The Mushroom

BIBLE
(3 Books in 1)
Growing Mushrooms + Magic Mushrooms + Healing Power of Mushrooms:
3 Complete Guides to Becoming an Edible and Medical Mushroom Expert
and Starting Cultivation at Home

Richard Korman
 Book 1 – Growing Mushrooms
Table of Content
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS MUSHROOM?
Classification
Etymology
Morphology
Nutrition
Vitamin D
What's The Nutritional Value Of Mushrooms?
Diabetes
Heart Health
In Pregnancy
Other Advantages
CHAPTER TWO: TYPES OF MUSHROOM
Different Types Of Mushrooms
Toxic Mushrooms
Psychoactive Mushrooms
Classifying Mushrooms Determined By The Way They Grow
14 Of The Most Common Mushroom Types
CHAPTER THREE: EDIBLE MUSHROOMS
Commercially Cultivated
CHAPTER FOUR: CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSHROOMS
Physical Attributes
Growing And Ecology
Biology And Reproduction
Poisonous And Pharmacological Outcomes
Descriptive Attributes Of Mushrooms
CHAPTER FIVE: HOW TO STUDY THE FEATURES OF A
MUSHROOM
Contemplating Time And Place
Assessing The Pileus Or Cap
Locating Features Of This Hymenium Or Spore Surface
Assessing The Stipe Or Stem
Considering Growing Patterns And Spores
Fragrant Different Attributes
Determining Odor And Taste
CHAPTER SIX: LEARN EVERYTHING ABOUT MUSHROOM
CULTIVATION AND PROCESSES AND THEIR LIFE CYCLE
The Sensible Way To Increase Mushrooms: Bulk Techniques
Sterile Method: The Secret To Success
Cultivation & Processing
The Mushroom Lifecycle
CHAPTER SEVEN: HOW TO DECIDE THE TYPE OF MUSHROOM
YOU WANT TO GROW IN YOUR HOME
Benefits Of Growing
Right Environment For Mushroom Growing
Preparations To Your Quest On The Best Way To Plant Mushrooms
The Measures Which You Want To Follow In Learning How To Plant
Mushrooms.
How To Plant Mushrooms - Grow Your Own Shiitake Mushrooms In
Home
The Practice Of Learning How To Recover Mushrooms
6 Easy Tips On How To Grow Mushrooms
CHAPTER EIGHT: DIFFERENT STAGES OF MUSHROOM
CULTIVATION ON A LARGE SCALE (MUSHROOM FARMING)
Producing Fresh Compost
CHAPTER NINE: UNDERSTANDING COMMON PROBLEMS FACING
MUSHROOM FARMERS
 Mushroom Economics
Farming Mushrooms: A Troubleshooting Guide
Problem #1: Inoculated, However No Fruit
Problem #2: Growing Mycelium However No Fruit
Problem #3: Substrate Not Producing
Problem #4: Deformities
Problem #5: Spoiling Immediately After Harvest
Eight Reasons Why Your Mushrooms Aren't Growing
CONCLUSION
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Book 2 – Magic Mushrooms

Table of Content
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE
A Concise History of Magic Mushrooms
Return of the Magic Mushroom
Kinds of Magic Mushrooms
Identifying Mushrooms
Mushrooms That Kill
How to Recognize Shrooms
Why do People Use Magic Mushrooms?
CHAPTER TWO
Micro-dosing
Off-Label or Lately Approved Uses
Mushroom Dosages: Hold Your Head
Just how Long Does Psilocybin Stay in Your System?
Tolerance, Dependence, and Withdrawal
Magic Mushrooms and the Law
CHAPTER THREE
Depression
Smoking Cessation As Well As Other Addictions
Cancer-related Emotional Distress
Could Psilocybin be Accepted by the FDA?
Sensory Changes
Altered State of Consciousness
Present Research
Mushrooms Blend For Healthy Living
The Essential Product Benefits
 Magic Mushroom and Your Health
Alcohol Dependence
Smoking cessation
Songs and Psychotherapy
Magic mushrooms and depression
The Pros of Using Magic Mushrooms for Anxiety
Lasting Results
Fast-Acting
Emotional Link
Negative Effects of Antidepressants – Limited Side Effects
The Disadvantages of Using Magic Mushrooms for Anxiety
Limited Alternatives
Unsettling Experiences
Legal Risks
Alternative To Magic Mushrooms For Anxiety Depression and Stress
TMS Treatment As an Alternate Choice
How Do Mushrooms Help Fight Cancer?
CHAPTER FOUR
How Do Mushrooms Grow?
Growing Mushrooms at Home
The Best Place to Grow Mushrooms
6 Easy Tips On The Way To Boost Mushrooms
CONCLUSION
AUTHOR BIO
 Book 3 – Healing Power of Mushrooms

Table of Content
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE: MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
Food And Medicine Since Ancient Times
Effects Of Medicinal Mushrooms
What Are They Used For?
Defense Against Bacteria
Recommendations For Use And Dose For Fungus Supplements
CHAPTER TWO: TYPES OF MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
1. Turkey Tail
What Do We Know As A Turkey Tail Mushroom?
Benefits Of Turkey Tail
How To Use Turkey Tail Fungus?
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
2. Reishi
What Do We Know As The Reishi Mushroom?
Main Characteristics Of The Reishi Mushroom
Benefits And Properties Of Reishi
Consume Of The Reishi Mushroom
Can I Add This Mushroom To My Diet?
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
3. Chaga
Composition Of Chaga
Properties And Effects
How To Consume The Chaga Mushroom?
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
4. Lion’s Mane
Benefits And Medicinal Properties
How To Consume The Lion's Mane?
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
5. Shiitake
Nutrients And Medicinal Elements Of Shiitake
Health Benefits
Shiitake Mushroom Nutrition Table
How To Get Shiitake?
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
6. Cordyceps
What Is Cordyceps Mushroom?
Cordyceps Fungus Benefits
How Can We Consume Cordyceps?
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
7. Maitake
Appearance And Composition
Benefits And Effects Investigated
How To Consume Maitake
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
8. Enokitake
Properties Of Enoki
Enokitake In The Kitchen
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
9. Agarikon
Medicinal Benefits
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
10. Birch Polypore
Macroscopic Description
Medicinal Benefits
Consumption Of The Fungus Birch Polypore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Growing
MUSHROOMS
The Complete Grower’s Guide to Becoming a Mushroom
Expert and Starting Cultivation at Home

