Ethnomycology of the World - Information on Edible, Medicinal, and Psychoactive Fungi <style type="text/css">  </style> </head> <body bgcolor="000000"> <center> <img src="images/ethnomytop.jpg"> <br> <hr color=dda319 width=85%> <table width=85% cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <th colspan=2 bgcolor=b78816><font face=verdana>The Kingdom of Fungi</th> </tr> <tr> <td valign=top width=15%><font face=verdana><br> <a href="index.html">Home</a><br> <a href="fungi.html">What Are Fungi?</a><br> <a href="tools.html">Fungi As Tools</a><br> <a href="medicinal.html">Medicinal Fungi</a><br> <a href="edible.html">Edible Fungi</a><br> <a href="psychoactive.html">Psychoactive Fungi</a><br> <a href="references.html">References And Links</a></b> </td> <td> <font color=dda319 face=verdana><br><b>A (very) brief introduction</b><p> <font color="cc6633" face=verdana> Fungi are neither plant nor animal. While they may be seemingly more plant-like than animal-like in their appearance, fungi are more related to animals than they are to plants. At a glance, the kingdom fungi is a very diverse group of organisms, of which the mushrooms are the most commonly known members. There are however, many more thousands of microscopic species (Watling).<p> <table align=left border=1 bordercolor=dda319 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 rules=none style="margin-right:10px"> <tr><td> <a href="images/hyphae.jpg"><img src="images/hyphae.jpg" border=0 width=300 height=200></a> </td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor=b78816 width=245><font size=2>Figure 1. Hyphae (the long, white filaments) colonize the substrate, in this case, a decomposing log.</td></tr> </table> Fungi are linked together by some common aspects including being composed of long filaments called hyphae (Figure 1). which are long tubes which filter their way through a substrate. The hyphae can be broken up into individual segments, or hypha. When hyphae is concentrated together it forms mycelium, which is the "vegetative" state of the fungus (when viewing it from a plant's perspective), or the "body" of the fungus (when viewing it from an animals perspective). The mycelium penetrates a substrate in which it can grow, move through, and eat (Watling). Eventually, the mycelium produces fruiting structures, commonly called mushrooms (Figure 2).<p> Fungi are the mainstay of terrestrial ecosystems by playing crucial roles in decomposition, nutrient cycling, and symbiosis with plants and animals (Mandarino). Fungi recycles and engineers the soil that allows plants to grow. Without mycorrhizae, fungi that form beneficial symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees and other plants, forests and grasslands would be sparse and unhealthy. Fungi can decompose the dead and they can control the growth of insects. Fungi can provide food and nourishment to some. Humans use fungi for everything from <a href="edible.html">food</a>, to <a href="medicinal.html">medicine</a>, to education, and <a href="psychoactive.html">religion.</a> <p> <table align=right border=1 bordercolor=dda319 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 rules=none style="margin-left:10px"> <tr><td> <a href="images/oystercult.jpg"><img src="images/oystercult.jpg" border=0 height=400 width=300></a> </td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor=b78816 width=245><font size=2>Figure 2. <i>Pleurotus sp.</i>, the Oyster mushroom growing in cultivation. Notice the white substrate (mycelium) giving rise to fruiting bodies (mushrooms).</td></tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p> <center> <font size=2 color=cc6633>(c) 2007-2009. <a href="mailto:psyghost@gmail.com">Frank Mandarino</a>. Return to <a href="http://www.goa-shoom.net">Goa-Shoom.net</a> </body> </html>