This guide provides a general fungal-facts overview to prepare you best to begin your first mushroom cultivation operation or to gain insight into the makeup of the wonderful fungal kingdom. Learning to become an amateur mycologist is a rewarding and fruitful experience that benefits health and the environment.
Fungal Kingdom:
Fungi neither fall under the animal nor plant kingdom but make up their own fungal kingdom. The field of mycology involves the study of fungi and is an ever-growing industry. Fungal species vastly outnumber the number of plant species, at a nearly 6:1 ratio [1]. Interestingly, unlike plants, most fungi require oxygen rather than carbon dioxide to survive.
Natural Decomposers:
The fungal kingdom is necessary for the health and survival of all species. Fungal species break down organic compounds. Without fungi, plants and organic matter would break down extremely slowly, affecting the soil and its nutrients, thus destroying ecosystems. The fungus is the world’s best natural decomposer. Fungal species are being researched and used to help break down toxic chemicals, oils, plastics, and other environmental pollutants [2, 3]. Notably, bioremediation with the use of fungi, mycoremediation, is shown to benefit the regrowth of life in previously polluted areas.
Mycoremediation offers numerous enviromental benefits. Additionally, mushrooms grow on a wide variety of substrate materials such as cardboard, wood logs, and other organic matter.
Mycelium:
The magic behind the mushroom. Mycelium may look like the roots of a mushroom, however, mycelium best functions as the tree and the roots, with the mushroom only being the fruit. While a mushroom may only appear in the right conditions, like other fruiting bodies. The mycelium gives way for the mushroom to fruit and makes up the majority of fungal networks.
In fact, mycelium is used as a source of material for insulation in buildings, packing material, and mycoremediation [4].
Fungal Fruiting Body (the Mushroom):
Mushrooms fruit when the mycelium has reached its optimal state or is ready to perish. By bearing the fungal fruiting body, the fungi are able to spread their spores as a way to reproduce. Shortly after the mycelium has gathered enough nutrients and the temperature and humidity levels are appropriate (for each specific fungal species), the mushroom can fruit. The mushroom allows for the release of spores, which will, in turn, grow the mycelium network.
Spores:
Fungal spores are released for reproduction. In brief, spores are microscopic, spread quickly (through air, water, animals), and last a long time under the right conditions. Furthermore, fungal spores can be collected for cultivation. Mushroom prints provide beautiful art pieces, and at the same time, prints can be used to grow more mushrooms. The dropped spores can be mixed with sterile water to make a spore syringe for easy cultivation.
For ease of cultivation, spores and spawned mycelium are available for purchase through providers like High Desert Spores. In the wild, spores are hearty enough to survive passage through animals’ and insects’ digestive tracts. Animals consuming and passing fungal spores contribute to the disbursement of fungal spores [5, 6].
Use the code RACHELSCOURT for 10% OFF your order with High Desert Spores.
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Works Cited:
1. Blackwell, M., The Fungi: 1, 2, 3 … 5.1 million species? American Journal of Botany, 2011. 98(3): p. 426-438.
2. Harms, H., D. Schlosser, and L.Y. Wick, Untapped potential: exploiting fungi in bioremediation of hazardous chemicals. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2011. 9(3): p. 177-192.
3. Temporiti, M.E.E., et al., Fungal Enzymes Involved in Plastics Biodegradation. Microorganisms, 2022. 10(6): p. 1180.
4. Zhang, X., et al., Naturally grown mycelium-composite as sustainable building insulation materials. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022. 342: p. 130784.
5. Paz, C., et al., Dispersal of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: Evidence and Insights for Ecological Studies. Microbial Ecology, 2021. 81(2): p. 283-292.
6. Parish, J.B., et al., Survival and probability of transmission of plant pathogenic fungi through the digestive tract of honey bee workers. Apidologie, 2019. 50(6): p. 871-880.
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