Richard Korman

DISCLAIMER
Copyright 2019 by Richard Korman - All rights reserved.
The transmission, duplication or reproduction of any of the following work
including specific information will be considered an illegal act irrespective of
whether it is done electronically or in print.
This extends to creating a secondary or tertiary copy of the work or a
recorded copy and is only allowed with an expressed written consent from
the Publisher. All additional rights reserved.
Additionally, the information in the following pages is intended only for
informational purposes and should thus be thought of as universal. As
befitting its nature, it is presented without assurance regarding its prolonged
validity or interim quality.
The author is not in any way accountable for any results or outcomes that
emanate from using this material. Constructive attempts have been made to
provide information that is both accurate and effective, but the author is not
bound for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information. transmission,
duplication or reproduction of any of the following work including specific
information will be considered an illegal act irrespective of whether it is done
electronically or in print.
This extends to creating a secondary or tertiary copy of the work or a
recorded copy and is only allowed with an expressed written consent from
the Publisher. All additional rights reserved.
Additionally, the information in the following pages is intended only for
informational purposes and should thus be thought of as universal. As
befitting its nature, it is presented without assurance regarding its prolonged
validity or interim quality.
The author is not in any way accountable for any results or outcomes that
emanate from using this material. Constructive attempts have been made to
provide information that is both accurate and effective, but the author is not
bound for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information. here.
 INTRODUCTION
A couple of nontoxic mushrooms have been exceptionally appreciated by
food connoisseurs due to their delicacy and flavor. Having mushrooms in
salads, risotto, and even on pizzas have been a favorite of many. But other
fungi growing in the identical geographic places, amanita species
particularly, are well known to be very toxic to humans in addition to
animals, even if ingested in tiny quantities.
However, it can be readily distinguished from non-toxic mushrooms. Also,
according to the testimony of survivors of intoxication, the flavor of the
poisonous mushroom is quite disgusting.
Yet, there are still instances of fatal intoxication with severe liver failure
which continue to be reported globally. Regrettably, greediness and heedless
curiosity often overshadow caution.
Knowing about mushrooms, deeper than what it tastes like, would lessen the
chances of what was described above. When you know the right mushrooms
to consume, it can be indeed beneficial to the health. Mushrooms presume
significant functions.
They neutralize the dirt as algae perform aquatic systems. Moreover they, for
example, create soil-based vitamins and nutrition utilizable for crops.
They decompose dead organisms so that they are re-fed to the organic cycle
as nourishment. Mushrooms are some of the very few organisms which have
the ability to decompose timber. Thus, they contain chemicals that we don't
find in almost any other foods.
Mushrooms have consistently been quite important for humanity. Aside from
being used as food, as their sanative consequences have been valued for
centuries in Asia and North America.
They have been employed for the very same functions in ancient Egypt and
the Roman Empire. In central Europe, the curative properties of particular
mushrooms were understood before the late middle ages. But the majority of
understanding about medicinal and edible mushrooms seemed to be
forgotten.
The importance of mushrooms becomes immediately obvious when we
consider the end result of nutrient and critical substance deficiencies in
people: exhaustion, headaches, lack of concentration or perhaps illnesses and
ailments.
In light of the above, this guide will not only provide details of the structural
or biological makeup of the fungi, but it will also delve into how to identify
those that are edible and knowing of their benefits to the human body.
Most importantly, the guide will provide many details on how one could
cultivate mushrooms at home (for your own personal use) or as an economic
mainstay.
 CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS MUSHROOM?
A mushroom or even toadstool, is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a
fungus, generally generated over ground, on land or about its own food
resource.
The benchmark for the title "mushroom" is your cultivated white button
mushroom, agaricus bisporus; therefore, the term "mushroom" is often
applied to individual pollutants (basidiomycota, agaricomycetes) who possess
a stem (stipe) and also a cap (pileus), along with gills (lamellae, sing.
Lamella) on the bottom of the cap.
"Mushroom" also describes various other gilled fungi, without stalks and so
the expression is utilized to identify the fruiting bodies of several
ascomycota. These gills create microscopic spores which assist the fungus in
spreading throughout the ground or its inhabitant surface.
Forms deviating from the normal morphology generally have more specific
titles, for example "bolete," "puffball," "stinkhorn," and "morel," and gilled
mushrooms themselves are usually called "agarics" with regard to their own
similarity to agaricus or their sequence agaricales.
By extension, the word "mushroom" may also refer to the whole fungus when
in culture, the thallus (known as mycelium) of species forming the fruiting
bodies called mushrooms or even the species itself.
Identifying mushrooms takes a simple comprehension of the macroscopic
structure. Most are basidiomycetes and are gilled. Their spores, known as
basidiospores, are generated on the gills and fall in a fine rain of powder from
beneath the caps as a result.
On the microscopic level, the basidiospores come from basidia and fall
between the gills and the dead airspace. Because of this, for many
mushrooms, if the cap is cut away and put gill-side-down immediately, a
powdery impression reflecting the form of the gills is shaped,if the fruit is
sporulating.
The color of this powdery print, also called a spore print, is utilized to
classify mushrooms and also can help identify them. Spore print colors
include white (most typical), brown, black, purple-brown, pink, yellow and
cream. However, it was almost never blue, green, white or red.

While contemporary identification of mushrooms is rapidly becoming well-

known, the typical procedures for identification are still employed by many
and have grown into great art, going back to medieval days and also the
Victorian age, along with microscopic examination.
The existence of extracts upon breaking, bruising reactions, scents, tastes,
shades of color, habitat, season, and age are considered by both professional
and amateur mycologists. Tasting and smelling mushrooms include its own
dangers due to poisons and allergens. Chemical tests can also be employed
for a few species.
Generally, identification to genus may frequently be achieved in the field
working with a local mushroom guide. The guide may identify species but
needs more effort in being specific; you must recall that a mushroom
develops out of a button stage into a structure that is mature, and only the
latter could offer specific traits required for the identification of these species.
But over-mature specimens shed attributes and stop producing spores.
Many novices have mistaken humid water marks for white spore prints, or
stained paper out of oozing fluids on lamella borders for colored spore prints.
Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushroom, are essential for
correct mushroom identification.
Classification
Normal mushrooms would be the fruit of all members of this order
agaricales, whose genus type is agaricus and species type is your local
mushroom, agaricus campestris. Nonetheless, in modern molecularly defined
classes, maybe not all members of this order agaricales create mushroom fruit
bodies, and a number of other gilled fungi, jointly known as mushrooms,
occur in different orders of this class of agaricomycetes.
For example, chanterelles are from the cantharellales, false chanterelles like
gomphus are at the gomphales, milk-cap mushrooms (lactarius, lactifluus)
and also russulas (russula). In addition to lentinellus, are of the russulales,
whereas the rough, leathery genera lentinus and panus are one of the
polyporales.
However, neolentinus is of the gloeophyllales, along with the tiny pin-
mushroom genus, rickenella, together with comparable genera, are in the
hymenochaetales.
Within the primary body of mushrooms, there are typical parasites such as
the common fairy-ring mushroom, shiitake, enoki, oyster mushrooms, fly
agarics, and other amanitas, magical mushrooms such as species of psilocybe,
paddy straw mushrooms, and shaggy manes, etc.
 shiitake Mushroom

enoki Mushroom

oyster Mushroom
An irregular mushroom is your lobster mushroom, that can be a misshapen,
cooked-lobster-colored parasitized fruitbody of a russula or lactarius, colored
and deformed from the mycoparasitic ascomycete hypomyces lactifluorum.
 Lobster Mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum)
Other mushrooms aren't gilled, so the expression "mushroom" is widely
utilized, and providing a complete account of the classifications is tough.
Some have pores beneath and therefore are often called boletes; others
possess spines, like the hedgehog mushroom along with other tooth fungi,
etc.
The term "mushroom" has been put to use to describe polypores, puffballs,
jelly fungi, coral fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, and cup fungi.
Therefore, the expression is much more one of frequent application to
macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies compared to just one using exact
taxonomic meaning. Around 14,000 varieties of mushrooms have been
explained.
Etymology
The words "mushroom" and also "toadstool" go back centuries and have been
not exactly described, nor was the meaning of the word consensually applied.
Between 1400 and 1600 AD, the terms mushrom, mushrum, muscheron,
mousheroms, mussheron, or musserouns have been utilized.
The expression "mushroom" and its variants might have been derived from
the French word mousseron with regard to moss (mousse). The delineation
between poisonous and edible fungi isn't straightforward, therefore, a
mushroom could be edible, poisonous or unpalatable.
Cultural or social concerns of fungi and mushrooms could possibly be
associated.
The expression "fungophobia" has been filmed by William Delisle Hay of
England, who noticed that there was a nationwide superstition or fear of
"toadstools”.
The term "toadstool" has obvious analogies in deadly “padde(n)stoel” (toad-
stool/chair mushroom) and German “Krötenschwamm” (toad-fungus, an
alternative term for panther cap).
In western folklore and older fairy tales, toads are usually portrayed sitting on
toadstool mushrooms and grabbing, using their tongues, the flies that are
reportedly attracted to the “fliegenpilz,” a German title for its toadstool,
meaning "the flies' mushroom".
This is one of the ways the mushroom obtained on, of its titles. Krötenstuhl (a
less-used German title to the mushroom), literally translating to "toad-stool."
‘fliegenpilz’ Mushroom
Morphology
A mushroom develops by a nodule, or pinhead, less than two millimeters in
diameter, also known as a primordium. It can be normally found on or close
to the surface of the substrate. It's formed inside the mycelium and also the
bulk of threadlike hyphae which constitute the fungus.

