Category: Vegetables

Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms. From around 420 to 350 million years ago, when land plants were still the relatively new kids on the evolutionary block and “the tallest trees stood just a few feet high,” giant spires of life poked from the Earth. When did mushrooms first […]

History of mushroom use Ötzi, the mummy of a man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE in Europe, was found with two types of mushroom. The Chinese value mushrooms for supposed medicinal properties as well as for food. Ancient Romans and Greeks, particularly the upper classes, used mushrooms for culinary purposes. Who were the […]

Vietnamese doctor finds dozens of mushrooms growing in woman’s ears. A doctor discovered dozens of mushrooms growing in the ears of a woman in Vietnam. According to the treating doctor, the woman came to the clinic in Dien Bien Province said her ears were itchy and painful. Can mushrooms grow inside your ear? Footage shows […]

Mushrooms have 80% – 90% water content and are low-calorie foods. They also contain less sodium and fat, and about 8-9% of the dry weight is fibre. What percentage of a mushroom is water? 80-90% waterBecause they are about 80-90% water, mushrooms do not freeze well, becoming mushy when defrosted. Are all mushrooms 90% water? […]

A fungus is a tiny type of germ that usually doesn’t cause any problems. They are all around us: you can only see them with a microscope. But in some situations, particularly if you have other serious illnesses, fungi (the plural of fungus) can infect your lungs. This can be very serious and requires specialist […]

All About Mushrooms Mushrooms are a kind of living thing called a fungus. The mushroom is only part of the fungi’s body. Some of its body is underground! How does a mushroom die? Mushrooms have no skin so they can lose water to the atmosphere very easily. That is why they grow in high humidity […]

Live forever? Mushrooms’ spores can sit dormant for decades and still grow when exposed to the right conditions. How long can a mushroom live? The life cycle of mushrooms can range between 1-2 days and up to many years. The mycelial network of fungal species can exist for up to hundreds or thousands of years. […]

Fungi feed by absorbing nutrients from the organic material in which they live. Fungi do not have stomachs. They must digest their food before it can pass through the cell wall into the hyphae. How do fungi eat and digest food? Fungi secure food through the action of enzymes (biological catalysts) secreted into the surface […]

Mushrooms grow from fungal spores that thrive in damp, dark conditions. They require a medium that is high in decaying plant matter. They often spring directly from dead trees. Plants, on the other hand, grow from seeds and require plenty of sun and soil, and don’t do well in overly damp environments. Are mushrooms grown […]