A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy,
spore
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...
-bearing
fruiting body of a
fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, ''
Agaricus bisporus''; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (
Basidiomycota
Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...
,
Agaricomycetes
The Agaricomycetes are a class of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The taxon is roughly identical to that defined for the Homobasidiomycetes (alternatively called holobasidiomycetes) by Hibbett & Thorn, with the inclusion of Auriculariales a ...
) that have a stem (
stipe), a cap (
pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing.
lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems, therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of some
Ascomycota
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...
. These gills produce microscopic
spores that help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface.
Forms deviating from the standard
morphology usually have more specific names, such as "
bolete", "
puffball", "
stinkhorn", and "
morel
''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales (division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with ...
", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called "
agarics" in reference to their similarity to ''
Agaricus'' or their order
Agaricales
The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...
. By extension, the term "mushroom" can also refer to either the entire fungus when in culture, the
thallus (called
mycelium) of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms, or the species itself.
Etymology
The terms "mushroom" and "toadstool" go back centuries and were never precisely defined, nor was there consensus on application. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the terms ''mushrom, mushrum, muscheron, mousheroms, mussheron, or musserouns'' were used.
The term "mushroom" and its variations may have been derived from the French word ''
mousseron'' in reference to
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
(''mousse''). Delineation between edible and poisonous fungi is not clear-cut, so a "mushroom" may be edible, poisonous, or unpalatable.
The word ''toadstool'' appeared first in
14th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...
England as a reference for a "stool" for
toads, possibly implying an inedible poisonous fungus.
Identification
Identifying what is and is not a mushroom requires a basic understanding of their
macroscopic structure. Most are
basidiomycetes and gilled. Their spores, called
basidiospores, are produced on the gills and fall in a fine rain of powder from under the caps as a result. At the microscopic level, the basidiospores are shot off
basidia and then fall between the gills in the dead air space. As a result, for most mushrooms, if the cap is cut off and placed gill-side-down overnight, a powdery impression reflecting the shape of the gills (or pores, or spines, etc.) is formed (when the fruit body is sporulating). The color of the powdery print, called a
spore print, is useful in both classifying and identifying mushrooms. Spore print colors include white (most common), brown, black, purple-brown, pink, yellow, and creamy, but almost never blue, green, or red.
While modern identification of mushrooms is quickly becoming molecular, the standard methods for identification are still used by most and have developed into a fine art harking back to
medieval times and the
Victorian era, combined with microscopic examination. The presence of juices upon breaking, bruising-reactions, odors, tastes, shades of color, habitat, habit, and season are all considered by both amateur and professional mycologists. Tasting and smelling mushrooms carries its own hazards because of poisons and
allergens
An allergen is a type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off a perceived threat that would otherwise be harmless to the body. Such reactions are called allergies.
In technical terms ...
. Chemical
tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
are also used for some genera.
In general, identification to
genus can often be accomplished in the field using a local
field guide. Identification to
species, however, requires more effort. A mushroom develops from a button stage into a mature structure, and only the latter can provide certain characteristics needed for the identification of the species. However, over-mature specimens lose features and cease producing spores. Many novices have mistaken humid water marks on paper for white spore prints, or discolored paper from oozing liquids on
lamella edges for colored spored prints.
Classification
Typical mushrooms are the fruit bodies of members of the order
Agaricales
The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...
, whose
type genus is ''
Agaricus'' and type species is the field mushroom, ''
Agaricus campestris''. However, in modern
molecularly defined
classifications, not all members of the order Agaricales produce mushroom fruit bodies, and many other gilled fungi, collectively called mushrooms, occur in other orders of the class
Agaricomycetes
The Agaricomycetes are a class of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The taxon is roughly identical to that defined for the Homobasidiomycetes (alternatively called holobasidiomycetes) by Hibbett & Thorn, with the inclusion of Auriculariales a ...