The primordium expands to a roundish arrangement of interwoven hyphae

about resembling an egg, known as a "button." The button has a cottony roll
of mycelium, the universal veil, which encircles the growing fruit body.
As the egg grows, the universal veil ruptures and might stay like a cup or
volva, at the base of the stem, or as warts or even volval patches onto the cap.
Many mushrooms lack a universal veil, so they don't have a volva or even
volval patches.
Frequently, another layer of tissue, the partial veil, covers the bladelike gills
that bear spores. As the cap expands, the veil breaks, and remnants of this
partial veil may stay like a ring, or annulus, around the center of the stem or
as fragments dangling from the margin of the cap.
The ring might be skirt-like like in certain species of amanita, collar-like like
in several species of lepiota or even only the faint remnants of a cortina (a
partial veil consisting of filaments constituting a spiderweb), that is typical of
this genus cortinarius. Mushrooms lacking partial veils don't form an annulus.
The stem (also referred to as the stipe or stalk) could be central and support
the cap at the center, or it might be off-center or lateral, like species of
pleurotus and panus. In other mushrooms, a stem might be absent, as from
the polypores that form shelf-like mounts.
Puffballs lack a stem but might have a supportive base. Other mushrooms,
like truffles, jellies, earthstars, and bird nests, ordinarily don't have stalks, and
a technical mycological language exists to explain their components.
The manner by which the gills connect to the peak of the stem is a significant
feature of mushroom morphology. Mushrooms from the genera agaricus,
amanita, lepiota and pluteus, amongst others, have free gills that don't stretch
to the peak of the stalk. Others also have decurrent gills that stretch down the
stem, like the genera omphalotus and pleurotus.
You will find a large number of variants between the extremes of free and
decurrent, together known as attached gills. Finer distinctions are usually
designed to differentiate the kinds of connected gills: adnate gills, which
adjoin piled into the stem; notched gills, that can be notched in which they
combine to join the top of the stalk; adnexed gills, which curve upwards to
meet the stalk, and so forth.
All these distinctions involving attached gills are occasionally hard to
interpret because gill attachment might change as the mushroom develops or
with distinct environmental problems.
A hymenium is really a coating of trans spore-bearing cells which covers the
surface of gills. From the nongilled mushrooms, then the hymenium traces
the interior surfaces of the tubes of boletes and polypores or covers the teeth
of spine fungi as well as also the branches of corals.
 Gomphus clavatus hymenium

From the ascomycota, spores grow inside microscopic elongated, sac-like

cells known as asci, which normally comprise eight spores in each ascus.
Even the discomycetes, that include the sponge, cup, brain, and a few club-
like fungi, create an exposed layer of asci, according to the interior surfaces
of cup fungi or inside the pits of morels.
The pyrenomycetes, miniature dark-colored fungi that reside on a vast array
of substrates such as dirt, dung, leaf litter, and decaying timber, in addition to
some other fungi, create minute, flask-shaped structures called perithecia,
where the asci grow.
From the basidiomycetes, generally four spores develop on the tips of
projections called sterigmata that extend from club-shaped cells known as
basidia. The fertile part of the gasteromycetes, also referred to as a gleba,
could turn into powdery as at the puffballs or slimy as in the stinkhorns.
Interspersed among the asci are threadlike sterile cells called paraphyses.
Similar structures, known as cystidia, often happen inside the hymenium of
the basidiomycota.
Various kinds of cystidia exist, also appraising their existence, form, and
dimensions are frequently utilized to validate the identification of a
mushroom.
The main microscopic characteristic for the identification of mushrooms
would be the spores. Their color, size, shape, attachment, ornamentation, and
response to chemical tests often may be the crux of a diagnosis.

