<\/p>\n
A mushroom is analogous to a flower on a plant \u2014 it\u2019s the reproductive organ of a fungus, which protects and distributes fungal spores.<\/p>\n
Mushrooms are critical part of our ecosystems. For humans and other animals, mushrooms are also food. And they may be part of the solution for food security and solving the plastic crisis.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 15, World Mushroom Day, we highlight three such stories that Mongabay has covered.<\/p>\n
Mushrooms can help inspire eco-friendly solutions to problems<\/a><\/h3>\nMushrooms are helping us create low-cost, sustainable housing materials and additional income for farmers, according to Gabriela D\u2019Elia, director of the Fungal Diversity Survey.<\/p>\n
In a Mongabay video titled \u201cFungi are our climate allies\u201d published last year, D\u2019Elia cited examples of projects that are using mushrooms to address food security and waste management. For example, a company called Evocative uses a mushroom called artist\u2019s conk (Ganoderma applanatum<\/em>) to create materials that can possibly replace leather, plastic, and other packaging materials, D\u2019Elia said.<\/p>\n\u201cFungi are showing us new ways to live in allyship with the planet,\u201d D\u2019Elia added.<\/p>\n
Golden oyster mushrooms are crowding out native fungi in North America<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\nGolden oyster mushrooms, known for their bright yellow caps and earthy flavors, are prized edible mushrooms. They\u2019re native to Asia, but have gained popularity throughout North America, where they\u2019re spreading across forests and displacing native fungal species, a\u00a02025 study<\/a>\u00a0found.<\/p>\nAishwarya Veerabahu, lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S., told Mongabay\u2019s Shreya Dasgupta that the study was prompted by a growing number of wild golden oyster observations in North America across citizen-science biodiversity databases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe take home message for people who grow and cultivate mushrooms is that non-native mushrooms are often cultivated in North America but can become invasive, causing devastating effects on native fungal biodiversity,\u201d Veerabahu said.<\/p>\n
Mushrooms can be cultivated on waste products and may help establish mushroom farming in Africa<\/a><\/h3>\nResearchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they reported in a\u00a02026 study<\/a>.<\/p>\nLentinus squarrosulus\u00a0<\/em>is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including in eastern Nigeria. This mushroom is both edible and has medicinal value, and is at risk of becoming scarce in the wild because of habitat destruction. If domesticated, however, this mushroom could be an inexpensive and reliable source of protein, mushroom researcher Chiemeziem Agbonma Onyeka told Mongabay\u2019s David Brown.<\/p>\nBioluminescent mushrooms<\/a><\/h3>\nMushrooms can glow in the dark!\u00a0 For younger readers, Mongabay Kids explored how bioluminescent mushrooms<\/a> light up the forest night in India.<\/p>\nBanner image:<\/em><\/strong> Bioluminescent mushrooms (<\/em>Mycena chlorophos) at Hachijo Botanical Park, Japan. Image by self via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cFungi are showing us new ways to live in allyship with the planet,\u201d D\u2019Elia added.<\/p>\n
Golden oyster mushrooms are crowding out native fungi in North America<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\nGolden oyster mushrooms, known for their bright yellow caps and earthy flavors, are prized edible mushrooms. They\u2019re native to Asia, but have gained popularity throughout North America, where they\u2019re spreading across forests and displacing native fungal species, a\u00a02025 study<\/a>\u00a0found.<\/p>\nAishwarya Veerabahu, lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S., told Mongabay\u2019s Shreya Dasgupta that the study was prompted by a growing number of wild golden oyster observations in North America across citizen-science biodiversity databases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe take home message for people who grow and cultivate mushrooms is that non-native mushrooms are often cultivated in North America but can become invasive, causing devastating effects on native fungal biodiversity,\u201d Veerabahu said.<\/p>\n
Mushrooms can be cultivated on waste products and may help establish mushroom farming in Africa<\/a><\/h3>\nResearchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they reported in a\u00a02026 study<\/a>.<\/p>\nLentinus squarrosulus\u00a0<\/em>is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including in eastern Nigeria. This mushroom is both edible and has medicinal value, and is at risk of becoming scarce in the wild because of habitat destruction. If domesticated, however, this mushroom could be an inexpensive and reliable source of protein, mushroom researcher Chiemeziem Agbonma Onyeka told Mongabay\u2019s David Brown.<\/p>\nBioluminescent mushrooms<\/a><\/h3>\nMushrooms can glow in the dark!\u00a0 For younger readers, Mongabay Kids explored how bioluminescent mushrooms<\/a> light up the forest night in India.<\/p>\nBanner image:<\/em><\/strong> Bioluminescent mushrooms (<\/em>Mycena chlorophos) at Hachijo Botanical Park, Japan. Image by self via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n
Aishwarya Veerabahu, lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S., told Mongabay\u2019s Shreya Dasgupta that the study was prompted by a growing number of wild golden oyster observations in North America across citizen-science biodiversity databases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe take home message for people who grow and cultivate mushrooms is that non-native mushrooms are often cultivated in North America but can become invasive, causing devastating effects on native fungal biodiversity,\u201d Veerabahu said.<\/p>\n
Mushrooms can be cultivated on waste products and may help establish mushroom farming in Africa<\/a><\/h3>\nResearchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they reported in a\u00a02026 study<\/a>.<\/p>\nLentinus squarrosulus\u00a0<\/em>is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including in eastern Nigeria. This mushroom is both edible and has medicinal value, and is at risk of becoming scarce in the wild because of habitat destruction. If domesticated, however, this mushroom could be an inexpensive and reliable source of protein, mushroom researcher Chiemeziem Agbonma Onyeka told Mongabay\u2019s David Brown.<\/p>\nBioluminescent mushrooms<\/a><\/h3>\nMushrooms can glow in the dark!\u00a0 For younger readers, Mongabay Kids explored how bioluminescent mushrooms<\/a> light up the forest night in India.<\/p>\nBanner image:<\/em><\/strong> Bioluminescent mushrooms (<\/em>Mycena chlorophos) at Hachijo Botanical Park, Japan. Image by self via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n
Lentinus squarrosulus\u00a0<\/em>is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including in eastern Nigeria. This mushroom is both edible and has medicinal value, and is at risk of becoming scarce in the wild because of habitat destruction. If domesticated, however, this mushroom could be an inexpensive and reliable source of protein, mushroom researcher Chiemeziem Agbonma Onyeka told Mongabay\u2019s David Brown.<\/p>\n Mushrooms can glow in the dark!\u00a0 For younger readers, Mongabay Kids explored how bioluminescent mushrooms<\/a> light up the forest night in India.<\/p>\n Banner image:<\/em><\/strong> Bioluminescent mushrooms (<\/em>Mycena chlorophos) at Hachijo Botanical Park, Japan. Image by self via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\nBioluminescent mushrooms<\/a><\/h3>\n
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