Original photo by Ed van duijn/ Unsplash
Mushrooms are all around us, whether we see them or not. The tastiest end up on our pizzas and in our salads, whereas the deadliest are to be avoided at all costs — however interesting they may look. Before you go foraging (or just head to the produce aisle), read up on these eight fun facts about fungi.
There Are More Than 2,000 Edible Mushroom Species
More than 14,000 species of mushrooms have been identified and described by scientists, with most experts considering that number just a fraction of how many actually exist on Earth. Of that roughly 14,000, 2,189 have been identified as edible — 2,006 of which can be eaten on their own, and 183 of which require some kind of pretreatment or cooking or are associated with occasional allergies.
60% of American Mushrooms Are Grown in One Place
That place would be Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the self-proclaimed Mushroom Capital of the World — and who are we to argue? Located in Chester County, some 40 miles southwest of Philadelphia, Kennett Square is home to just 6,000 people and countless mushrooms. Farms nearby grow about 60% of the nation’s mushroom supply, and the industry contributes $1.2 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy.
Portobello, Button, and Cremini Are All the Same Kind of Mushroom
All three of them are Agaricus bisporus, just harvested at different times. Button mushrooms are white and sometimes referred to as the toddlers of the family, whereas the brown creminis are akin to teenagers, and portobellos (also brown) are the much larger and fully adult versions. Hence why creminis are sometimes called “baby bellas” — they’re actually baby ’bellos. Agaricus bisporus accounts for 90% of all mushroom production in the United States.
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There’s a Bright Blue Mushroom in New Zealand
Most mushrooms are white or brown, occasionally with a red cap reminiscent of a certain Mario character. Far more eye-catching is Entoloma hochstetteri, which can be found exclusively in New Zealand and is such a rich, vivid shade of blue, it almost looks unreal. They’re easiest to spot between April and June, though even then you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled to catch a glimpse — they often grow alone or in pairs, rather than in clusters. No one’s sure how or why they’re blue, but it is known that, despite their groovy appearance, they have no psychedelic properties.
The Largest Organism on the Planet Is a Fungus
First discovered in 1998 and thought to be somewhere between 2,400 and 8,650 years old, a gigantic Armillaria ostoyae in Oregon’s Blue Mountains takes up 2,384 acres of soil — making it the largest organism on the planet by a significant margin. To put that in perspective, it would take 1,665 football fields to house this “humongous fungus.”
Fungi Are More Closely Related to Humans Than They Are to Plants
Not only are fungi not plants, but they’re actually more similar to humans and other animals than they are to plants. For one thing, they don’t have chloroplasts, the part of a plant cell required for photosynthesis. Rather than photosynthesize, fungi secrete digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients from their surroundings. Some scientists even believe that our “evolutionary affinity” with fungi might account for why fungal diseases are so difficult to treat.
The Most Expensive Mushroom in the World Costs $50,000 a Pound
There are status symbols, and then there’s the $50,000-per-pound caterpillar fungus. (And you thought truffles were pricey.) So named because it grows as a parasite on the caterpillar of the ghost moth, this mushroom is more often referred to in Asia as yartsa gunbu, a Tibetan name meaning “summer grass, winter worm.” It’s considered an aphrodisiac in certain areas, hence its other nickname (and exorbitant price tag): the Viagra of the Himalayas.
Earth May Have Once Been Covered in Giant Mushrooms
Some 350 million years ago, a time when trees were still in their evolutionary infancy and no land plant stood more than a few feet high, the planet was covered in giant spires known as Prototaxites. First discovered in 1859, they stood up to 24 feet high and 3 feet wide. After a fossil was dug up in Saudi Arabia, they were finally identified in 2007 as a fungus — probably. Some researchers (and others) have had trouble fathoming such a formidable fungi, but the original study’s authors have held fast to their claims of enormous mushrooms once dotting the landscape.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
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