A spore frequently includes a protrusion at one end, known as an apiculus,

that's the point of attachment into the basidium, termed as the apical germ
pore, where the hypha emerges if the spore germinates.
Most species of mushrooms apparently appear overnight, expanding or
growing quickly. This occurrence is the origin of numerous common
expressions from the English language such as "to mushroom" or even
"mushrooming" (expanding quickly in size or extent ) and also "to pop up
just like a mushroom" (to appear unexpectedly and fast).
In fact, all types of mushrooms require a few days to produce primordial
mushroom fruit bodies, even though they do expand quickly from the
absorption of fluids.
The cultivated mushroom also known as the common field mushroom, has a
minute fruiting body, known as the pin stage due to their size. Slightly
enlarged, they're known as buttons, once again due to the relative size and
shape.
After such phases are created, the mushroom may quickly pull water out of
the mycelium and enlarge, largely by naturally-occurring cells that required a
few days to shape inside the primordia.
Likewise, there are additional mushrooms, such as parasola plicatilis
(previously coprinus plicatlis), which grow quickly overnight and might
vanish by late afternoon on a hot day, following rain.
The primordia type at ground level, in yards in humid areas beneath the
thatch and following heavy rain or at dewy conditions, balloon into full size
in a couple of hours, discharge spores, then fall.
Not all mushrooms develop overnight; some grow quite slowly and add tissue
for their fruiting bodies by simply growing from the edges of the colony or
simply by adding hyphae. For example, pleurotus nebrodensis develops
gradually, and owing to the combination with human collection, it's now
seriously endangered.
Although mushroom fruiting bodies are short-lived, the inherent mycelium
may itself be massive and long-lived. A colony of armillaria solidipes
(previously called armillaria ostoyae) at malheur national forest in the USA is
estimated to be 2,400 years old, and maybe older, and spans over an
estimated 2,200 acres (8.9 km2).
The majority of the parasite is underground and in decaying timber or dying
tree roots in the form of white mycelia together with black shoelace-like
rhizomorphs which bridge colonized separated woody substrates.
Nutrition
Many kinds of mushrooms are edible, and most supply about the very same
amounts of nutrients each serving, irrespective of their size or shape.
Raw brown mushrooms are 92 percent water, four percent carbs, two percent
protein and less than one percent fat. A 100 g (3.5 oz ) amount, uncooked
mushrooms supply 22 calories and are a rich supply (20 percent or greater of
the daily value, dv) of B vitamins, including riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic
acid, zinc (37% dv), and aluminum (25% dv), along with a moderate source
(10-19% dv) of phosphorous, zinc, and potassium (table). They have little or
no Vitamin C and sodium content.
Vitamin D
The Vitamin D content of some mushroom depends upon postharvest
handling, particularly the accidental exposure to sunlight. Meanwhile, the US
department of agriculture has given proof that UV-exposed mushrooms
include considerable quantities of Vitamin D.
When exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, even after harvesting, ergosterol in
mushrooms has been converted into Vitamin D2, a procedure used
intentionally to provide fresh Vitamin D mushrooms to its functional food
grocery marketplace.
At an extensive safety evaluation of generating vitamin D in new
mushrooms, researchers revealed that synthetic UV light technology was
equally effective for vitamin D generation as in mushrooms exposed to
natural sun, which UV light has an extensive record of safe usage for creation
of Vitamin D in foods.
What's The Nutritional Value Of Mushrooms?
Mushrooms contain nourishment, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and also
antioxidants. All of these may have different health benefits. For example,
antioxidants are chemicals that help the body remove free radicals, and the
stem of these shiitake mushrooms is a good supply of beta-glucans.
Free radicals are toxic compounds of metabolism and other physiological
processes. They could accumulate in the human body, and in case a lot of
collection of free radicals, oxidative pressure may result. This can damage the
human body's cells and might contribute to different health conditions.
• Selenium
• Vitamin C
• Choline
The antioxidant material in mushrooms can help prevent lung, breast,
prostate, and other varieties of cancer, as stated by the National Cancer
Institute.
Mushrooms also have a small quantity of vitamin D. There are some signs
that show that dependable source that vitamin D supplementation might help
prevent or treat several sorts of cancer, even though a 2018 report stated that
the result might differ from person to person.
It's worth noting that ingesting a nutrient from a supplement isn't the same as
eating it from the food.
Edible Mushrooms in basket
Diabetes
Dietary fiber can help handle a variety of health ailments, such as type 2
diabetes. Meta-analyses argued that individuals who eat a good deal of fiber
might have a lesser chance of developing type 2 diabetes. For people who
have it, fiber might decrease blood sugar levels.
A cup of chopped, raw mushrooms, weighing 70 g (g), provides nearly 1
gram of fiber.
Mushrooms, legumes, some veggies, brown rice, and whole foods may
contribute to an individual's daily requirement of fiber.
Heart Health
The fibers in mushrooms can result in cardiovascular wellness. Potassium
helps to modulate blood pressure, also this may reduce the danger of
hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Even the American Heart
Association (AHA) support reducing the consumption of additional salt from
the diet and eating more foods that contain potassium.
Folks should eat about 4,700 milligrams (mg) of potassium every day and
mushrooms show up on the AHA's listing of foods that provide potassium.
It was reasoned that individuals treating a Vitamin C deficiency have been
more likely to experience cardiovascular disease and indicated that ingesting
Vitamin C can help prevent this disease.
They didn't find evidence that Vitamin C supplements can cut the probability
of the kind of disease.
In Pregnancy
Many women choose folic acid or folate supplements during pregnancy to
boost fetal wellbeing but mushrooms may also supply folate. A cup of raw
mushrooms comprises 16.3 micrograms (mcg) of folate. Present-day
guidelines recommend that adults have 400 mcg of folate every day.
Other Advantages
Mushrooms are full of B Vitamins, such as:
• Riboflavin or B-2
• Folate or B-9
• Thiamine or B1
• Malic acid or B-5
• Niacin or even B-3
B Vitamins help the body get energy from foods and from red blood cells.
Quite a few B Vitamins also seem to be significant for a healthy mind.
Even the choline in mushrooms might help with muscle building, learning
and memory. Choline aids in keeping the structure of membranes and plays a
part in the transmission of neural impulses. Mushrooms will also be the sole
vegan, nonfortified dietary supply of vitamin D.
Several other nutritional supplements that may be difficult to acquire from a
vegetarian diet such as potassium, selenium, aluminum, iron and calcium are
all available in mushrooms.
 CHAPTER TWO: TYPES OF MUSHROOM
Insert You will find about 2,000 edible types of mushrooms, however, just a
couple are available in the American market.
They include:
• Whitened or "button"
• Brown cremini
• Portobello
• Shiitake
• Oyster
• Wood ear
• Enoki
Seasonal forms available at farmer's markets and a few grocery shops
comprise of:
• Morel
• Chanterelle
Many people today pick wild mushrooms, however, it's imperative to
understand that some are edible but a few contain toxins that are deadly.
Even in the event that you don't own a location to choose wild mushrooms, it
is no issue because mushrooms are cultivated in 60 nations. China, Italy, the
USA, Netherlands, and Poland are the top five manufacturers.
Mushrooms are high in fiber and vitamins. They are very versatile and also a
fantastic supply of protein for vegetarians. With various kinds of mushrooms,
recipes are infinite. Listed below are the most common 10 mushrooms and a
number of their attributes.
Different Types Of Mushrooms
Mushrooms fall into some broad categories and some distinct areas. There's
also quite a little overlap between groups.
1) Cultivated mushrooms
Cultivated mushrooms are all ones that are grown commercially. Mushroom
farmers utilize a range of various strategies and setups to always produce it
for sale. A lot of farmers use very costly gear but I am a large fan of
mushrooms cultivated the low-tech way.
Cultivated mushrooms incorporate any which you will find in the
supermarket like button mushrooms, portobello, cremini, oyster mushrooms,
enoki, along with many others.
2) Wild mushrooms
Wild mushrooms are harvested by mushroom hunters and foragers in person.
Some types of mushrooms just grow on the root systems of particular species
of trees or possess other features that make them almost impossible to
cultivate within large agricultural surroundings.
It is important simply to harvest wild mushrooms should you understand
exactly what you are doing or leave mushroom hunting for a specialist that
may positively identify the types you'll find.
There are lots of poisonous wild mushrooms that appear like edible wild
mushrooms. If you don't understand what differences to search for, do not
consume.
3) Medicinal mushrooms
Some types of mushrooms have been used for their medicinal benefits. These
mushrooms might not always be pleasant to consume but are also made into a
tea or taken in capsules.
Very good cases of medicinal fungi contain reishi, chaga, and turkey tail
mushrooms.
4) Psychoactive mushrooms
Psychoactive mushrooms have been usually called "magic mushrooms."
These capsules also have psychotropic effects. Most include a psychoactive
ingredient known as psilocybin.
5) Poisonous mushrooms
There are a lot of toxic species of mushrooms in the nuts, which explains the
reason why it's extremely important to absolutely identify mushrooms prior
to eating them.
A number of the most toxic species, such as the amanita bisporigera (aptly
called the "destroying angel") seem quite much like edible mushrooms. In
various phases of growth, they can readily be confused with button
mushrooms, puffballs or other edibles.

