mushroom

1. Any of various fleshy fungi of the class Basidiomycota, characteristically having an umbrella-shaped cap borne on a stalk, especially any of the edible kinds, as those of the genus Agaricus.
2. Something shaped like one of these fungi.

1. To multiply, grow, or expand rapidly: The population mushroomed in the postwar decades.
2. To swell or spread out into a shape similar to a mushroom.

1. Relating to, consisting of, or containing mushrooms: mushroom sauce.
2. Resembling mushrooms in rapidity of growth or evanescence: mushroom towns.

[Alteration (influenced by ROOM) of Middle English musheron, from Anglo-Norman moscheron, musherum, from Old French mousseron, from Medieval Latin musariō, musariōn-.]

A macroscopic fungus with a fruiting body (also known as a sporocarp). Approximately 14% (10,000) described species of fungi are considered mushrooms. Mushrooms grow aboveground or underground. They have a fleshy or nonfleshy texture. Many are edible, and only a small percentage are poisonous.

Mushrooms reproduce via microscopic spheres (spores) that are roughly comparable to the seeds of higher plants. Spores are produced in large numbers on specialized structures in or on the fruiting body. Spores that land on a suitable medium absorb moisture, germinate, and produce hyphae that grow and absorb nutrients from the substratum. If suitable mating types are present and the mycelium (the threadlike filaments or hyphae that become interwoven) develops sufficiently to allow fruiting, the life cycle will continue. In nature, completion of the life cycle is dependent on many factors, including temperature, moisture and nutritional status of the substratum, and gas exchange capacity of the medium.

Fewer than 20 species of edible mushrooms are cultivated commercially. The most common cultivated mushroom is Agaricus bisporus, followed by the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.). China is the leading mushroom-producing country; Japan leads the world in number of edible species cultivated commercially.

Mushrooms may be cultivated on a wide variety of substrates. They are grown from mycelium propagated on a base of steam-sterilized cereal grain. This grain and mycelium mixture is called spawn, which is used to seed mushroom substrata.

Mushrooms contain digestible crude protein, all essential amino acids, vitamins (especially provitamin D-2), and minerals; they are high in potassium and low in sodium, saturated fats, and calories. Although they cannot totally replace meat and other high-protein food in the diet, they can be considered an important dietary supplement and a health food.

Fungi have been used for their medicinal properties for over 2000 years. Although there remains an element of folklore in the use of mushrooms in health and medicine, several important drugs have been isolated from mushroom fruiting bodies and mycelium. The best-known drugs obtained are lentinan from L. edodes, grifolin from Grifola frondosa, and krestin from Coriolus versicolor. These compounds are protein-bound polysaccharides or long chains of glucose, found in the cell walls, and function as antitumor immunomodulatory drugs. See also Fungi; Medical mycology.

Various edible fungi (botanically both mushrooms and toadstools); correctly the fruiting bodies of the fungi. Altogether some 300 species are sold, fresh or dried, in markets around the world; most of these are gathered wild rather than cultivated.

The common cultivated mushroom, including flat, cup, and button mushrooms is Agaricus bisporus, as is the chestnut or Paris mushroom. Other cultivated mushrooms include: shiitake (or Black Forest mushroom); oyster mushroom; Chinese straw mushroom.

Some wild species are especially prized, including field mushroom; horse mushroom; parasol mushroom; beefsteak fungus; blewits; wood blewits; cep or boletus; chanterelle; matsutake; puffballs; morels; truffles; wood-ears (or Chinese black fungus); yellow mushroom. Many other wild fungi are also edible, but many are poisonous.

A 50-g portion provides 1.5 g of dietary fibre and is a rich source of copper; a source of vitamin B₂, niacin, folate, and selenium; supplies 6 kcal (25 kJ).

