Okay, a recipe

Most of the what I get from Google news alerts are recipes. Not that I'm opposed to mycophagy, I just don't like posting lots of recipes that I haven't tried making or eating. But this one happens to be from Alabama, so I'll make an exception.

Paul Stamets says Fungi can save the world

Here's an interesting TED lecture (warning, 18 minutes long) by Paul Stamets, which outlines several ways in which fungi are very, very cool. He shows how fungi can bioremediate toxic spills, provide anti-viral pharmaceuticals, control pest insects, produce ethanol, and solve world hunger. See for yourself:



Thanks to my good buddy Dave for forwarding this along to me!

Otzi's fungi

Here's an article about a copper age mummy, Otzi, who died 5000 years ago in Europe, and happened to be carrying a few sporocarps about with him. The article refers to them as 'mushrooms', which irks me a bit, because they're conks, not really mushrooms. Mushrooms are really more fleshy, conks woody. But it's understandable given the level of myco-literacy among the laity. I once joked that I though mycology should be taught in the third grade. Probably not, but then it would be nice if mycologists had more company, I think.

Cool video of fungi and Fungi

Here's a video of an Amanita muscaria sporocarp (mushroom) developing. It's missing my favorite part, when the universal veil breaks up and forms the white spots on the cap. This is what makes it look strawberry-like, at least in the red morphs. But it's understandable because the videographer probably wouldn't have recognized the mass as a Amanita muscaria mushroom until after the veil had started to break up.

Sorry I can't embed this, the embedding has been disabled. But it's a very cool video featuring time-lapse photography of some fungi growing. The music reminds me of the music from the Mushroom Men: Spore Wars, probably no coincidence.

It seems like a good time to mention the difference between fungi and Fungi. The first critter in the second video is a slime mold, which is a fungus, or more correctly, a fungus like organism. Stinkhorns, oysters, and the other mushrooms are all Fungi. What is the difference? Fungi with a capital "F" are of the Kingdom Fungi (Eumycota), which all share common ancestry. This includes chytrids, zygomycetes, glomeromycetes, ascomycetes, and basidiomycetes, and most of the Fungi formerly known as deuteromycetes.

With a small f, most fungi were considered to be closely related to the Fungi at one time or another, but all are now recognized as being more closely related to algae, or protozoa (a rather nebulous term). These include the oomycetes, like Phytophthora (species of which caused the Irish potato famine and sudden oak death), or myxomycetes, like the slime mold shown in the video.

Mushroom Capital of the World?

I recently came upon a link to a small town newspaper, whose very masthead proudly boasts that Richmond, Missouri is the Mushroom Capital of the World. They host an annual Mushroom Festival, featuring loads and loads of MORELS, which are my favorite ascomycete mushrooms that are not truffles. Okay, so that's not saying much, as there aren't lots of edible ascomycete mushrooms that are not truffles, but morels are REALLY QUITE TASTY.

This year's Miss Missouri hails from Richmond, as well, and was announced as being from the Mushroom Capital of the World.

Unfortunately for me, Ray County, Missouri, appears to be in the northwest corner of the state, about as far from Alabama as it could get. So I'm not sure the mushroom festival will fit in my agenda. But hopefully I'll get there someday, as any place with such myco-braggadocio must be all right.

On portobellos, crimini, and button mushrooms

In an item that recently came into my inbox, the author states that the crimini is the 'little brother' of the portobello. Actually, the relationship is not filial, it's identical. Crimini, portobello, and common button mushrooms as well (the most commonly consumed kind in the US) are all Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Imbach. Crimini are small portobellos, buttons are immature crimini, and portobellos are the larger, more mature version of buttons and crimini. The difference is in the size.

These saprobic mushrooms do grow in the wilds of Europe and North America, commonly in grassy areas, and while button mushrooms may have gills that appear pinkish or white, they actually have a dark brown spore print at maturity. There are several species of Agaricus that share this niche, and some are edible, even choice (no surprise there), while others are 'poisonous to some individuals', or just plain poisonous. Some have interesting aromas, like anise, almond, phenol, bleach, or 'fungal', and the staining reaction (color changes when cut or bruised) and skirt (partial veil) characteristics are also important for identification. As always, don't eat anything if you're not SURE you know what it is.

The species epithet 'bisporus' comes from the two-spored basidia. Four is the most common number of spores/basidium in the holobasidiomycetes including most mushrooms.

Good gravy, people.

I don't mean to prattle on about this, but really. Death cap mushrooms? Yes, there are edible and choice Amanitas, but I'm a professional mycologist and I don't feel like I've missed out on anything by staying away from these easily confused species. Especially when it's a choice between haute cuisine and the Pearly Gates.

I'm hesitant to say that any mushrooms are easy to identify and unlikely to be confused with anything else, because easy and difficult are relative terms. I've known people who've mistaken jack o'lanterns for chanterelles, which could have been a fatal mistake if they hadn't decided against picking them at the last minute. I don't think these mushrooms look much alike. I also don't think Gyromitras look much like morels if you look closely, but mistakes get made and people end up in the hospital or cemetary.

There are mushrooms that are great delicacies, and I enjoy eating beyond the regular button mushroom very much. But there's no reason to risk your life for a good meal. Mushrooms are much maligned in our culture, out of misunderstanding and ignorance. I shouldn't chastise those who at least try to broaden their palates, although it rankles me that people don't exercise more caution.