Fun with fungi

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I do enjoy learning more about science as there are so many amazing discoveries going on. I did not know too much about fungi, but this book has changed that. Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake is obviously something he is passionate about.

Cover

Sheldrake is a mycologist and it seems artist author Beatrix Potter was too. Fungi are something separate from plants and animals. They have evolved to fit their own niches and provide all sorts of useful services to us. That said, some can be dangerous and destructive. Sheldrake was a consultant on Star Trek: Discovery that has a character named after another major mycologist and they use a 'spore drive' to travel around.

The book covers the sought after truffles, fungi that can affect human and animal brains, symbiosis between fungi and trees (the Wood Wide Web) and much more. A company called Evocative after growing sustainable materials for packaging and even leather substitutes. Some fungi will consume toxic human waste.

I can recommend this book for an insight into a field most of us are hardly aware of. It is very readable, but it does take the form of a reference book. In the picture below the top section is the main book, followed by the notes, some of which are interesting and then there is the bibliography and index. So you do not actually need to read about 100 of the 350 pages.

Sections

I have tried to avoid filling this post with fungi and mushroom puns, tempting as it was.

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(Edited)

That book sounds interesting. They are fascinating organisms and I think that there is still a lot that we don't know about them. The toxic waste part sounds especially interesting.

Tbh, I would have liked to have heard those puns.

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I am a fun guy, but there was not mushroom for puns :D

!BEER

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Lmao 🤣
Thanks for that.
Nice ones! 👍

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Very interesting. That is cool that they pulled from this and the author for Star Trek Discovery. Good show. We used to grow mushrooms in a cardboard box in the closet when I was a kid. We also have a big mushroom processing plant across the state. I have always wanted to go hunting for Morels, but I have never had the chance.

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I know there are some fungi fans on Hive when it comes to photography and for eating. Have to know what you are doing for the latter.

!BEER

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Yeah, I would imagine so! I did shrooms once. Didn't really do anything for me... :)

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Some can kill you pretty quickly.

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Interesting book, I would love to see more details about it
!PIZZA

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What do you want to know? I don't want to spoil the book for people.

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it doesnt need to be all the content!! lol but maybe some examples !! I am just curious!

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Well I gave some. You can look up the book for more.

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I like edible mushrooms. I am curious about the taste of giant puffball mushroom, I've seen it at the river cottage show, it looks delicious. Do you like mushrooms?. Try this, it's super delicious: oyster mushroom (oyster mushroom cluster in Tesco). Whisk 1 egg in a bowl, and add salt and pepper. Add oyster mushroom, mix well, and pan-fry. It tastes much better than button mushrooms.

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I do like mushrooms. The fancy ones can be expensive though.

!BEER

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I love this subject. I was a bit of an amateur mycologist for a minute in the 90s 🤣

Fascinating how mushrooms grow. Cultivation can be hard to get right, but rewarding when you nail it.

I know difficulty varies by strain and type, some are much easier than others. Are you growing?

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I did try growing some button mushrooms from a kit once, but they did not do much. I expect there's a thriving community around growing various sorts, but I think some have not been cultivated yet. They rely on very specific conditions.

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Well that's a whole world I didn't know existed. Thanks for sharing Steve!

!PIZZA

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