Early Greeks and Romans are thought to be among the first cultivators of mushrooms, using them in a wide array of dishes. Today there are literally thousands of varieties of this fleshy fungus. Sizes and shapes vary tremendously and colors can range from white to black with a full gamut of colors in between. The cap's texture can be smooth, pitted, honeycombed or ruffled and flavors range from bland to rich, nutty and earthy. The cultivated mushroom is what's commonly found in most U.S. Supermarkets today. However, those that more readily excite the palate are the more exotic wild mushrooms such as cèpe, chanterelle, enoki, morel, puffball, shiitake and wood ear. Because so many wild mushrooms are poisonous, it's vitally important to know which species are edible and which are not. Extreme caution should be taken when picking them yourself. The readily available cultivated white mushroom has a mild, earthy flavor. The cap ranges in size from 1⁄2 to 3 inches in diameter and in color from white to pale tan. Those labeled "button mushrooms" are simply the small youngsters of the cultivated variety. These common mushrooms are available year-round but are at their peak in fall and winter. They're sold in bulk and in 8-ounce packages. Look for those that are firm and evenly colored with tightly closed caps. If all the gills are showing, the mushrooms are past their prime. Avoid specimens that are broken, damaged or have soft spots or a dark-tinged surface. If the mushrooms are to be cooked whole, select those of equal size so they will cook evenly. Fresh mushrooms should be stored with cool air circulating around them. Therefore, they should be placed on a tray in a single layer, covered with a damp paper towel and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Before use, they should be wiped with a damp paper towel or, if necessary, rinsed with cold water and dried thoroughly. Mushrooms should never be soaked because they absorb water and will become mushy. Trim the stem ends and prepare according to directions. Canned mushrooms are available in several forms including whole, chopped, sliced and caps only. Frozen or freeze-dried mushrooms are also available. Dried mushrooms are available either whole or in slices, bits or pieces. They should be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Mushrooms are one of nature's most versatile foods and can be used in hundreds of ways and cooked in almost any way imaginable. See also black trumpet; cremino; hen-of-the-woods; matsutake; nameko; oyster mushroom; pom pom; portobello; straw mushroom; trompette de la mort.

verb

To increase or expand suddenly, rapidly, or without control: explode, snowball. See increase/decrease.

Definition: sprout
Antonyms: shrink, shrivel

(click to enlarge)
A mushroom typically consists of a stalk (stipe) and a cap (pileus). As the mushroom develops from … (credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)

Fleshy spore-bearing structure of certain fungi (see fungus), typically of the phylum Basidiomycota. It arises from the mycelium, which may live hundreds of years or a few months, depending on its food supply. Some species grow cellular strands (hyphae) in all directions, forming a circular mat with a "fairy ring" of fruiting bodies around the outside. Popularly, "mushroom" refers to the edible sporophores, while "toadstool" refers to inedible or poisonous sporophores, but there is no scientific distinction between the two names. Umbrella-shaped sporophores with spore-shedding gills on the undersurface are found chiefly in the agaric family (Agaricaceae). Mushrooms that are cap-shaped and bear spores in an easily detachable layer on the underside of the cap belong to the family Boletaceae. Together the agarics and boletes include most of the forms known as mushrooms. The morels (phylum Ascomycota) are popularly included with the true mushrooms because of their shape and fleshy structure. Since some poisonous mushrooms closely resemble edible ones, mushrooms intended for eating must be accurately identified. Mushroom poisoning can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, hallucinations, coma, and sometimes death.

For more information on mushroom, visit Britannica.com.

The narcotic and hallucinogenic properties of certain mushrooms have been known since ancient times. Some mushrooms were even regarded as sacred, and in some cultures their use was prohibited to ordinary people. In what is now Mexico and the southwestern United States a primary psychedelic source was peyote, a small, spineless, carrot-shaped cactus. Dried, the peyote button was consumed in various ceremonial settings. In the late nineteenth century, the use of peyote began to spread among various tribes, and early in the twentieth century strong opposition developed both among Native Americans who rejected it and whites who sought to control Native American behavior and religion.

The Native American Church was founded in 1906 at the Union Church by peyote users in Oklahoma and Nebraska. It adopted its present name in 1918 in response to a campaign by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to outlaw peyote. The fight to legalize the practices of the church has continued into the 1990s, though major rulings in the 1960s largely established the place of the church and its major sacrament.

Serious medical and scientific interest in hallucinogenic mushrooms dates from the pioneer work Phantastica: Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs by Louis Lewin (London, 1931). In this important book, Lewin discusses the use of fly agaric and identifies the peyote plant (which he named anhalonium Lewinii) and the active substance, mescaline, obtained from it.