. For example,
chanterelles are in the
Cantharellales, false chanterelles such as ''
Gomphus'' are in the
Gomphales,
milk-cap mushrooms (''
Lactarius
''Lactarius'' is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several edible species. The species of the genus, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they exude when cut or damaged. Like ...
'', ''
Lactifluus'') and russulas (''
Russula''), as well as ''
Lentinellus
''Lentinellus'' is a genus of white rot, wood decay, lamellate agaric in the family Auriscalpiaceae, further characterized in part by rough-walled, amyloid spores produced on lamellae with jagged edges. Typically, thick-walled hyphae in the fru ...
'', are in the
Russulales, while the tough, leathery genera ''
Lentinus'' and ''
Panus'' are among the
Polyporales, but ''
Neolentinus'' is in the
Gloeophyllales, and the little pin-mushroom genus, ''
Rickenella
''Rickenella'' is a genus of brightly colored bryophilous agarics in the Hymenochaetales that have an omphalinoid morphology. They inhabit mosses on mossy soils, peats, tree trunks and logs in temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern ...
'', along with similar genera, are in the
Hymenochaetales
The Hymenochaetales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order in its current sense is based on molecular research and not on any unifying morphological characteristics. According to one 2008 estimate, the Hymenochaetales con ...
.
Within the main body of mushrooms, in the Agaricales, are common fungi like the common
fairy-ring mushroom,
shiitake
The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine.
Ta ...
,
enoki,
oyster mushrooms,
fly agarics and other
Amanitas,
magic mushrooms like species of ''
Psilocybe'',
paddy straw mushrooms,
shaggy manes, etc.
An atypical mushroom is the
lobster mushroom, which is a deformed, cooked-lobster-colored
parasitized
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
fruitbody of a ''Russula'' or ''Lactarius'', colored and deformed by the mycoparasitic
Ascomycete
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defi ...
''
Hypomyces lactifluorum''.
Other mushrooms are not gilled, so the term "mushroom" is loosely used, and giving a full account of their classifications is difficult. Some have pores underneath (and are usually called
boletes), others have spines, such as the
hedgehog mushroom and other
tooth fungi, and so on. "Mushroom" has been used for
polypores,
puffballs,
jelly fungi,
coral fungi,
bracket fungi,
stinkhorns, and
cup fungi. Thus, the term is more one of common application to
macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies than one having precise
taxonomic
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
meaning. Approximately 14,000 species of mushrooms are described.
Morphology
A mushroom develops from a nodule, or pinhead, less than two millimeters in diameter, called a
primordium, which is typically found on or near the surface of the
substrate
Substrate may refer to:
Physical layers
*Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached
** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...
. It is formed within the
mycelium, the mass of threadlike
hypha
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
Structure
A hypha consists of one or ...
e that make up the fungus. The primordium enlarges into a roundish structure of interwoven hyphae roughly resembling an egg, called a "button". The button has a cottony roll of mycelium, the
universal veil, that surrounds the developing fruit body. As the egg expands, the universal veil ruptures and may remain as a cup, or
volva, at the base of the
stalk
Stalk or stalking may refer to:
Behaviour
* Stalk, the stealthy approach (phase) of a predator towards its prey
* Stalking, an act of intrusive behaviour or unwanted attention towards a person
* Deer stalking, the pursuit of deer for sport
Biol ...
, or as warts or volval patches on the cap. Many mushrooms lack a universal veil, therefore they do not have either a volva or volval patches. Often, a second layer of tissue, the
partial veil, covers the bladelike
gills that bear
spore
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...
s. As the cap expands, the veil breaks, and remnants of the partial veil may remain as a ring, or
annulus, around the middle of the stalk or as fragments hanging from the margin of the cap. The ring may be skirt-like as in some species of ''
Amanita'', collar-like as in many species of ''
Lepiota'', or merely the faint remnants of a cortina (a partial veil composed of filaments resembling a spiderweb), which is typical of the genus ''
Cortinarius''. Mushrooms lacking partial veils do not form an annulus.