6) Useful mushrooms
Some types of mushrooms are not ingested in any way but are also used for
different functions. For centuries, individuals in Europe, particularly in
Slovenia and the surrounding region, traditionally used amanita muscaria
mushrooms as fly agaric.
These mushrooms have been high in milk, which then brings flies that
consume the mushroom and then drink the milk and then subsequently die.
Mushrooms can also be used for bioremediation cleaning up the
surroundings. They are in a position to divide oil and other contaminants. The
fungus may also help to make fertilizer.
Toxic Mushrooms
Many mushroom species create secondary metabolites which may be
poisonous, mind-altering, antibiotic, antibacterial or bioluminescent. Even
though there are just a few deadly species, many others may cause especially
unpleasant and severe symptoms.
Toxicity probably plays a part in protecting the purpose of the basidiocarp:
that the mycelium has expended substantial power and protoplasmic
substance to come up with a structure to effectively distribute its pollutants.
Defense against ingestion and early destruction is that the growth of
compounds that leave the cap inedible, either inducing the user to vomit up
the meal (use emetics), or even to learn how to steer clear of ingestion
altogether.
Additionally, because of the propensity of mushrooms to absorb harsh
metals, European mushrooms can be radioactive, as of late 2008, contain
noxiousness in the 1986 Chernobyl tragedy, and is still being researched.
Psychoactive Mushrooms
Mushrooms with psychoactive properties have played a part in various native
medicine customs in cultures all over the globe. They've been utilized as a
sacrament in rituals geared toward physical and mental recovery, and also to
ease visionary conditions.
One such thing is your velada ceremony. A practitioner of conventional
mushroom usage is your shaman or curandera (priest-healer).
Psilocybin mushrooms have psychedelic properties. Commonly called
"magic mushrooms" or even "shrooms," they are publicly accessible in
specialized stores all over the world, or in the black market in many nations
which have outlawed its sale.
Psilocybin mushrooms are reported as producing profound and life-changing
insights frequently called mystical experiences. Recent scientific work has
encouraged these claims, in addition to the long-term ramifications of these
induced spiritual encounters.
Classifying Mushrooms Determined By The Way They Grow
Along with classifying mushrooms like wild, cultivated, poisonous, etc., we
can even arrange them in a more scientific manner – by how they develop
and that which they feed on.
1) Saprotrophic mushrooms
Such mushrooms grow on dead matter. They release antioxidants and
enzymes which split down tissue into smaller portions they can consume and
receive nutrients from it.
Saprotrophic mushrooms can develop on decaying plants, wood, as well as
dead animals. Saprotrophs are still a significant part of the food chain and are
a large reason why there is no dead thing laying on the ground. These
mushrooms exude dead material into fertilizer and soil.
Saprotrophs incorporate a number of the most typical mushrooms we have
discussed thus far. These include oysters, button mushrooms, shiitake, reishi,
morels, puffballs, enoki and much more.
2) Mycorrhizal mushrooms
All these are mushrooms that have a symbiotic relationship with trees and
other crops. The mycelium (essentially the origins of mushrooms) put
themselves to the roots of different plants.
The mushrooms provide more moisture along with other nutrients into the
crops they pair with. In return, the plant provides them sugars in return.
We are only now beginning to learn what a massive advantage mycorrhizal
fungi have on plants. They let them develop more powerful, larger, and
quicker. Some common mycorrhizal mushrooms include truffles, porcini,
chanterelles, and matsutake.
3) Parasitic mushrooms
Contrary to mycorrhizal mushrooms, the parasitic mushrooms only take and
do not give back anything. Given sufficient time, a parasitic mushroom will
fully infect its host plant and then kill it. Some parasitic mushrooms include
chaga, lion's mane and honey fungus.
Parasitic mushrooms do not just limit themselves to plants and trees,
however. The caterpillar fungus (cordyceps sinesis) preys on insects, killing
them and finally growing from their brains!
4) Endophytes
Endophytic fungi are still a little of a mystery to scientists. They invade plant
cells such as an organism that is parasitic. However, the plant remains
healthy and appears to obtain a heightened immunity to illness and also
absorbs nutrients more readily.
But endophytes can also be considered mycorrhizal because they are
sometimes cultivated with no host plant to develop indoors as well. A few
endophytes make mushrooms, while some never originate from their host
until it expires.
There's still a great deal of research going on surrounding endophytes and it
is anticipated that some saprophytic or parasitic parasites will probably be
recategorized as endophytes in the long run.
14 Of The Most Common Mushroom Types
1) White button mushroom
Also called: cultivated mushroom, table, button mushroom and champignon
mushroom.
Agaricus bisporus is an edible mushroom that includes two color states –
brown and white – both of which have different names. When older, it's
called portobello mushroom. White button mushroom is the young and white
selection. It is the most frequently common and mildest-tasting out of all of
the mushroom kinds.
Ninety percent of the mushrooms we all consume are of the variety. Its taste
is light (mild), which makes it more versatile in cooking. It may be eaten raw
or cooked also functions well in sauces, stews, salads, also on pizzas.

2) Crimini mushroom
Also called: (if immature and brownish) agaricus bisporus; it could possibly
be called cremino mushroom, swiss brown mushroom, roman brown
mushroom, Italian brown mushroom, classic brown mushroom or chestnut
mushroom.
Criminis are young portobello mushrooms, also marketed as baby
portobellos. Plus, they are only older white button mushrooms. The names
crimini and white button mushrooms have been deemed synonymous. They
are alike in shape but might be slightly larger in size and darker in color.
Crimini possesses a light shade of brown.