More than two decades later New York banker R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Wasson published their classic study Mushrooms, Russia, and History (Pantheon, 1957). This important work launched a new science of ethnomycology (i.e., the study of the role played by wild mushrooms in various human cultures throughout history). The Wassons took field trips to Mexico during 1955 to study firsthand the sacred mushroom ceremonies of the Indian people. Their record album Mushroom Ceremony of the Mazatec Indians of Mexico (Folkways Records, New York, 1957) was the first documented recording of its kind. The studies of the Wassons—along with the popular volume by Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception (1954)—spread interest in psychedelic drugs and their hallucinogenic properties and stand at the fountainhead of the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s.

The Wassons also gave special attention to fly agaric (A. muscaria) in history. In his book Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality (1968, 1971) Wasson speculates that it was the source of the nectar named soma in the ancient Vedic literature of India. Although a few modern writers on psychedelics support the Wassons, this particular suggestion has not found support in the scholarly community.

In 1960 Timothy Leary, then an instructor at Harvard University, was introduced to the psychedelic mushroom trianactyle by a Mexican anthropologist. The experience totally disturbed his rather settled view of the universe and led directly to his launching research on psychedelic drugs at Harvard. In the process, he was introduced to LSD and very soon he left Harvard to become the advocate of a new worldview based on the mind-altering properties of hallucinogens.

Emerging as a major prophet of the mushroom was Carlos Castaneda, a South American anthropologist who seems to have worked one of the great hoaxes in history with his claims to have been taught by a mushroom-using Yaqui Indian whom he called Don Juan. His writings, using his research in the University of California library, not only influenced hundreds of thousands of readers already seeking justification for their use of psychedelics, but deceived the teachers at UCLA and many in the anthropological community who saw him as the advocate of a new methodology for the study of tribal cultures. In spite of the revelations of his deceit, Castaneda retains a loyal following.

What began as an intellectual exercise to understand tribal cultures led in the 1960s to the development of a new subculture based on the consumption of drugs, and the emergence of prophets like Richard Alpert, who found a new vision in Hinduism.

Sources:

Castaneda, Carlos. The Teachings of Don Juan. New York: Ballentine Books, 1969.

De Mille, Richard. Castaneda's Journey: The Power and the Allegory. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Capra Press, 1976.

——. The Don Juan Papers. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Ross-Erikson, 1980.

La Barre, Weston. The Peyote Cult. New York: Schocken Books, 1969.

Leary, Timothy. Flashbacks. Los Angeles: Jeremy Tarcher,1983.

Masters, R. E. L., and Jean Houston. The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience. New York: Delta, 1967.

Roseman, Bernard. The Peyote Story. North Hollywood, Calif.: Wilshire Book, 1963.

The fruiting bodies of fungi of the class Basidiomycetes. See amanita, ramaria, clavaria and cortinarius.

• m. worker's lung — an immediate, immune complex-mediated hypersensitivity pneumonitis of humans caused by inhalation of thermophilic actinomycetes in compost.

Grown totally in the dark, mushrooms can denote a very challenging situation or relationship, especially if the mushrooms are poisonous. If seen growing wild in the forest's moist earth, then the dreamer's creative ideas may be the solution to the potentially dangerous situation the dreamer is concerned about.

For other uses, see Mushroom (disambiguation).

Mushroom
The mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as "fly agaric"
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Class:	Sordariomycetes
Order:	Hypocreales
Family:	Hypocreaceae
Genus:	Hypomyces

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. 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, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap, just as do store-bought white mushrooms.

The word "mushroom" can also be used for a wide variety of gilled fungi, with or without stems, and the term is used even more generally, to describe both the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota and the woody or leathery fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, depending upon the context of the word.

Forms deviating from the standard morphology usually have more specific names, such as "puffball", "stinkhorn", and "morel", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called "agarics" in reference to their similarity to Agaricus or their placement in the order Agaricales. By extension, the term "mushroom" can also designate the entire fungus when in culture or the thallus (called a mycelium) of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms, or the species itself.

