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Mushrooms That Prevent and Heal Viral Disease   Mushrooms That Prevent and Heal Viral Disease That medicinal mushrooms have been ingested for hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of years, strongly suggests most are not toxic, and research supports them as likely candidates in our search for natural antiviral agents.  Suzuki and others (1990) discovered an anti-viral water-soluble lignin in an extract of the mycelium of shiitake  mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) isolated from cultures grown  on rice bran and  sugarcane bagasse. Another mushroom recognized for its antiviral activity is Fomes  fomentarius, a hoof-shaped wood conk growing on trees, which inhibited the tobacco  mosaic virus in a study (M. Aoki et al. 1993).  Collins and Ng (1997) identified a  polysaccharopeptide from turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) mushrooms inhibiting HIV  type 1 infection, while Sarkar and others (1993) identified an antiviral substance  ...

The Medicinal Mushroom Forest Forest dwellers long ago discovered the value of medicinal mushrooms for the healing  of both the body and the forest. Sadly, most of our ancestors’ empirical knowledge is  lost, but what little survives hints at a rich, albeit vulnerable, resource.  The science of  soils—mapping the matrix of plant, animal, and microbial communities in a habitat  remains in its infancy. Researchers have shown, however, that the forest is thoroughly  interlaced with fungal nets of mycorrhizal, saprophytic, parasitic, and endophytic  species. Mushrooms are forest guardians. A forest ecosystem cannot be defined  without its fungi because they govern the transition between life and death and the  building of soils, all the while fueling numerous life cycles. Primary saprophytes initiate  the decomposition process, and what the saprophytes don’t break down, the  mycorrhizal fungi do. I suspect that the overlying s...

Mycorrhizal Mushrooms: Fungus and Plant Partnerships  Mycorrhizal mushrooms (myco means “mushroom”; rhizal means “related to roots”),  such as matsutake, boletus, and chanterelles, form mutually beneficial relationships  with pines and other plants. In fact, most plants from grasses to Douglas firs have  mycorrhizal partners. The mycelia of fungal species that form exterior sheaths around  the roots of partner plants are termed ectomycorrhizal. The mycorrhizal fungi that  invade the interior root cells of host plants are labeled endomycorrhizal, although  currently the preferred term for these fungi is vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM). Both plant and mycorrhizae benefit from this association. Because ectomycorrhizal  mycelium grows beyond the plant’s roots, it brings distant nutrients and moisture to  the host plant, extending the absorption zone well beyond the root structure. The  mycelium dramatically increases the plan...

Parasitic Mushrooms: Blights of the Forest or  Agents for Habitat Restoration?  Parasites are predators that endanger the host’s health. In the past, foresters saw all parasitic fungi as hostile to the long-term health of forests. Although they do parasitize trees, they nourish other organisms. Parasitic fungi such as the honey mushroom, which can destroy thousands of acres of forest, are stigmatized as blights. However, more foresters are realizing that a rotting tree in the midst of a canopied forest is, in fact, more supportive of biodiversity than a living tree. Parasitic mushrooms may be nature’s way of selecting the strongest plants and repairing damaged habitats. Ultimately, parasitic mushrooms set the stage for the revival of weakened habitats that are too stressed to thrive. Of all the parasitic blight mushrooms that are edible by humans, the assorted honey mushrooms such as Armillaria mellea and Armillaria ostoyae...

the mushroom life cycle For you to use mycelia as healing membranes, a basic understanding of the mushroom  life cycle is helpful. Although we notice mushrooms when they pop up, their sudden  appearance is the completion of cellular events largely hidden from view—until the  inquisitive mycophile digs deeper. Although mycologists have a basic understanding of  the mushroom life cycle, we are clueless how mushroom species interact with most  other organisms coexisting in the same habitat. With each nuance revealed, the body  intellect of mycology expands, and our knowledge slowly inches forward. What is so  exciting about mycology is that the depth of undiscovered knowledge laying before us  is more vast than our minds can imagine.  Mushrooms reproduce through microscopic spores, visible as dust when they collect en  masse. When the moisture, temperature, and nutrients are right, spores freed from a  mushroom (essentially mush...

Mycelium in the Web of Life  As an evolutionary strategy, mycelial architecture is amazing: one cell wall thick, in  direct contact with myriad hostile organisms, and yet so pervasive that a single cubic inch of topsoil contains enough fungal cells to stretch more than 8 miles if placed end to end.  I calculate that every footstep I take impacts more than 300 miles of mycelium. These fungal fabrics run through the top few inches of virtually all landmasses that support life, sharing the soil with legions of other organisms. If you were a tiny organism in a forest’s soil, you would be enmeshed in a carnival of activity, with mycelium constantly moving through subterranean landscapes like cellular waves, through dancing bacteria and swimming protozoa with nematodes racing like whales through a microcosmic sea of life.  Year-round, fungi decompose and recycle plant debris, filter microbes and sediments from runoff, and restore soil. In the end, life-sustaini...

The Mycelial Archetype  Nature tends to build upon its successes. The mycelial archetype can be seen throughout the universe: in the patterns of hurricanes, dark matter, and the Internet. The similarity in form to mycelium may not be merely a coincidence. Biological systems are influenced by the laws of physics, and it may be that mycelium exploits the natural momentum of matter, just like salmon take advantage of the tides. The architecture of mycelium resembles patterns predicted in string theory, and astrophysicists theorize that the most energy-conserving forms in the universe will be organized as threads of matterenergy. The arrangement of these strings resembles the architecture of mycelium. When the Internet was designed, its weblike structure maximized the pooling of data and computational power while minimizing critical points upon which the system is dependent. I believe that the structure of the Internet is simply an archetypal form, the inevitable consequence o...

Fungi in Outer Space?  Fungi may not be unique to Earth. Scientists theorize that life is spread throughout the cosmos, and that it is likely to exist wherever water is found in a liquid state. Recently, scientists detected a distant planet 5,600 light-years away, which formed 13 billion years ago, old enough that life could have evolved there and become extinct several times over (Savage et al. 2003). (It took 4 billion years for life to evolve on Earth.) Thus far 120 planets outside our solar system have been discovered, and more are being discovered every few months. Astrobiologists believe that the precursors of DNA, prenucleic acids, are forming throughout the cosmos as an inevitable consequence of matter as it organizes, and I have little doubt that we will eventually survey planets for mycological communities. The fact that NASA has established the Astrobiology Institute and that Cambridge University Press has established The International Journal for Astrobi...

The History of Fungal Networks  Animals are more closely related to fungi than to any other kingdom. More than 600  million years ago we shared a common ancestry. Fungi evolved a means of externally digesting food by secreting acids and enzymes into their immediate environs and then absorbing nutrients using netlike cell chains. Fungi marched onto land more than a  billion years ago. Many fungi partnered with plants, which largely lacked these digestive juices. Mycologists believe that this alliance allowed plants to inhabit land around 700 million years ago. Many millions of years later, one evolutionary branch of fungi led to the development of animals. The branch of fungi leading to animals evolved to capture nutrients by surrounding their food with cellular sacs, essentially primitive stomachs. As species emerged from aquatic habitats, organisms adapted means to prevent moisture loss. In terrestrial creatures, skin composed of many layers of cells eme...