The stalk (also called the stipe, or stem) may be central and support the cap in the middle, or it may be off-center and/or lateral, as in species of ''
Pleurotus
''Pleurotus'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, '' P. ostreatus''. Species of ''Pleurotus'' may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edib ...
'' and ''
Panus''. In other mushrooms, a stalk may be absent, as in the polypores that form shelf-like brackets.
Puffballs lack a stalk, but may have a supporting base. Other mushrooms, such as
truffles,
jellies,
earthstars
Geastrales is an order of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes (fungi) that are related to Cantharellales. The order contains the single family Geastraceae, commonly known as "earthstars", which older classifications had placed in Lycoperdales, or Pha ...
, and
bird's nests, usually do not have stalks, and a specialized mycological vocabulary exists to describe their parts.
The way the gills attach to the top of the stalk is an important feature of mushroom morphology. Mushrooms in the genera ''
Agaricus'', ''
Amanita'', ''
Lepiota'' and ''
Pluteus'', among others, have free gills that do not extend to the top of the stalk. Others have
decurrent gills that extend down the stalk, as in the genera ''
Omphalotus'' and ''
Pleurotus
''Pleurotus'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, '' P. ostreatus''. Species of ''Pleurotus'' may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edib ...
''. There are a great number of variations between the extremes of free and decurrent, collectively called attached gills. Finer distinctions are often made to distinguish the types of attached gills: adnate gills, which adjoin squarely to the stalk; notched gills, which are notched where they join the top of the stalk; adnexed gills, which curve upward to meet the stalk, and so on. These distinctions between attached gills are sometimes difficult to interpret, since gill attachment may change as the mushroom matures, or with different environmental conditions.
Microscopic features
A
hymenium
The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...
is a layer of microscopic spore-bearing cells that covers the surface of gills. In the nongilled mushrooms, the hymenium lines the inner surfaces of the tubes of
boletes and polypores, or covers the teeth of spine fungi and the branches of corals. In the Ascomycota, spores develop within microscopic elongated, sac-like cells called
asci ASCI or Asci may refer to:
* Advertising Standards Council of India
* Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy
* Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative
* American Society for Clinical Investigation
* Argus Sour Crude Index
* Association of ...
, which typically contain eight spores in each ascus. The
Discomycetes
Discomycetes is a former taxonomic class of Ascomycete fungi which contains all of the cup, sponge and brain fungi and some club-like fungi. It includes typical cup fungi like the scarlet elf cup and the orange peel fungus, and fungi with frui ...
, which contain the cup, sponge, brain, and some club-like fungi, develop an exposed layer of asci, as on the inner surfaces of
cup fungi or within the pits of
morel
''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales (division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with ...
s. The
Pyrenomycetes, tiny dark-colored fungi that live on a wide range of substrates including soil, dung, leaf litter, and decaying wood, as well as other fungi, produce minute, flask-shaped structures called
perithecia, within which the asci develop.
[ Ammirati ''et al''., pp. 25–34.]
In the basidiomycetes, usually four spores develop on the tips of thin projections called
sterigmata, which extend from club-shaped cells called a
basidia. The fertile portion of the
Gasteromycetes, called a
gleba, may become powdery as in the puffballs or slimy as in the
stinkhorns. Interspersed among the asci are threadlike sterile cells called
paraphyses
Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis.
In certain fungi, they are part of the fe ...
. Similar structures called
cystidia often occur within the hymenium of the Basidiomycota. Many types of cystidia exist, and assessing their presence, shape, and size is often used to verify the identification of a mushroom.
The most important microscopic feature for identification of mushrooms is the spores. Their color, shape, size, attachment, ornamentation, and reaction to
chemical tests
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...
often can be the crux of an identification. A spore often has a protrusion at one end, called an apiculus, which is the point of attachment to the basidium, termed the apical
germ pore, from which the hypha emerges when the spore germinates.
