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Dear FungiLovers Hivemind
The recent rains sparked a phenomenon we all know quite well here in the fungi community. The mycorrhiza shot out from everywhere. Of course so did the saprophytes.
Sensing a very strong contemporary trend of mycophilia a strong current is visible toward mushroom hunting. Specially while tracking paths through the woods and how some unfledged hunters proceed. Having some callow traits myself, I learned a lot of lessons this year.
With a short summer break during the dry season, I was super excited to bring the first few mushrooms I found to the association for mycological studies for the fungi study group on Monday.
On regular excursions with friends, we had many conversations about gut bacteria (microbial genomes) and Immunomodulation. We canvassed why two people with the same enterotype can have one who can tolarate mushrooms while ingesting better than another. We also talked about eating uncooked, raw mushrooms as well as the process of extracting dietary antioxidants. Specially when it comes to concentrating substances in mushrooms for medicinal purposes. Since mushrooms are high in proteins, polysaccharides, terpenes and terpenoids we compared the ones foraged to the ones coming from sterile cultivation. These Antioxidants include polyphenols, glutathione and ergothioneine. Mushrooms show promising immunomodulatory, antitumor and antioxidant properties and are currently the hottest research next to the ECM(Extra-Cellular Matrix), -gut microbiomes and mycobiomes, and the phylogenetic trees from mushroom DNA sequencing that are elucidating various mushrooms and their evolutionary relationships. Phylogenomic analysis of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as well as molecular sequencing are revolutionised through computational biology with methods to help manage large datasets. These algorithms can quickly analyse these DNA and RNA sequences to build such a phylogenetic trees. We are entering an exciting time in this new field of science and nothing will ever be the same.
Apart from the fact that we share a lot of DNA with mushrooms, the philosophical conversations I have while surrounded by gymnosperms, beautiful majestic trees and moss, are just incredible experiences that invoke skin deep excitement for life on our planet and how much we are related to it.
Last time I wrote about the complex signalling that occurs between arbiscular mycorhizzas and the epidermis. The highly captivating ecto- and endosymbiosis, how these arbiscules that interact with the machinery of the plant hosts and the magic that happens during protein synthesis on a molecular level is so fascinating, that it feels that we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of construing the grand cellular intelligence behind complex organisms and their interactions in symbiosis.
Less about science and more about foraging and mushroom hunting, I have recently been visiting a temple, where I lately cooked lunch as seva(selfless service). Meeting up with various interesting characters au courant in the world of holistic thought, we decided to form a mushroom hunting group there. This group is now growing
Finding so many edible mushrooms can be a very joyful experience.
Here I found some Pleurotus pulmonarius
So far we covered:
While identifying mushrooms one should be very careful and consult the advice of a specialist. Mushrooms that aren't identified properly and ingested can cause intestinal stress, could be very toxic or even poisonous. In some cases they can even cause death. This blog content is only for personal and educational purposes and not a guide on mushroom picking.
I dehydrated this mushroom and then ground it into powder. I now use it as a spice. It's delicious and has a flavourful nutty smell.
| Class | Agaricomycetes |
| Division | Basidiomycota |
| Family | Bankeraceae |
| Order | Thelephorales |
| Genus | Sarcodon |
| Scientific Name | Sarcodon imbricatus |
| Appearence | The stem of Scaly Tooth is pale throughout its length, whereas Sarcodon scabrosus has a blue-grey stem base (and the cut flesh inside the stem base is also blue-grey).Source |
| Type | Mycorrhizal |
| Medicinal Properties |
Although S. imbricatus is not commonly used by humans in a medicinal context, there is interesting preliminary research suggesting that it could be. Experiments with mice show that polysaccharides extracted from this mushroom can improve multiple indicators of marrow and bone health and may be able to treat hematopoietic dysfunction as well as some of the more serious side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy[vi]. Polysaccharides from hawk wing also reversed immunosuppression that that had been experimentally induced in mice[vii]. Whole hawk wing mushroom[viii], dried and powdered, has been used to relieve the effects of fatigue in mice who had either been experimentally fatigued through forced exercise or had been given chronic fatigue syndrome. The researchers speculate that humans may be able to protect themselves from fatigue by eating hawk wing regularly. Chemical studies have identified substances in the mushroom known to have anti-cancer, anti-leukemia, and anti-inflammatory properties, though not all of these have been tested yet in living animal subjects or human patients[ix]. A hawk wing extract has slowed breast tumor growth in experimental mice and rendered cultured cancer cells less able to exhibit invasive characteristics[x]. Not all uses are medicinal. Hawk wing can also be used to make a variety of dyes[xi]; depending on how the mushroom is processed, it can yield beige, bluish-gray, and a range of gray-green shades. Other Sarcodon species also produce dyes, the color range depending on the species in question. Most produce grays, blues, or beiges, or some combination of these, but at least one can produce pinkish brown. It is difficult to find detailed nutritional information for hawk wing. Available sites point out that it is low in both calories and fat, as most edible mushrooms are. Although the flavor appears to vary significantly, when these mushrooms taste good they reportedly taste very good. Source |