Contents 1 Identification 2 Classification 3 Mushroom vs. toadstool 4 Growth rates 5 Size and age 6 Human use 6.1 Edible mushrooms 6.2 Toxic mushrooms 6.3 Psychoactive mushrooms 6.4 Medicinal mushrooms 6.5 Other uses 7 Further reading 8 Footnotes 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Mushroom Cultivation 10.2 Identification 10.3 Images 10.4 National Research Centre For Mushroom 10.5 Research associations 11 What is the difference between a toadstool and a mushroom?

Identification

Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms.

Identifying mushrooms 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 of 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 fruitbody is sporulating). The color of the powdery print, called a spore print, is used to help classify mushrooms and can help to identify them. Spore print colors include white (most common), brown, black, purple-brown, pink, yellow, and cream, 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. Chemical tests are also used for some genera.

In general, identification to genus can often be accomplished in the field using a local mushroom guide. Identification to species, however, requires more effort; one must remember that 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

The genus Trichaptum, an example of a polypore, a mushroom without a stalk, fruiting on a log

Trametes versicolor another type of polypore mushroom.

Main articles: Sporocarp (fungi), Basidiocarp, and Ascocarp

Typical mushrooms are the fruitbodies of members of the order Agaricales, 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 fruitbodies, and many other gilled fungi, collectively called mushrooms, occur in other orders in the class Agaricomycetes. For example, chanterelles are in the Cantharellales, false chanterelles like Gomphus are in the Gomphales, milk mushrooms (Lactarius) and russulas (Russula) as well as Lentinellus 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, along with similar genera, are in the Hymenochaetales.

Within the main body of mushrooms, in the Agaricales, are common fungi like the common fairy-ring mushroom (Marasmius oreades), shiitake, 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 fruitbody of a Russula or Lactarius colored and deformed by the mycoparasitic Ascomycete Hypomyces lactifluorum.^[1]

Other mushrooms are non-gilled, and then the term "mushroom" is loosely used, so that it is difficult to give a full account of their classifications. 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 mushroom is more one of common application to macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies than one having precise taxonomic meaning. There are approximately 14,000 described species of mushrooms.^[2]

Mushroom vs. toadstool

The relative sizes of the cap (pileus) and stalk (stipe) vary widely. Shown here is a species of Macrolepiota.

The terms "Mushroom" and "Toadstool" go back centuries and were never precisely defined, nor was there consensus on application.

The term "toadstool" was often, but not exclusively, applied to poisonous mushrooms or to those that have the classic umbrella-like cap-and-stem form. Between 1400 and 1600 A.D., the terms tadstoles, frogstooles, frogge stoles, tadstooles, tode stoles, toodys hatte, paddockstool, puddockstool, paddocstol, toadstoole, and paddockstooles sometimes were used synonymously with mushrom, mushrum, muscheron, mousheroms, mussheron, or musserouns.^[3]

The word has apparent analogies in Dutch padde(n)stoel (toad-stool/chair, mushroom) and German Krötenschwamm (toad-fungus, alt. word for panther cap). Others have proposed a connection with German "Todesstuhl" (lit. "death's chair").^[4] Since Tod is a direct cognate to death, in that case it would be a German borrowing.

The term "mushroom" and its variations may have been derived from the French word mousseron in reference to moss (mousse). The toadstool's connection to toads may be direct, in reference to some species of poisonous toad,^[5] or may just be a case of phono-semantic matching from the German word.^[6] However, there is no clear-cut delineation between edible and poisonous fungi, so that a "mushroom" may be edible, poisonous, or unpalatable. The term "toadstool" is nowadays used in storytelling when referring to poisonous or suspect mushrooms. The classic example of a toadstool is Amanita muscaria.

Growth rates

Mushroom popping up through macadam in summer near Paris

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 actuality 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 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 that took several days to form in the primordia.

Similarly, there are even more ephemeral mushrooms, like Parasola plicatilis (formerly Coprinus plicatlis), that literally appear overnight and may disappear by late afternoon on a hot day after rainfall.^[7] 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 fruitbodies by growing from the edges of the colony or by inserting hyphae. For example Pleurotus nebrodensis grows slowly, and because of this combined with human cultivation, it is now critically endangered.

