In 2005 NASA sent lichen to space to test how it stood up in the freezing cold vacuum. It was left outside in space for a period of time, and within 24 hours of rehydration had resumed all normal photosynthetic activity

Cross section of Xanthoria elegans, one of the two lichens sent to space!

Mushroom fact of the week!

Mushrooms scam trees!

Some fungi get their nutrients by exchanging nutrients with plants. The fungi provides phosphorous and the plant gives carbon in return.

The less phosphorous available, higher price the plant will pay for the phosphorous, giving more carbon for each unit received. However, when there is more available the fungi will receive less carbon for its troubles.

So what these fungi do, being the scammers they are, is transport phosphorous through the mycelium from areas of high abundance to areas of low abundance where it is more scarce and fetches a higher price. This way, the fungi is able to get much more carbon out of the plant.

Happy April fools!

Let's play a game! :D Which of the following mushrooms are you going to eat?

In this game you can't say none of the above. You have to choose. I promise at least one will be a tasty snack. The other one is less so. Good luck :D

Mushroom fact of the week!

The white spots viewed on the fly agaric are actually not a part of the cap at all!

Many fungi’s fruiting bodies form inside a small sac, which when it breaks open becomes the universal veil. It's actually pieces of this sac that stick to the cap of the fly agaric becoming the appearance of white spots! If you were to touch the cap the spots would wipe off quite easily 

Mushroom fact of the week!

Enoki mushrooms actually only look like how most people think of them when grown in total darkness. They look quite normal otherwise!

Wild enoki vs. enoki cultivated in darkness ^

Fun fact, there are mushrooms living in your lungs right now!

Humans breathe anywhere from 500 to 100,000 spores daily depending on local environmental conditions. The fungi have a variety of ways to survive the immune response of the human body. Most are harmless and either die or do nothing at all. However, some fungi spores inhaled are possible pathogens or cause respiratory issues, and others are essential to a healthy microbiome .

So, if you’re breathing right now, just know that there's spores in that air, and your lungs are a nice cozy environment for them :)

Funguary Day 28: Caesar's Mushroom

The Caesar's mushroom is one of the very few fungi of the Amanita genus. It is close relatives with fungi such as the death cap (see that post here), however it is edible and reportedly delicious. That doesn’t stop it from having many poisonous look-alikes, as every year there are poisonings of people who thought they were eating Caesar's mushroom but were rather eating a poisonous species. 

One of the most famous poisonings involving this mushroom took place in ancient Rome. emperor Claudius had ascended to the throne after the assassination of his nephew. He had many wives in his life but finally married his fourth wife Agrippina. Agrippina had a son, Nero, whom she had big plans for. She persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, putting him in line for the throne, but she was not a patient woman. You can see where this is going. She decided to speed up the time it would take for her son to take the throne by feeding Claudius his favorite meal, the Caesars mushroom, laced with extracts from the death cap fungi. When the symptoms set in the next day a co-conspirator doctor administered a toxin from a plant called the bitter apple, finishing him off. Nero became the emperor, and the rest was history. 

And that is funguary officially finished! One post per day on mycology for 28 days! Started preparing back in January, still finished the research for this post last night. Regardless, I loved it so much, and more importantly, now I have EVEN MORE mushroom facts to force upon my poor unassuming friends. If you're interested in seeing the rest of my posts for funguary you can find them all here!

And from now on, I will have a mushroom post every Saturday so if you're interested in that keep an eye out for it :)

Thanks for listening to my rambles!

Funguary Day 27: Scarlet Cup

Most species that would come to mind when you think of fungi are basidiomycetes, fungi that produce their spores in cells called basidia. This phylum of fungi contains most of the “fleshy” fungi, including all fungi with gills or pores. Some “fleshy” fungi however, like the Scarlet Cup, are Ascomycetes. Mushrooms like morels and saddle fungi are also a part of this phylum. Ascomycetes produce their spores in sac-like structures called asci, unlike the basidia of the basidiomycetes. See the diagram below for more clarification on the difference between asci and basidia! 

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Funguary Day 26: Indigo Milkcap

Indigo Milkcap, or Lactarius indigo, is an edible fungi that bleeds a blue latex milk like substance when cut. This “milk” turns green when exposed to air, and is reported to have a mild taste similar to that of the fungi itself. 

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Funguary Day 25: Trumpet of Death

“Trumpet of death” is actually a misleading name, as these mushrooms are highly sought after for being edible. They are also known as “horn of plenty” and can be found in autumn. They do, however, have several poisonous lookalikes.

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Funguary Day 23: Fairy Ring Mushroom

Different countries across Europe have varying folklore and myths about fairy rings

English+Celtic: In English and Celtic folklore fairy rings were created by fairies and elves dancing in a circle. It was said that if humans joined in the dance the fairies would punish them, and make them dance in the circle until they passed out from exhaustion

German: Things in German folklore took a more sinister turn as fairy rings were actually known as witches rings. It was believed that they were a place where witches would dance on Walpurgis night, a spring celebration six months before halloween 

Austrian: It was said that fairy rings were created when dragons burned them into the forest floor with their fiery tails 

There are many more myths about fairy rings, from being portals to other worlds, to being used as dinner tables for fairies, to being good luck and a sign of a fairy village underground. 

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Funguary Day 18: Turkey Tail

Ancient China and Japan commonly used the Turkey Tail mushroom in healing in medicine. In modern day medicine the use of Polysaccharide-K, extracted from T. versicolor, is considered safe for use as a cancer treatment in conjunction with other cancer treatments. PSK has been studied in clinical research for various cancer and immune deficiencies but as of 2022 its effectiveness remains inconclusive. 

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!

Funguary Day 17: Pink Waxcap

Pink waxcaps are also referred to as “ballerina waxcaps” because when mature the cap looks like a tutu. They are most likely to be found in acidic, sheep grazed fields in the UK. While edible they should not be harvested as they are extremely rare

See the rest of my posts for funguary here!