3) Portobello mushroom
Additionally called: field mushroom or open cap mushroom. Mushrooms of
this type are as broad as the palm of the hand. Portobello mushrooms are
compact in texture and have a rich flavor. In Italy, they are used in sauces and
pasta and produce a fantastic meat substitute.
Moreover, if you would like a bread/bun substitute, then it is possible to even
use the mushroom's flat cap. They are also ideal for grinding and grilling.
4) Shiitake mushroom
Also called: shitake, black forest, black winter, brown oak, Chinese black,
black mushroom, oriental dark, forest mushroom, golden oak and donko.
Shiitake are mushrooms that grow mostly in Japan, China, and Korea, that
can be just one reason they're so predominant in Asian cuisine. In Japan,
shiitake means “oak fungus,” but nowadays most shiitakes are cultivated.
They have a light woodsy taste and odor, although their dried counterparts
are somewhat more intense. They're meaty and salty and may be utilized to
top meat dishes to improve sauces and soups. Shiitake are available both
dried and fresh.
5) Oyster mushroom
Also called: pleurotus, tree oyster, angel's wings, pleurotte en huître, and
abalone mushroom.
Oyster mushrooms are a few species of pleurotus, and they are sometimes
located in the wild, growing on either side of trees. Nowadays, they are some
of the most frequently cultivated edible mushrooms on the planet. The king
trumpet mushroom would be the biggest species in the mushroom genus.
They are simple to cook and also provide a delicate and sweet taste. They are
used especially in stir-fry or sauté, as they're always thin and will cook more
evenly than other mushrooms.
6) Enoki mushroom
Also called: enokitake, enokidake, futu mushroom, winter mushrooms,
winter fungus, gold needle mushroom or lily mushroom.
Enoki mushrooms are available as fresh or canned. Experts recommend
eating fresh enoki specimens with white, firm, glistening caps, instead of
those who have slimy or brown stalks which are best prevented. They are
great eaten raw and they are common in Asian cooking. Since they are crisp,
they hold up well in sauces and also go well in salads; however, you might
also use them in different dishes.
7) Chanterelle mushroom
Also called: golden, yellow, chanterelle, egg mushroom, girolle, and
pfifferling.
Chanterelles are among the very popular species of mushrooms. They're
orange, yellow or white, meaty and trumpet-shaped. Since they are difficult
to grow, chanterelles foraged from the wild. They are common in several
European restaurants, such as British and French, and are also native to the
USA.
Some species possess a sweet odor, others a woody, earthy odor and others
may even be spicy. They're delicate in texture and flavor, work nicely cooked
or sautéed in oil, butter or cream. It's possible to use them as a beginner
topping, on bruschetta or you may combine them with eggs. They go nicely
in soufflés, cream soups, sauces or even pasta.
There are black trumpet mushrooms, also referred to as black chanterelle,
horn of plenty or trumpet of those dead. Black trumpets possess a rich, sweet
taste and notes with a dark truffle mushroom after dried.
8) Porcini mushroom
Also called: porcino mushroom, cèpe, bolete, king bolete, borowik, Polish
mushroom, steinpilz, stensopp, or penny bun.
A meaty mushroom much like the portobello, the porcini is a mushroom
frequently utilized in Italian cuisine. Its taste is described as nutty and slightly
tender, having a smooth, creamy texture and a distinctive aroma reminiscent
of sourdough.
Fresh porcinis are not as easy to see in the USA. However, dried ones can
easily be reconstituted by soaking in warm water for 15 minutes prior to
cooking with them. They are good sautéed using butter, ground into pasta, in
sauces, risottos, also in a number of different dishes.
They're also among those very few mushroom species that are pickled and
marketed commercially.
9) Shimeji mushroom
Also called: many species are marketed as shimeji mushrooms, such as buna-
shimeji.
Shimeji should be cooked: it is not a fantastic mushroom to be eaten raw
because of a somewhat sour flavor. Its bitterness disappears entirely after
being cooked, along with the mushrooms’ somewhat nutty in flavor.
This is only one of the mushroom kinds that functions nicely in stir-fried
dishes, even in sauces, stews and sauces.
10) Morel mushroom
Also called: morchella. Out of the mushroom kinds, these fungi possess a
honeycomb look in their cap. Morels are valued by gourmet burgers,
especially in French cuisine, as they're super flavorful and tasty.
Because of problems in farming, industrial harvesting of wild morels has
changed into a multimillion-dollar sector from the northern hemisphere,
particularly North America, Turkey, China, the Himalayas, India, along with
Pakistan, in which those highly prized mushrooms can be found in
abundance.
11) Maitake mushroom
Alternate titles: hen of the wood, sheepshead mushroom, ram's head,
kumotake and dancing mushroom.
Attributes: At a distance, this mushroom can seem like a head of cabbage.
Cultivated or found in the forests, these mushrooms are usually sold in
clusters with their delicate, feathery caps overlapping. This mushroom has an
earthy odor and a gamy taste and is indigenous to the northeast United States
and Japan.
They develop wild south east of the Mississippi river in August and
September.
12) Beech mushroom
Alternate names: buna shimeji, beech brown mushroom, and clamshell
mushroom.
Attributes: cooked, these brown-capped clusters are somewhat crunchy with
a sweet nuttiness. Raw, nevertheless, they taste bitter.
13) King trumpet mushroom
Alternate titles: king oyster, trumpet royale, ali'i oyster, boletus of this
steppes, king brown mushroom, French horn mushroom, and king brown
mushroom.
It is about the thick, meaty stalk on this mushroom.
14) Hedgehog mushroom
Alternate titles: sweet tooth, wood hedgehog.
Attributes: having a sweet odor and flavor, it seems sensible that this
mushroom can also be referred to as the "sweet tooth" (unless your
mushroom is more mature -- it may have a sour taste).
Crunchy, nutty, and meaty, this mushroom taste quite like a chanterelle. This
mushroom develops in sunlight around the west coast.
 CHAPTER THREE: EDIBLE MUSHROOMS
Edible mushrooms are the most fleshy and edible fruit bodies of many
species of macrofungi (fungi that bear fruiting structures that are big enough
to be observed with the naked eye). They could appear either underground
(hypogeous) or above ground (epigeous) in which they could possibly be
picked by hand.
Edibility might be characterized by standards that include a lack of poisonous
effects on people and the desired flavor and aroma.
Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutrient and culinary value.
Mushrooms, particularly dried shiitake, are sources of umami taste from
guanylate.
Mushrooms consumed by people practicing folk medication are referred to as
herbal mushrooms. While psychedelic mushrooms have been sometimes
eaten for recreational or entheogenic functions, they could create
psychological effects and are not generally used as food.
There's no evidence from high quality clinical studies that “medicinal”
mushrooms have some impact on human ailments.
Edible mushrooms incorporate many fungal species that are either harvested
wild or cultivated. Easily cultivated and common wild mushrooms are
usually accessible, and the ones that are more challenging to obtain
(including the precious truffle, matsutake, and morel) could be gathered to a
lesser scale by personal gatherers.
Some preparations may leave particular poisonous mushrooms fit for
consumption.
Before supposing that any wild mushroom is edible, it needs to be identified.
Accurate determination and appropriate identification of a species is the only
secure approach to guarantee edibility, and also safeguard against potential
harm.
Some foods that are edible for many folks can lead to allergic reactions in
certain people, and older or improperly preserved specimens can lead to food
poisoning. Great care must, therefore, be taken after ingesting some other
fungus for the very first time and tiny quantities must be swallowed in the
event of allergies.
Deadly poisonous mushrooms, which are often confused with edible
mushrooms and responsible for several fatal poisonings, include many
species of genus amanita, particularly, amanita phalloides, “the death cap.”
It's therefore superior to eat just a few, readily identifiable species, more than
to experiment.
Additionally, even raw species of mushrooms could possibly be harmful, as
mushrooms growing from contaminated locations can collect pollutants like
heavy metals.
Commercially Cultivated
Mushroom farming has a very long history, with more than twenty species
commercially cultivated. Mushrooms are currently cultivated in 60 countries
[8] using China, the USA, Netherlands, France, and Poland being the best
five manufacturers in 2000.
A fraction of the numerous fungi consumed by people is cultivated and
marketed commercially. Industrial farming is significant, since there are
worries of depletion of fungi such as chanterelles from Europe, maybe
because the genus has grown very popular.
Nevertheless, it remains a struggle to cultivate. Here are some examples of
commercially farmed mushrooms:
• Agaricus bisporus is the most edible mushroom in the marketplace
of North America and Europe, in many forms. It's an edible
basidiomycete shrub native to grasslands from Europe and North
America. As it ages, this mushroom transforms from small, smooth