Size and age

Yellow, flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development

Though mushroom fruiting bodies are short-lived, the underlying mycelium can itself be long-lived and massive. A colony of Armillaria ostoyae in Malheur National Forest in the United States is estimated to be 2,400 years old, possibly older, and spans an estimated 2,200 acres. 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.^[8]

Human use

The button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms in the world.

Further information: Ethnomycology

Edible mushrooms

Main articles: Edible mushroom, Mushroom hunting, and Fungiculture

Edible mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, in many cuisines (notably Chinese, European, and Japanese). Though mushrooms are commonly thought to have little nutritional value, many species are high in fiber and provide vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, cobalamins, ascorbic acid. Though not normally a significant source of vitamin D, some mushrooms can become significant sources after exposure to ultraviolet light, though this also darkens their skin.^[9] Mushrooms are also a source of some minerals, including selenium, potassium and phosphorus^[10].

Most mushrooms that are sold in supermarkets have been commercially grown on mushroom farms. The most popular of these, Agaricus bisporus, is generally considered safe for most people to eat because it is grown in controlled, sterilized environments, though some individuals do not tolerate it well. Several varieties of A. bisporus are grown commercially, including whites, crimini, and portobello. Other cultivated species now available at many grocers include shiitake, maitake or hen-of-the-woods, oyster, and enoki.

Mushroom and Truffle output in 2005

There are a number of species of mushroom that are poisonous, and although some resemble certain edible species, eating them could be fatal. Eating mushrooms gathered in the wild is risky and should not be undertaken by individuals not knowledgeable in mushroom identification, unless the individuals limit themselves to a relatively small number of good edible species that are visually distinctive. A. bisporus contains carcinogens called hydrazines, the most abundant of which is agaritine. However, the carcinogens are destroyed by moderate heat when cooking.^[11]

More generally, and particularly with gilled mushrooms, 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.

Additionally, even edible mushrooms may produce an allergic reaction, from a mild asthmatic response to severe anaphylaxis shock.

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".

Toxic mushrooms

Main article: Mushroom poisoning

Young "Death Cap" Mushrooms next to some matches.

Of central interest with respect to the chemical properties of mushrooms is the fact that many species produce secondary metabolites that render them toxic, mind-altering, or even bioluminescent.

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 (see emetics) the meal, or to learn to avoid consumption altogether.

Psychoactive mushrooms

Main article: Psilocybin mushrooms

Hallucinogenic Psilocybe mushrooms

Psilocybin mushrooms possess psychedelic properties. They are commonly known as "magic mushrooms" "mushies" or "shrooms" and are available in smart shops in many parts of the world, though some countries have outlawed their sale. An article in the Journal of Psychopharmacology has made correlations between the induced hallucinations and subjects' experiences up to several months later.^[12]

Because of their psychoactive properties, some mushrooms have played a role in native medicine, where they have been used in an attempt to effect 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 and curandera (priest-healer).

Psilocybin mushrooms are not the only psychoactive fungi. Amanita muscaria pictured above is also psychoactive. The active constituents are Ibotenic acid and Muscimol. The Muscaria chemotaxonomic group of Amanitas contain no amatoxins or phallotoxins, and are not hepatoxic. Some dry these in the sun to transform the Ibotenic acid into the more psychoactive Muscimol.

Psilocybin, a naturally occurring chemical in certain psychedelic mushrooms like 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 and migraine headaches.^[13] A double-blind study, done by the John Hopkins Hospital, showed that psychedelic mushrooms could provide people an experience with substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance. In the study, one third of the subjects reported that 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.^[14][15]

Medicinal mushrooms

Main article: Medicinal mushrooms

The most well known "medicinal mushroom", Reishi.

Many species of medicinal mushrooms have been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. The use of medicinal mushrooms in folk medicine, is best documented in the East. Medicinal mushrooms are now the subject of study for many ethnobotanists and medical researchers. The ability of some mushrooms to inhibit tumor growth and enhance aspects of the immune system has been a subject of research for approximately 50 years.^[16] International mushroom research continues today, with a focus on mushroom's that may have hypoglycemic activity, anti-cancer activity, anti-pathogenic activity, and immune system enhancing activity. Recent research has found that the oyster mushroom naturally contains the cholesterol drug lovastatin,^[17] mushrooms produce large amounts of vitamin D when exposed to UV light,^[18] and that certain fungi may be a future source of taxol.^[19] To date, penicillin, lovastatin, ciclosporin, griseofulvin, cephalosporin, and ergometrine, are the most famous pharmaceuticals which have been isolated from the fungi kingdom.

