Mushroom Facts: A Quick Dive Into the Wonderful World of Fungi

Mushroom Facts: A Quick Dive Into the Wonderful World of Fungi

There is a wealth of mushroom facts out in this world and here is a great way to start the journey

Today I’m sharing some really cool mushroom facts for all you fungiphiles out there! Check out the video below and read on to discover these mushroom facts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvTpqRiUiP0

Mushroom facts: Mushrooms belong to their own kingdom

This kingdom is the kingdom of fungi. Fungi are completely different from plants and animals. For instance, there are three specific factors that make a fungus a fungus. First, the cell walls are made of chitin. Second, the mode of nutrition for mushrooms is absorption. This means they secrete enzymes outside of their body and suck nutrients back in. As humans, we have an internal digestion system where we consume food, digest and absorb nutrients, and excrete waste. The mushrooms basically work opposite than us. Third, mushrooms are heterotrophic, meaning that they do not produce their own food and rely on an external source for food, be it a living plant or dead material.

Mushroom facts: A fungus is the largest organism in the world

This is a honey mushroom, Armillaria ostoyae, which grows out in pacific northwest of America. This honey mushroom is about 2,000 acres large. Of course, it is not the fruiting body of the mushroom by the mycelial network that extends underground. This fungus has caused harm to many trees as it’s so massive.

Mushroom facts: A mushroom is the fruiting body of a fungus that can be seen by the naked eye and picked by hand

To make an analogy: A blueberry grows from a bush, as a mushroom grows from a fungus. The berry is not the tree itself, but it comes from it.

Interestingly enough, there’s a very small amount of fungi that create mushroom fruiting bodies. In fact, it’s less than 10% of fungus that actually creates mushroom fruiting bodies.

Mushroom facts: Mushrooms are an awesome source of vitamin D

There have been studies conducted that show if you expose mushrooms to sunlight, the amount of vitamin D within them increases significantly. This increase may be as large as 4,000x. All mushrooms contain a compound called ergosterol, which is a building block to vitamin D. So if you consume mushrooms that have been exposed to the sun like this, you will in turn be intaking that vitamin D. This works with both fresh and dried mushrooms.

Mushroom facts: Mushrooms can be grown on a lot of byproducts

This is a big reason why I became so interested in mushrooms. These byproducts include agricultural and city-based ones, from coffee grounds to cardboard, paper waste, and straw. Additionally, many various hulls of seeds and beans, like sunflower seed, soybeans, and cotton seed. Many of these are primarily used in dairy feed. However, they can also be used to cultivate mushrooms.

Furthermore, there is the forestry industry. Here we find byproducts like sawdust, wood chips, and logs that are produced by arborists or saw mills.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed this quick rundown of some interesting mushroom facts.

Want to grow mushrooms at home? Try out a mushroom grow kit or our mushroom spawn!

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