and white to big and pale brown. In its form, it's referred to as the
common mushroom, “button mushroom,” cultivated mushroom, also
champignon mushroom. Its completely adult form is called
portobella. Its semi-mature type is called cremini, baby-bella, swiss
brownish fungus, roman brownis fungus, Italian brownish
mushroom or chestnut fungus.
• Pleurotus and particularly pleurotus ostreatus, the "oyster
mushrooms," are one of the most frequent in the Asian marketplace.
• Lentinula edodes, the shiitake mushroom, also sold in the Asian
marketplace.
• Auricularia auricula-judae, the Jew’s ear, timber jelly or ear
mushroom.
• Volvariella volvacea, the paddy straw mushroom or straw
mushroom.
• Flammulina velutipes, the enoki mushroom, golden needle
mushroom, fish mushroom, lily mushroom, winter , velvet foot,
 velvet shank or velvet stem.
• Tremella fuciformis, the snow bacterium, snow ear, silver ear
parasite and white strand coriander.
• Hypsizygus tessellatus, aka hypsizygus marmoreus, the beech
mushroom, also known because of its own white and brown varieties
like bunapi-shimeji and buna-shimeji, respectively.
• Stropharia rugosoannulata, the wine cover mushroom, burgundy
tree, backyard giant mushroom or king stropharia.
• Cyclocybe aegerita, the pioppino, velvet pioppini, black or fawn
poplar mushroom.
• Hericium erinaceus, the lion's mane, fighter mind, citrus enamel,
satyr's fungus, citrus hedgehog or pom mushroom.
Commercially harvested wild edibles
Some species are difficult to cultivate; many others (especially mycorrhizal
species) haven't yet been successfully cultivated.
A number of those species have been harvested in the wild and can be located
in markets. When in season, they can be bought fresh and are offered dried
too.
These species are generally harvested in the wild:
• Boletus edulis or raw boletus, indigenous to Europe, referred to as
Italian fungo porcino (plural “porcini”) (pig mushroom ), in western since
steinpilz (rock mushroom ), in western as Russian: белый гриб, tr. Bely grib
(white mushroom); in Albania as (wolf mushroom), in early since the cèpe
and in the UK since the cent bun. Additionally, it is referred to as the king
bolete, also is famous for its yummy flavor. It's sought after globally, also
may be discovered in an assortment of culinary dishes.
• Calbovista subsculpta, popularly called the sculptured giant puffball, is
now a frequent puffball of the rocky mountains along with pacific coast
collections of western North America. The puffball is less or more round,
having a diameter up to 15 cm, white getting brown old, and coated with
shallow pyramid-shaped plates. It fruits separately or in groups across roads
and in open forests at high elevations, from summer to fall. It's regarded as a
choice edible species, whereas its inside flesh (that the gleba) remains white
and firm. Since the puffball evolves, its insides turn into dark brown and
invisibly aging spores.
• Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball. Giant puffballs are regarded as a
selected edible species and are generally seen in meadows, areas and
deciduous woods generally in late summer and fall. It's located in temperate
regions across the world. They could attain diameters up to 150 centimeters
(59 in) and weights of 20 kilograms (44 pounds). The interior of adult
puffballs is greenish brown, whereas the inside of immature puffballs will be
whitened. The big white mushrooms are edible when young.
• Cantharellus cibarius (that the chanterelle), the yellow chanterelle. It is
just one of the very best and most readily recognizable mushrooms, which
can be located in Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia. You can find
poisonous mushrooms that resemble it, even though these may be mutually
distinguished if one is knowledgeable about the chanterelle's distinguishing
attributes.
• Craterellus tubaeformis, the tubing chanterelle, yellow foot chanterelle
or yellow-leg.
• Clitocybe nuda, blewit (or even blewitt).
• Cortinarius caperatus, the gypsy mushroom (lately transferred from
genus rozites).
• Craterellus cornucopioides, trompette de la mort (trumpet of departure)
or horn of plenty.
• Grifola frondosa, famous in Japan as maitake (additionally "hen of the
woods" or "sheep's mind"), is a big, hearty mushroom usually located near or
on stumps and foundations of pine trees. It is considered to have macrolepiota
procera properties.
• Gyromitra esculenta, this "false morel" is prized by the Finns. This
mushroom is fatally poisonous if eaten raw, however, highly edible when
parboiled.
• Hericium erinaceus, also a tooth sighting; additionally known as "lion's
mane mushroom."
• Hydnum repandum, sweet tooth disease, hedgehog fungus or hedgehog
fungus, the urchin of those forests.
• Lactarius deliciosus, saffron milk cap; consumed around the globe and
precious in Russia.
• Morchella species, (morel household ) morels belong into the
ascomycete group of fungi. They are normally located in open scrub,
woodland or open ground in late spring. When collecting this particular
fungus, care has to be taken to differentiate it by the noxious false morels,
such as gyromitra esculenta. The morel has to be cooked prior to eating.
• Morchella conica var. Deliciosa.
• Morchella esculenta var. Rotunda.
• Pleurotus ostreatus, oyster mushroom.
• Tricholoma matsutake, the matsutake, a mushroom highly prized in
western cuisine.
• Tuber, species, (the truffle), truffles have eluded the contemporary
methods of domestication called trufficulture. Even though the area of
trufficulture has considerably expanded since its beginning in 1808, many
species still stay uncultivated.
Domesticated truffles comprise of:
- Tuber aestivum, black summer truffle
- Tuber borchii
- Tuber brumale
- Tuber indicum, Chinese black truffle
- Tuber macrosporum, smooth black truffle
- Tuber mesentericum, the black truffle
 CHAPTER FOUR: CHARACTERISTICS OF
MUSHROOMS
Insert Mushroom species can vary greatly, such as Amanita muscaria into the
edible Lentinula edodes or shiitake mushroom. But there are a few
characteristics common to the varied species which set them aside from other
lifeforms on earth, like their limits, their growth and the way in which they
reproduce.
On the same note, several mushrooms seem similar enough to fool humans
into believing they're safe for ingestion, while they actually contain toxins
that are deadly.
Physical Attributes
Most mushrooms possess a stem, also known as a cap, that can be normally
disc-shaped. At the bottom of the cap – particularly in edible species that you
find in the grocery store – you will observe a string of closely spaced slits,
known as gills; more accurately, this distance could be occupied by follicles.
Mushrooms vary considerably in the size and color, and a number of these,
like puffballs, do not adapt to the stalk-and-cap form. The parent organism of
mushrooms, also known as a mycelium, is located under the land, and also
one of them can cover up to 1,500 acres.
Growing And Ecology
Mushrooms can flourish in various areas – in yards, close or around the
surface of plants, in compost piles or from your own garden. Since they lack
the cerebral systems of plants and animals to transport nutrients and water,
they have to develop in moist environments.
Most mushroom species possess no beneficial impact on neighboring plants.
Many are decomposers of crops, especially of timber; because of this, we
frequently cultivate them accidentally.
Other species, though, can only increase in the existence of particular crops
and conversely, and also the association between both is categorized as a
"mycorrhizal" a single.
Many species, like armillaria and marasmius, may be bad for the plants
within their center; for instance, the mycelia of particular offenders can
prevent water from reaching the roots of crops with shallow root systems.
Biology And Reproduction
As flowering plants create pollen or seeds, mushrooms create spores. In
reality, distributing these microscopic components is the only real reason the
mushroom part of the fungi organism exists in the first place.
A single adult mushroom can produce around trillions of individual
contaminants, which attest to the nice dark dust coat of the gills or stalks
from puffballs.
Most mushrooms come in among two (2) phyla, basidiomycota or even
ascomycota. The principal distinction between them is the way their
individual spores grow.
"Basidios" are more prevalent and contain all of the mushrooms with gills, a
lot of which are recognizable edible mushrooms, like the shiitake. Ascos, on
the flip side, have spores in miniature cup-like pockets called asci.
Poisonous And Pharmacological Outcomes
One kind of mushroom, amanita phalloides, is accountable for the vast
majority of mushroom-ingestion-related deaths in people and is suitably
called the common death cap. Sadly, this plain-looking specimen bears a
strong physical resemblance to quite a few benign species.
Moreover, some forms of mushrooms, such as numerous species from the
genus psilocybe, may create hallucinations and other results on the mind;
even though none of those effects are thought to be long-lasting, the
ownership of them is prohibited from the U.S. and different areas of the
world.
Descriptive Attributes Of Mushrooms
Mushrooms belong to this category of plants known as fungi and the analysis
of fungi as a specialization, is called mycology. Like experts in other
biological areas, mycologists have a group of descriptors that they use to
consult with the numerous characteristics of the subjects. Unlike trees and
