Mushrooms recycle dead plants and return valuable nutrients into the ground. They are often used for degradation of dangerous substances such as oils, pesticides and industrial waste. Pleurocybella Porrigens is a species of fungus in the family Marasmiaceae. The species is widespread in temperate forests of the Northern Hemisphere. The Pleurocybella Porrigens is known as the angel wing. It is a white-rot wood-decay fungus on conifer wood, particularly…
Dr. Brian Douglas of The Lost and Found Fungi Project says fungi are as beautiful as orchids and just as important to protect. “I think we need to teach people, and invite people in to admire fungi.” The beautiful Phellinus Robiniae can be found wherever black locust and closely related trees are common. It is a tough, perennial mushroom that…
In some ways, mushrooms are more closely related to animals than plants. Just like us, mushrooms take in oxygen for their digestion and metabolism and “exhale” carbon dioxide as a waste product. Marasmiellus is a genus of fungi in the family Omphalotaceae (synonym to Marasmiaceae). The widespread genus, circumscribed by American mycologist William Murrill in 1915, contains over 250 species. The name comes from the Greek marasmus meaning wasting….
Fly Agaric mushrooms, which look like Super Mario Bros. mushrooms, contain a psychoactive chemical that can cause micropsia/macropsia, aka the illusion that objects around you are larger or smaller than they actually are. Is the Lamaoa Pallidorosea edible? Is the Lamaoa Pallidorosea safe? Those are two very common questions asked about this bicolored specimen. And…
Mushrooms are the only vegetarian food that can make vitamin D. Actually, they contain a “pro-vitamin,” or precursor, called ergosterol that is converted into vitamin D when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation—similar to how your skin synthesizes the vitamin in response to sun exposure. The Craterellus Ignicolor is known by some as Yellow Foot…
Did you know that no one knows how many types of mushrooms exist in nature. There are about 10,000 described species known from North America, but everyone agrees that there are undiscovered species. Cerioporus Leptocephalus, commonly known as blackfoot polypore, is an inedible species of mushroom in the genus Cerioporus. It usually grows on the branches…
If you go to Brazil or Japan you could be lucky enough to see the famous Chlorophos Mycena, fluorescent mushrooms that release luminous spores and look astonishing! Many people say that the Cantharellus Cinnabarinus is one of the most beautiful mushrooms in North America and is easily recognized by its distinctive, flamingo-pink colors and the presence…
The mushrooms on Coal Creek are awesome, but there are 13 species that glow in the dark! More than 70 species of bioluminescent mushrooms exist on Earth, and though some may be drab during the daytime, all are mesmerizing at night. The Boletus Roody mushroom has a blood pink or purple cap that is flat…
Beyond the discovery and the (possible) eating, mushrooms are kinda cool in their reproduction. (Send the children from the room.) Instead of using seeds to spread, mushrooms release spores from gills tucked beneath their caps. A single mushroom can release up to a billion spores in its short life. The Laetiporus Sulphureus mushroom is a species…
Journalist Doug Bierend spent five years exploring fungi and the emerging subcultures that have formed around them for his new book, In Search of Mycotopia: Citizen Science, Fungi Fanatics, and the Untapped Potential of Mushrooms. The many Ganoderma Applanatum benefits and uses make this mushroom very popular. Ganoderma Applanatum medicinal uses are plentiful because of its potent anti-tumor,…