Growth
Many species of mushrooms seemingly appear overnight, growing or expanding rapidly. This phenomenon is the source of several common expressions in the
English language including "to mushroom" or "mushrooming" (expanding rapidly in size or scope) and "to pop up like a mushroom" (to appear unexpectedly and quickly). In reality, all species of mushrooms take several days to form primordial mushroom fruit bodies, though they do expand rapidly by the absorption of fluids.
The
cultivated mushroom
Fungiculture is the cultivation of fungi such as mushrooms. Cultivating fungi can yield foods (which include mostly mushrooms), medicine, construction materials and other products. A ''mushroom farm'' is involved in the business of growing fu ...
, as well as the common
field mushroom, initially form a minute
fruiting body, referred to as the pin stage because of their small size. Slightly expanded, they are called buttons, once again because of the relative size and shape. Once such stages are formed, the mushroom can rapidly pull in water from its
mycelium and expand, mainly by inflating preformed
cells
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
that took several days to form in the
primordia.
Similarly, there are other mushrooms, like ''
Parasola plicatilis'' (formerly ''
Coprinus plicatlis''), that grow rapidly overnight and may disappear by late afternoon on a hot day after rainfall.
The primordia form at ground level in lawns in humid spaces under the
thatch and after heavy rainfall or in
dewy conditions balloon to full size in a few hours, release spores, and then collapse. They "mushroom" to full size.
Not all mushrooms expand overnight; some grow very slowly and add tissue to their fruiting bodies by growing from the edges of the colony or by inserting
hyphae
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
Structure
A hypha consists of one or ...
. For example, ''
Pleurotus nebrodensis'' grows slowly, and because of this combined with human collection, it is now
critically endangered.
Though mushroom fruiting bodies are short-lived, the underlying
mycelium can itself be long-lived and massive. A colony of ''
Armillaria solidipes'' (formerly known as ''Armillaria ostoyae'') in
Malheur National Forest in the
United States is estimated to be 2,400 years old, possibly older, and spans an estimated . Most of the fungus is underground and in decaying wood or dying tree roots in the form of white mycelia combined with black shoelace-like
rhizomorphs that bridge colonized separated woody substrates.
Nutrition
Raw
brown mushrooms are 92% water, 4%
carbohydrates
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...
, 2%
protein and less than 1%
fat. In a 100 gram (3.5 ounce) amount, raw mushrooms provide 22
calories and are a rich source (20% or more of the
Daily Value, DV) of
B vitamins, such as
riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...
,
niacin and
pantothenic acid,
selenium (37% DV) and
copper (25% DV), and a moderate source (10-19% DV) of
phosphorus,
zinc and
potassium (table). They have minimal or no
vitamin C and
sodium content.
Vitamin D
The
vitamin D content of a mushroom depends on
postharvest handling, in particular the unintended exposure to sunlight. The
US Department of Agriculture provided evidence that UV-exposed mushrooms contain substantial amounts of vitamin D. When exposed to
ultraviolet (UV) light, even after harvesting,
ergosterol
Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a sterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells. Because many fungi and protozoa cannot survive without ergosterol, the ...
in mushrooms is converted to
vitamin D2,
a process now used intentionally to supply fresh vitamin D mushrooms for the
functional food grocery
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...
market.
[ In a comprehensive safety assessment of producing vitamin D in fresh mushrooms, researchers showed that artificial UV light technologies were equally effective for vitamin D production as in mushrooms exposed to natural ]sunlight
Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...
, and that UV light has a long record of safe use for production of vitamin D in food.
Human use
Edible mushrooms
Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...
, in many cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
s (notably Chinese, Korean, European, and Japanese). Humans have valued them as food since antiquity.
Most mushrooms sold in supermarkets
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...
have been commercially grown on mushroom farm
Fungiculture is the cultivation of fungi such as mushrooms. Cultivating fungi can yield foods (which include mostly mushrooms), medicine, construction materials and other products. A ''mushroom farm'' is involved in the business of growing fu ...
s. The most popular of these, '' Agaricus bisporus'', is considered safe for most people to eat because it is grown in controlled, sterilized environments. Several varieties of ''A. bisporus'' are grown commercially, including whites, crimini, and portobello. Other cultivated species available at many grocers include '' Hericium erinaceus'', shiitake
The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine.
