Otzi’s connection to
mushrooms was just one of the engaging facts that emerged from Fungi for Resiliency; Intro to Mushrooms
& Fungi earlier this month in Newburgh. Hosted by Smugtown Mushrooms at
the Moon infospace on Liberty Street, the weekday workshop was packed with
attendees with all different levels of experience in mushrooms.
Facilitator Olga from
Rochester-based Smugtown Mushrooms taught the group about mushroom biology and
lifecycles, ecological roles, growing and cooking, common misconceptions, as
well as medical and industry uses. Chaga tea, made from a dense black mushroom
that resembles burnt charcoal, was passed around.
What is a mushroom? In
the past 100 years we’ve learned, contrary to popular belief, that they’re more
similar to animals than to plants. They can’t make their own food, they need sunlight,
and mushrooms must breathe oxygen. In school they’re tossed in lesson plans
with the plant kingdom because we’re
simply more resonant with their resemblance to plant life. A common
misconception about mushrooms is that you cannot get sick from simply touching
a poisonous variety—it must be ingested.
Olga reviewed the
ecological roles of mushrooms. Some varieties act as decomposers. In forests
they break down dead organic matter so plants can reuse it, otherwise forests
would be covered in mile-high piles of leaf litter. Fungi are resilient in
their search for ways to survive. The field of mycoremediation, in which mushrooms
are trained to eat new types of food, studies varieties as they’re used to break
down pollutants such as spilled oil. Species have been formulated to break down
fecal chloroforms in ponds near factory farms.
Many varieties release
properties that are antibiotic, antifungal, antivirus, and antiparasitic. The
versatile turkeytail mushroom has been sued by Japanese researchers to create
cancer-fighting drugs, and the variety’s mycelium is being used to create molds
for car parts and packaging materials.
Supermarkets and
salad bars sell white button mushrooms which can be consumed raw, but Olga recommends
all mushrooms be cooked, simply because they’ll taste better. The chitin
element, like a shrimp’s exoskeleton, breaks down during cooking, and varieties
contain elements we can’t absorb without heating them.
Olga had dozens of
mushroom samples spread out on a table and passed them around. Collecting and
identifying mushrooms is a sensory experience and touch and smell are important.
Elements like spore color, veils, gill and stalk attachment, tubes, spines,
teeth, and pores can all be used to identify. Some mushrooms are annuals while
others are perennials. Some glow in the dark and others can be used to dye
fabric. We passed around a variety of tinder conk, like caveman Otzi was
carrying, and could feel the sample’s density. Olga recounted the story of a
friend who, after accidentally leaving a tinder conk variety in the oven for
too long, submerged the burned mushroom in water and tossed it in the trash.
The mushroom continued to smolder and the trash can lit on fire. The apartment
soon followed. Olga cautioned attendees to avoid mushrooms not grown in the
U.S., specifically dried varieties that may be full of heavy metals which are absorbed
like a sponge. Since common names vary, learning Latin names is important.
Olga owns and operates
Smugtown mushrooms in Rochester, NY and has been cultivating mushrooms for six
years, an interest that spiraled from research in wild plant medicine. She
encouraged beginners to join a mushroom club and attend workshops. Comprehensive
resources can be found through Cornellmushrooms.org and the North American
Mycological Association.
Smugtown Mushrooms: www.smugtownmushrooms.com
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