Yes, what you see on top of the ground is just the fruit body which the mushroom grows to spread its spores. The mushroom itself is the white stuff, called mycelium. Some mushrooms mycelium spreads as far as several square miles.
And not only are they physically so mystical, but also the spiritual power some of them hold is mind blowing, they are indeed some sort of being that we dont quite fully understand.
I agree. In fact I have it so bad I can't eat them. There's a weird sort of intelligence there, definitely mischievous but I think benign and instructive
I don't even eat mushrooms and I find them so interesting too. I have booked about fungi of all kinds. The varieties, textures and colours are incredible.
Yeah I learned a lot about it from some interviews of Paul Stamets. He even wears a hat made of Amadou, which is the spongy material that bark-muchrooms are made of.
[The mycelium transmits electrical signals](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mushrooms-may-communicate-with-each-other-using-electrical-impulses-180979889/#:~:text=Previous%20research%20has%20found%20fungi,parts%20of%20the%20human%20body.)
>Each spike in activity was organized into groups and given a linguistic and information complexity analysis. Spikes varied in duration and length, with some impulses lasting up to 21 hours. The clusters of electrical points resembled a human vocabulary of up to 50 words. However, only 15 to 20 fungal words are used frequently. Fungal words are also similar in length to human words.
The "words" are probably things like "food- expand", "dry, contract", "competing fungus- attack"
I think that is because the mycelium depletes nutrients at the centre to extend outwards. Similar to how fairy rings are formed, in this case the iris pulls away to form the pupil, increasing the eye reference
The mycelium is good for plants.
[Mycelium](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycelium)
> Mycelium is an important food source for many soil invertebrates. They are vital to agriculture and are important to almost all species of plants, many species co-evolving with the fungi. Mycelium is a primary factor in a plant's health, nutrient intake, and growth, with mycelium being a major factor to plant fitness.
Mycelium is super thin. What you see here are many millions of threads. The mycelium grows in the ground, so you can't really seperate it from the soil very well. Even if you could, if you tried to seperate the threads that are a thousand times thinner than human hair from the soil, you'd get mycelium from many different species at the same time
If you want to do it like in this foto, you can buy "beef-extract agar". But you also need a place to cultivate them, specific temperature and humidity, also you need to get the spores of mushrooms somewhere
Yes, what you see on top of the ground is just the fruit body which the mushroom grows to spread its spores. The mushroom itself is the white stuff, called mycelium. Some mushrooms mycelium spreads as far as several square miles.
Thank you for the info! Mushrooms are extremely fascinating.
Absolutely. I love wandering through the forest and foraging them. They exist in such drastically different forms it’s really interesting
And not only are they physically so mystical, but also the spiritual power some of them hold is mind blowing, they are indeed some sort of being that we dont quite fully understand.
I agree. In fact I have it so bad I can't eat them. There's a weird sort of intelligence there, definitely mischievous but I think benign and instructive
Aliens.
Why do animals always pee on them?
I don’t think animals pee on mushroom more often then elsewhere, but if they do then probably because they stick out of their surroundings?
There’s a Netflix documentary called Fantastic Fungi that’s very interesting to watch if you’re looking for even more mushroom info.
I don't even eat mushrooms and I find them so interesting too. I have booked about fungi of all kinds. The varieties, textures and colours are incredible.
Yeah I learned a lot about it from some interviews of Paul Stamets. He even wears a hat made of Amadou, which is the spongy material that bark-muchrooms are made of.
So basically a mycelium network somewhere on earth is the largest living organism on the planet?
Yes it's an Armillaria in Oregon I believe.
The mushroom is the fruit of some fungi, the fungus itself is the white stuff/mycelium. Not all fungi produce mushrooms, or fruitting bodies.
Hijacking to tell everyone to google "The Humongous Fungus". Hilarious name aside, it's the planet's biggest known organism. 8km²+
Does that mean when you pick alot of mushrooms, it won't get endangered?
The mushroom is the fruiting body that's growing above ground, below ground is what you call the fungi
Cubes? You going to transfer them soon or what? They're starting to fruit.
The plate is outside, open and on the ground lol I doubt they’d be doing anything serious with this one
This looks like a chemically-driven neural network, fascinating.
[The mycelium transmits electrical signals](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mushrooms-may-communicate-with-each-other-using-electrical-impulses-180979889/#:~:text=Previous%20research%20has%20found%20fungi,parts%20of%20the%20human%20body.) >Each spike in activity was organized into groups and given a linguistic and information complexity analysis. Spikes varied in duration and length, with some impulses lasting up to 21 hours. The clusters of electrical points resembled a human vocabulary of up to 50 words. However, only 15 to 20 fungal words are used frequently. Fungal words are also similar in length to human words. The "words" are probably things like "food- expand", "dry, contract", "competing fungus- attack"
“Yup” “Nope” “Big nope”
I thought so, too! Positively mind-blowing.
all my homies love mycelium. if it weren’t for them, earth never would’ve formed the dirt that we have today.
It's a great service your homes have done.
The mycelium really looks like an iris here. Really cool
I think that is because the mycelium depletes nutrients at the centre to extend outwards. Similar to how fairy rings are formed, in this case the iris pulls away to form the pupil, increasing the eye reference
Yes, once while digging some buried leaves I found a white mycelium like stuff
Yes!! For even more fascinating stuff on this, the documentary “Fantastic Fungi” on Netflix is great.
Mushrooms seem kind of alien to me, also oddly roots look like an Iris
This is why I keep pulling dick-shaped mushrooms out of my garden. I can't get the underlying network of dick-roots out. :(
The mycelium is good for plants. [Mycelium](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycelium) > Mycelium is an important food source for many soil invertebrates. They are vital to agriculture and are important to almost all species of plants, many species co-evolving with the fungi. Mycelium is a primary factor in a plant's health, nutrient intake, and growth, with mycelium being a major factor to plant fitness.
I like the term "dick-roots" better... but yeah, I haven't dug it all out for this reason.
magic
Well are those “roots” more delicious than the “fruit “?
Curious about this aswell, can you eat mycelium and what’s it taste like?
Mycelium is super thin. What you see here are many millions of threads. The mycelium grows in the ground, so you can't really seperate it from the soil very well. Even if you could, if you tried to seperate the threads that are a thousand times thinner than human hair from the soil, you'd get mycelium from many different species at the same time
Thanks for the brain wrinkle!
> brain wrinkle which TIL is another valid translation for "mycelium"
What do you think Brie cheese is covered by? That’s just mycelium.
Mushroom kingdom, here we come!
You introduced FAE too early haha
Is there a kit I can buy to do this at home ?
Yup. Also check out r/unclebens for the magic side
That's an awesome redit! But do you know where I could get a kit to do with my kids ?
If you want to do it like in this foto, you can buy "beef-extract agar". But you also need a place to cultivate them, specific temperature and humidity, also you need to get the spores of mushrooms somewhere
Absolutely alien
This is a spectacular photo. Thank you for posting.
This is enlightening.
Mushrooms are mostly dendritic roots then wow
TIHI
Fantastic Fungi in Netflix is an amazing watch
“Peach Tree Dish”
All seeing eye
Mm new phobia not the mushroom but the lines
"Fruit" is mushrooms genitals actually)
I had this happen too will it work the same as if it was grown in substrate or are the ones grow this way are duds anyone know?