Ta ...
, maitake (hen-of-the-woods), ''Pleurotus
''Pleurotus'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, '' P. ostreatus''. Species of ''Pleurotus'' may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edib ...
'', and enoki. In recent years, increasing affluence in developing countries has led to a considerable growth in interest in mushroom cultivation, which is now seen as a potentially important economic activity for small farmers.
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
is a major edible mushroom producer. The country produces about half of all cultivated mushrooms, and around of mushrooms are consumed per person per year by 1.4 billion people. In 2014, Poland was the world's largest mushroom exporter, reporting an estimated annually.
Separating edible from poisonous species requires meticulous attention to detail; there is no single trait by which all toxic mushrooms can be identified, nor one by which all edible mushrooms can be identified. People who collect mushrooms for consumption are known as mycophagists, and the act of collecting them for such is known as mushroom hunting, or simply "mushrooming". Even edible mushrooms may produce allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, from a mild asthmatic response to severe anaphylactic shock. Even the cultivated ''A. bisporus'' contains small amounts of hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a simple pnictogen hydride, and is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odour. Hydrazine is highly toxic unless handled in solution as, for example, hydrazine ...
s, the most abundant of which is agaritine (a mycotoxin and carcinogen). However, the hydrazines are destroyed by moderate heat when cooking.
A number of species of mushrooms are poisonous; although some resemble certain edible species, consuming them could be fatal. Eating mushrooms gathered in the wild is risky and should only be undertaken by individuals knowledgeable in mushroom identification. Common best practice is for wild mushroom pickers to focus on collecting a small number of visually distinctive, edible mushroom species that cannot be easily confused with poisonous varieties. Common mushroom hunting advice is that if a mushroom cannot be positively identified, it should be considered poisonous and not eaten.
Toxic mushrooms
Many mushroom species produce secondary metabolites that can be toxic, mind-altering, antibiotic, antiviral, or bioluminescent
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some Fungus, fungi, microorganisms including ...
. Although there are only a small number of deadly species, several others can cause particularly severe and unpleasant symptoms. Toxicity likely plays a role in protecting the function of the basidiocarp: the mycelium has expended considerable energy and protoplasmic material to develop a structure to efficiently distribute its spores. One defense against consumption and premature destruction is the evolution of chemicals that render the mushroom inedible, either causing the consumer to vomit the meal (see emetics), or to learn to avoid consumption altogether. In addition, due to the propensity of mushrooms to absorb heavy metals
upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead
Heavy metals are generally defined as ...
, including those that are radioactive, as late as 2008, European mushrooms may have included toxicity from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...
and continued to be studied.
Psychoactive mushrooms
Mushrooms with psychoactive properties have long played a role in various native medicine traditions in cultures all around the world. They have been used as sacrament in rituals aimed at mental and physical healing, and to facilitate visionary states. One such ritual is the '' velada'' ceremony. A practitioner of traditional mushroom use is the '' shaman'' or ''curandera
A ''curandero'' (, healer; f. , also spelled , , f. ) is a traditional native healer or shaman found primarily in Latin America and also in the United States. A curandero is a specialist in traditional medicine whose practice can either contra ...
'' (priest-healer).
Psilocybin mushrooms, also referred to as psychedelic mushrooms, possess psychedelic properties. Commonly known as "magic mushrooms" or shrooms", they are openly available in smart shop
A smart shop (or smartshop) is a retail establishment that specializes in the sale of psychoactive substances, usually including psychedelics, as well as related literature and paraphernalia. The name derives from the name " smart drugs", a clas ...
s in many parts of the world, or on the black market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
in those countries that have outlawed their sale. Psilocybin mushrooms have been reported as facilitating profound and life-changing insights often described as mystical experiences
Scholarly approaches to mysticism include typologies of mysticism and the explanation of mystical states. Since the 19th century, mystical experience has evolved as a distinctive concept. It is closely related to "mysticism" but lays sole emphasi ...