| Culinary | Edible: Powdered, used as spice |
| Habitat | Mycorhizal with pines |
| Class | Agaricomycetes |
| Family | Entolomataceae |
| Order | Agaricales |
| Division | Basidiomycota |
| Scientific Name | Rhodocybe gemina or Clitopilus geminus |
| Common Name | Tan Pinkgill |
| Appearence | The robust stature of this rare (in Britain and Ireland, at least) mushroom is reminiscent of St George's Mushroom Calocybe gambosa or some of the stouter Tricholoma species.Source |
| Odeur | Mealy odour (like wet flour) or fruity; oily/nutty taste. |
| Culinary | Although reported to be edible, this is a rare find throughout most if not all of its range - sufficient reason, surely, for not collecting this species other than when necessary for research purposes. |
| Habitat | Saprobic, usually in groups, on soil in scrubby grassland and woodlands, often with Stinging Nettles |
| Medicinal Properties | As a rare species, further morphological studies as well as research is currently being done. |
| Class | Agaricomycetes |
| Division | Basidiomycota |
| Order | Agaricales |
| Family | Fistulinaceae |
| Genus | Fistulina |
| Scientific Name | Fistulina hepatica |
| Common Name | Beefsteak Fungus |
| Appearence | Another common name for this parasitic bracket is the Ox Tongue fungus. Oak timber that has been infected with this parasite is greatly valued by wood turners and cabinet makers, who sometimes refer to it as 'Brown Oak'. If you cut through the flesh of Fistulina hepatica, the Beefsteak Fungus, it certainly does look like a slice of prime beef; unfortunately the taste is not as good as the appearance. Young specimens are rather more palatable, and are best simmered slowly to soften the flesh. Source |
| Habitat | Fistulina hepatica brackets usually occur low down on the trunks of trees - most commonly oaks and sweet chestnuts - and it is quite common for them to emerge from the trunks or roots of fallen trees long after the tree itself is leafless and dead. Source |
| Odeur | Bitter, acidic taste; no distinctive odour. |
| Culinary | When young and fresh, the tender fruitbodies of Fistulina hepatica are edible. Although when sliced into strips they look very much like beef steaks (as seen in the illustration on the left), they are rather acidic and slightly bitter, and they do not taste at all like beef.It would be a big mistake to order your meal of Beefsteak Fungus to be cooked 'medium-rare', as even when young and fresh these tough fungi require a lot of cooking before they are tender enough to eat. Source |
| Medicinal | Antioxidant activity F. hepatica has been investigated for its capacity to act as a free-radical scavenging agent. Good radical-scavenging activity was noted against DPPH, the superoxide radical and the hydroxyl radical, while only a weak protective effect was seen against hypochlorous acid (Ribeiro et al., 2007). Antibacterial activity Some Italian studies by Coletto have revealed that F. hepatica has potent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis (Coletto 1981, 1987/88), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Coletto, 1992). Also, the tetrayne-tetraol mentioned above has modest antibacterial activity, comparable with that of cephalosporin C against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmomlla typhi, when tested by the hole-plate method (Farrell et al., 1973). Nematicidal activity The growth medium affects the nematicidal activity of F. hepatica (and various other fungi). When grown in Czapek broth, filtrates of the beefsteak fungus were pathogenic to the wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus grown in vitro. However, grown in potato dextrose broth, filtrates of the same fungus were not pathogenic (Dong et al., 2006) Anti-tumor activity Polysaccharides extracted from the mycelial culture of F. hepatica and administered intraperitoneally into white mice at a dosage of 300 mg/kg inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers by 80% and 90%, respectively (Ohtsuka et al., 1973).Source |
This season I made sure I would diligently forage, process, dehydrate and fill mason jars of delicious mushrooms, so i'd have aromatic scents of the forest to add to my dishes.
I'm excited that our mushroom group I mentioned is growing and we are already planing mushroom excursions. To motivate and get people around me excited about mycology, the topic of mushrooms and forest bathing(Shinrin Yoku) gives me great pleasure.
Thank you for reading
Best Wishes
Rane
Previous Posts on Mushrooms:
Posts about Wild Herbs:
Vanishing
Dong Chang 东厂
aka Rane
"The exact sciences start from the assumption that in the end it will always be possible to understand nature, even in every field of experience, but that we may make no a priori assumption as to the meaning of 'understand' "
- Werner Heisenberg
"The ability for some of us to reason depends on the the number of fallacies they are conditioned with. If their convictions are believed axioms, their deduced notions create a collective with strongly embedded defining precepts. What is these are all delusions based on lunacy turning into aberration and savagery."
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