Other uses

"Tinder fungi"

Mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers. The chromophores of mushrooms 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 dyes 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 effective biological remediation and filtration technologies. The US Patent and Trademark Office can be searched for patents related to the latest developments in mycoremediation and mycofiltration.

Further reading

• Lindequist, U.; Niedermeyer, T.H.J. ; Jülich, W.D. (2005). "The pharmacological potential of mushrooms.". Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2: 285. doi:10.1093/ecam/neh107. PMID 16136207. http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/2/3/285. 

Footnotes

1. ^ Volk, Tom (2001). "Hypomyces lactifluorum, the lobster mushroom". Fungus of the Month. http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/aug2001.html. Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
2. ^ Miles PG, Chang S-T (2004). Mushrooms: cultivation, nutritional value, medicinal effect, and environmental impact. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-1043-1. 
3. ^ Ramsbottom J (1954). Mushrooms & Toadstools: a study of the activities of fungi. London: Collins. 
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ [2]
6. ^ [3]
7. ^ Nelson N (2006-08-13). "Parasola plicatilis". http://collectivesource.com/fungi/newpages/Coprinus_plicatilis.html. Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
8. ^ "A Fungus Among Us". Extreme Science. n.d.. http://www.extremescience.com/biggestlivingthing.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-14. 
9. ^ Associated Press (2006-04-18). "Light-zapped mushrooms filled with vitamin D: Bringing 'shrooms out of the dark packs them with sunshine nutrient". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12370708. Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
10. ^ "Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Mushrooms, white, raw". http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2482/2. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
11. ^ Sieger AA (ed.) (1998-01-01). "Spore Prints #338". Bulletin of the Puget Sound Mycological Society. http://www.psms.org/sporeprints/sp338.html. Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
12. ^ Griffiths R, Richards W, Johnson M, McCann U, Jesse R (August 2008). "Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later". Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) 22 (6): 621–32. doi:10.1177/0269881108094300. PMID 18593735. http://jop.sagepub.com/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18593735. 
13. ^ Sewell RA, Halpern JH, Pope HG (June 2006). "Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD". Neurology 66 (12): 1920–2. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000219761.05466.43. PMID 16801660. http://www.neurology.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16801660. 
14. ^ Griffiths RR, Richards WA, McCann U, Jesse R. (Aug 2006), "Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.", Psychopharmacology (Berl). 187 (3): 268–83, doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5, PMID 16826400 
15. ^ Weil, Andrew (2006-10-16). "Looking for Mushroom Magic?". http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA400055. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
16. ^ Borchers AT, Krishnamurthy A, Keen CL, Meyers FJ, Gershwin ME (2008), "The immunobiology of mushrooms", Exp Biol Med 233 (3): 259–76, doi:10.3181/0708-MR-227, PMID 18296732 
17. ^ Gunde-Cimerman N, Cimerman A. (Mar 1995), "Pleurotus fruiting bodies contain the inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase-lovastatin.", Exp Mycol. 19 (1): 1–6, doi:10.1006/emyc.1995.1001, ISSN 0147-5975, PMID 7614366 
18. ^ , http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/31/health/he-eat31 
19. ^ Ji, Y; Bi; Yan; Zhu (Jan 2006), "Taxol-producing fungi: a new approach to industrial production of taxol" (Free full text), Sheng wu gong cheng xue bao = Chinese journal of biotechnology 22 (1): 1–6, ISSN 1000-3061, PMID 16572833, http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+33069-62-4 

References

• Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide (1992) ISBN 0-292-72080-0
• Mushrooms of Northeastern North America (1997) ISBN 0-8156-0388-6
• All That the Rain Promises, and More (1991) ISBN 0-89815-388-3
• Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (2000) ISBN 1-58008-175-4
• Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home (1983) ISBN 0-9610798-0-0
• Mushrooms: Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact (2004) ISBN 0-8493-1043-1
• Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Will Save The World (2005) ISBN 1-58008-579-2
• Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (1986) ISBN 0-89815-169-4
• Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook: Easy Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation (2004) ISBN 0-932551-64-5
• Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World (1996) ISBN 0-89815-839-7

External links

Look up mushroom in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mushrooms

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Mushroom

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Mushroom.