. Recent scientific work has supported these claims, as well as the long-lasting effects of such induced spiritual experiences.
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring chemical in certain psychedelic mushrooms such as '' Psilocybe cubensis'', is being studied for its ability to help people suffering from psychological disorders, such as obsessive–compulsive disorder. Minute amounts have been reported to stop cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study th ...
and migraine headache
Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few hou ...
s. A double-blind study, done by the Johns Hopkins Hospital, showed psychedelic mushrooms could provide people an experience with substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance. In the study, one third of the subjects reported ingestion of psychedelic mushrooms was the single most spiritually significant event of their lives. Over two-thirds reported it among their five most meaningful and spiritually significant events. On the other hand, one-third of the subjects reported extreme anxiety. However, the anxiety went away after a short period of time. Psilocybin mushrooms have also shown to be successful in treating addiction, specifically with alcohol and cigarettes.
A few species in the genus '' Amanita'', most recognizably '' A. muscaria'', but also '' A. pantherina'', among others, contain the psychoactive compound muscimol. The muscimol-containing chemotaxonomic group of ''Amanitas'' contains no amatoxins or phallotoxins, and as such are not hepatoxic
Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn fro ...
, though if not properly cured will be non-lethally neurotoxic due to the presence of ibotenic acid. The ''Amanita'' intoxication is similar to Z-drugs in that it includes CNS depressant and sedative
A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...
-hypnotic
Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...
effects, but also dissociation and delirium
Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
in high doses.
Folk medicine
Some mushrooms are used in folk medicine. In a few countries, extract
An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form.
The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...
s, such as polysaccharide-K, schizophyllan, polysaccharide peptide, or lentinan, are government-registered adjuvant cancer therapies,[ but clinical evidence for efficacy and safety of these extracts in humans has not been confirmed.] Although some mushroom species or their extracts may be consumed for therapeutic effects, some regulatory agencies, such as the US Food and Drug Administration, regard such use as a dietary supplement
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
, which does not have government approval or common clinical use as a prescription drug
A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...
.[
]
Other uses
Mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers. The chromophore
A chromophore is the part of a molecule responsible for its color.
The color that is seen by our eyes is the one not absorbed by the reflecting object within a certain wavelength spectrum of visible light. The chromophore is a region in the molec ...
s of mushroom dyes are organic compounds and produce strong and vivid colors, and all colors of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the invention of synthetic dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
s, mushrooms were the source of many textile dyes.
Some fungi, types of polypores loosely called mushrooms, have been used as fire starters (known as tinder fungi).
Mushrooms and other fungi play a role in the development of new biological remediation techniques (e.g., using mycorrhiza
A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...
e to spur plant growth) and filtration technologies (e.g. using fungi to lower bacterial levels in contaminated water).
There is an ongoing research in the field of genetic engineering aimed towards creation of the enhanced qualities of mushrooms for such domains as nutritional value enhancement, as well as medical use.
See also
* Fungiculture
* List of psilocybin mushroom species
* Largest fungal fruit bodies
* Lists of fungal species
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* Mushroom poisoning
Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Its symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by ...
* Mushrooms in art
Mushrooms have been found in art traditions around the world, including in western and non-western works. Ranging throughout those cultures, works of art that depict mushrooms can be found in ancient and contemporary times. Often, symbolic associ ...
References
Literature cited
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External links
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Identification
Mushroom Observer
a collaborative mushroom recording and identification project
An Aid to Mushroom Identification
Simon's Rock College
Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a private residential liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a unit of Bard College, which is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
The school ...
Online Edible Wild Mushroom Field Guide
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Basidiomycota
Edible fungi
Fungus common names
Non-timber forest products
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