Mycological Magic
by Joel Myers, Oklahoma Mycological Society
When selling mushrooms at market or teaching about them at schools, its common to hear things like “I don’t like mushrooms” or “mushrooms are gross.” Usually, what people are referring to are the little button mushrooms you get from the grocery store. They’ve often never tried any other varieties. I like to tell them that they just haven’t found their mushroom yet. For those brave enough to experiment with a few different kinds, they will often come across one that they find quite enjoyable. But even when they don’t, I remind them why there is so much more to mushrooms than the role they play on our dinner plates.
It is fungi who are responsible for creating soil, as they break down and consume fallen branches, trees, and other organic material. Of all the life we’ve found on this planet, only fungi are capable of decomposing lignin and cellulose rich wood. Another impressive skill they possess is the ability to produce strong organic acids, enabling them to break down and release nutrients from rocks into the soil web. Epilithic, endolithic, and cryptoendolithic are the terms used for those microorganisms found on the surface, in cracks or fissures, and even deep inside of rocks.
There are also the mycorrhizal fungi which act as communication networks for forests, linking plants and allowing them to funnel nutrients to those plants most in need. These will wrap themselves around plant root tips and enter the cellular structure, allowing an exchange of sugars for nutrients as the fungal mycelium acts as an extended root network, reaching much further and faster through the earth than the plants roots have the ability to alone. Over 90% of the world’s plants form this symbiotic relationship.
Fungi can even help us clean up environmental pollutants in a process we call “mycoremediation.” They hyperaccumulate heavy metals into the fruitbody, giving us the chance to harvest and relocate them. They can also degrade a large number of chemicals, disassembling some toxins at the molecular level, leaving behind fewer harmful byproducts.
Entomopathogenic fungi are those that feed on insects. They are being used to create pesticides that affect only specific species, offering an alternative to the collateral damage done to our beneficial insects with the use of many of the most common insecticides.
Mushrooms also have medicinal properties and have been used as anti-bacterials, antivirals, and antimicrobials. They’ve been shown to regulate blood sugar levels and increase immune system response. Some of the medications in use today are here because of our fungal friends. The antibiotic penicillin, cholesterol-lowering lovastatin, and cyclosporin, used in organ transplants to prevent rejection, are all from the kingdom fungi.
As you can hopefully see now, mushrooms are more than just dinner and have the ability to be some of our closest and strongest allies in the care and stewardship of both our individual health, and the health of our planet and ecosystems. So, the next time you hear someone say that they don’t like mushrooms, give them a few reasons to change their mind.