Mushroom Cultivation

• Mycogroups Mushrooms

Identification

• David Fischer's American Mushrooms
• Mushroom Expert
• MykoWeb
• An Aid to Mushroom Identification, Simon's Rock College
• Roger's Mushrooms
• Online Edible Wild Mushroom Field Guide
• Mushroom-Collecting.com - Fungi of the Northeastern US

Images

• Mushroom Observer (All images are made available under a Creative Commons license.)
• Pictures Mushrooms
• Mushroom Photos Mushrooms Pictures with popular names

National Research Centre For Mushroom

• National Research Centre for Mushroom (NRCM) is India's premier institute engaged in mushroom research

Research associations

• Mushroom Mania; the Newsletter
• North American Mycological Association
• International Society for Mushroom Science
• Pacific Northwest Fungi Online Journal

What is the difference between a toadstool and a mushroom?

 "Toadstool". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 

v • d • e Microbiology: Fungus Structure Reproduction/spore teleomorph/sexual: Zygospore · Ascospore/Ascus · Basidiospore/Basidium/Teliospore anamorph/asexual: Sporangium · Conidium · Chlamydospore · Oidium · Pycniospores Other Hypha · Haustorium · Mycelium · Cell wall Growth patterns Dimorphic fungi · Mold · Yeast · Mushroom

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - champignon
v. intr. - skyde op (som paddehatte), blive flad, plukke svampe
adj. - paddehatte-

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    paddehattesky

Nederlands (Dutch)
paddestoel, champignon, explosieve groei, explosief groeien

Français (French)
n. - (Bot, Culin) champignon, beige rosé (couleur)
v. intr. - pousser comme des champignons (des villes), proliférer, se multiplier, se développer, s'accroître rapidement (des profits)
adj. - (de couleur) beige rosé

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    champignon atomique

Deutsch (German)
n. - Champignon, Pilz
v. - wie Pilze aus dem Boden schießen
adj. - Pilz...

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    Rauchpilz, Atompilz

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) μανιτάρι, αμανίτης
v. - ξεπετάγομαι, ξεφυτρώνω ή αναπτύσσομαι σαν μανιτάρι

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    σύννεφο που προκαλείται από πυρηνική έκρηξη

Italiano (Italian)
fungo

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    grande nube causata da esplosione nucleare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cogumelo (m) (Bot.)
v. - tomar forma de cogumelo

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    nuvem radiativa (da bomba atômica)

Русский (Russian)
съедобный гриб, что-л. быстро возникающее, выскочка, собирать грибы, быстро распространяться, грибовидный, растущий, как грибы

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    грибовидное облако при атомном взрыве

Español (Spanish)
n. - seta, hongo, champiñón
v. intr. - coger setas
adj. - relativo a las setas u hongos

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    nube en forma de hongo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - svamp, champinjon, rökmoln, uppkomling
v. - plocka svamp, plattas till

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
草, 暴发户, 蘑菇, 迅速生长, 采蘑菇, 迅速增加, 蘑菇形的, 迅速生长的

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    蘑菇云

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 草, 暴發戶, 蘑菇
v. intr. - 迅速生長, 採蘑菇, 迅速增加
adj. - 蘑菇形的, 迅速生長的

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    蘑菇雲

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 버섯, 벼락부자
v. intr. - 빨리 발전하다, 버섯을 따다
adj. - 버섯의, 갑자기 잘된

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - キノコ, マッシュルーム, きのこ雲, キノコに似たもの, 成り上がり者
v. - キノコを採る, 急速に現われ出る
adj. - キノコの, 成り上がりの

idioms:

• mushroom cloud    きのこ雲

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نوع من الفطر (فعل) ينتشر, يتعاظم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פטרייה, צמיחה מהירה, צבע חום-ורדרד‬
v. intr. - ‮גדל מהר, לקט פטריות, התפתח מהר, דבר הצומח במהירות, התפשט, היתמר, התאבך‬
adj. - ‮פטרייתי, כפטרייה, חום-ורדרד‬

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