other crops, where the above-ground or observable parts are the biggest
components, a mushroom is simply the fruiting body of a larger organism
that's mostly concealed from view. The big portion of a tree is hidden beneath
the ground surface or inside decomposing materials like rotting leaves or
trees.
Cap
The cover, or pileus, as mycologists call it, is possibly the most conspicuous
feature for a mushroom. A compound termed as the universal veil
encompasses the growing cap and the remainder of a mushroom that's from
the young or immature phase. The form that the mushroom chooses in the
button point is a little reminiscent of an egg. Since the shrub develops and
opens, the universal veil ruptures, and portions of it can cling to the cap, and
occasionally in the shape of warts in some specific sorts of mushrooms.
At the underside of this cap is really a coating with gills, a similar variant.
Those structures endure and discharge spores for reproduction. Another
membrane, known as the tight veil, may offset for the cap's bottom. It
ruptures, also, and portions of it can stay when the mushroom remains
completely accessible.
Stipe
The expression stipe is utilized to refer to the mushrooms' stem. The stipe
might have an assortment of features, based upon the mushroom's species.
Some mushrooms comprise of an annulusring or ring, that can be really a
remnant of the partial veil which covered the cap bottom's gills since the
mushroom created.
A version of the annulus would be the cortina remnants, which are like the
annulus, however, it has a tight veil that is much more web like compared to
membranous. In certain mushrooms that possess pores instead of gills
beneath their caps, the stipe can exhibit a netlike pattern known as the
reticulum.
In the base of the stipe is the mushroom's foundation. The foundation might
be somewhat bloated or club-shaped or it might be less or more directly. As
the cap can exhibit the life of the widespread veil, the foundation of a few
mushrooms is partly surrounded by remains of that universal veil; these are
like cuplike structures, also known as the volva, where the foundation rests.
Mycelium
Because mushrooms aren't plants, they do not have origins. Their tissue is
created from broad networks of nice threads called hyphae, using just one
ribbon being a hypha. Mycologists utilize the expression “mycelium” to spell
out a whole system of hyphae. Mycelial ribbons or hyphae extending out of
the mushroom's foundation anchor the mushroom and also to link it to its
own nutrient and water provides. Though certain sorts of mushrooms are
either parasitic, dangerous or even fatal to crops, many types are mycorrhizal,
forming a symbiotic relationship with all the roots of plants, trees and other
crops. The connection is advantageous for both the mushrooms along with
the crops.
Spores
Like other creatures, mushrooms possess characteristics or attributes
individuals can observe with the unaided eye or visible only under
magnification. Spore features are among the microscopic crucial
characteristics that mycologists see when differentiating mushrooms. When
celebrating spores, mycologists start looking for attributes like color, shape,
dimensions, and surface construction, such as if the surface is smooth or
spiny.
Mushroom, the perceptible umbrella-shaped fruiting body (sporophore) of
specific fungi, normally of the order agaricales from the phylum
basidiomycota but also of a few other bands. Popularly, the term mushroom
is utilized to recognize the raw sporophores; the word toadstool is frequently
reserved for inedible or poisonous sporophores.
However, there are no scientific distinctions between the two titles and can be
suitably applied to some fungus fruiting construction. In a really limited
sense, mushroom suggests the typical edible fungus of areas and meadows
(agaricus campestris). An extremely closely related species, A bisporus is the
mushroom that is grown profoundly and found in certain areas.
Umbrella-shaped sporophores are found mostly from the agaric household
(agaricaceae), members of that bear lean, bladelike gills on the undersurface
of the cap where the spores are drop. The sporophore of an agaric includes a
cap (pileus) plus a stem (stipe). The sporophore stems in the extensive
underground network of threadlike strands (mycelium).
A good illustration of an agaric is the honey mushroom (armillaria mellea).
Mushroom mycelia can endure hundreds of years or even perish in a couple
of months, depending on the available food source. Provided that
nourishment is accessible, and humidity and temperatures are appropriate, a
mycelium can make a new harvest of sporophores every year through its
fruiting period.
Fruiting bodies of a few mushrooms happen in arcs or bands known as fairy
rings. The mycelium begins from a spore decreasing at a favorable place and
generating strands (hyphae) that develop out from all directions, finally
forming a round mat of underground hyphal threads. Fruiting bodies, made
near the border of the mat, can extend the ring for centuries.
A couple of mushrooms belong to this purchase boletales, that keep pores
within a readily removable coating on the bottom of the cover. Even the
agarics and boletes include the majority of the types called mushrooms. Other
types of fungi are regarded as mushrooms. One of these would be the
hydnums or even hedgehog mushrooms, which include teeth, spines or warts
in the undersurface of the cap (e.g., dentinum repandum, hydnum
imbricatum) or in the ends of branches (e.g., H. coralloides, hericium caput-
ursi).
The polypores, shelf fungi or mount fungi (order polyporales) have tubes
beneath the cap from the boletes, however, they're not in a readily separable
coating. Polypores generally grow on dead or living trees, occasionally as
harmful pests. A few renew growth every year and therefore create annual
growth layers so that their age could be anticipated.
Cases include the dryad's saddle (polyporus squamosus), the beefsteak fungus
(fistulina hepatica), the sulfur parasite (P. sulphureus), also the artist's disease
(ganoderma applanatum or even fomes applanatus) varieties along with
species of this genus trametes. Even the clavarias or team compounds (e.g.,
clavaria, ramaria), are shrublike, clublike or coral-like in growth habit.
One club stool, the candida bacterium (sparassis crispa), has flattened
clustered branches that lie close together, providing the overall look of the
berry.
Even the cantharelloid fungi (cantharellus and its relatives) are golf, cone or
trumpet-shaped mushroom like forms having an enlarged top posture,
coarsely folded ridges across the bottom and descending across the stem.
Cases include the prized raw chanterelle (C. cibarius) along with the horn-of-
plenty mushroom (craterellus cornucopioides).
Puffballs (family lycoperdaceae), stinkhorns, earthstars (some sort of
puffball), along with bird's nest fungi are often treated together with all the
mushrooms.
Even the morels (morchella, verpa) and false morels or lorchels (gyromitra,
helvella) of the phylum ascomycota are broadly contained with the authentic
mushrooms due to their form and fleshy arrangement; they resemble a
profoundly folded or amalgamated cone like sponge near the peak of a stem.
Some are one of the most highly prized edible fungi (e.g., morchella
esculenta). Another type of ascomycetes contains the cup fungi, using a
cuplike or even dish-like fruiting arrangement that is occasionally highly
colored.
 CHAPTER FIVE: HOW TO STUDY THE
FEATURES OF A MUSHROOM
Insert Identification of wild mushrooms may seem daunting and needs to be
approached with care. Observing this listing, you'll have the ability to find
fundamental characteristics that are required to correctly identify mushrooms.
It is possible to use this guide for a listing of things to assess and document
when faced with an alien species.
The identification of mushrooms is also a wonderful hobby to improve hikes,
and appropriate knowledge can make it possible for you to forage choice
edibles you will encounter.
This doesn't substitute for research on the region and in-depth understanding
of mosquito species.
Contemplating Time And Place
a. Discover what foods you'd expect to find according to your
place and time.

Explore what foods are obviously located in your part of the world; this is
going to narrow your listing of potential species tremendously. Make note of
the time of season and temperature. Some mushrooms are just located in a
specific period (spring/summer/fall/winter).

b. Locate exactly what the fungus is growing on:

• Organic thing
• Through foliage litter
• Compost
• Soil
• On timber:
- Live or sterile wood
- Hardwood or softwood
• Species of shrub
c. Determine when the mushroom is located in association with
one or several tree species. This may mean it's a mycorrhizal
or even a parasitic fungus. Mycorrhizal fungi are related to
the root system of trees and also will be discovered across the
bases of trees, even extending out. This is sometimes tricky
to discern, particularly if the number of specimens is reduced.

• Mycorrhizal fungi will increase in a normal, outward

pattern in the tree's foundation.
• Mycorrhizal fungi can produce tethered fairy circles
around the bottom of dead or live trees.
 • Parasitic fungi will grow at the bottom of this tree, onto the
timber.
• Know your place and types of mushrooms that grow there.
• Fungal networks may endure after a tree has died.
d. Check what environment you are in as certain species need particular
environments to develop.
• Meadow
• Wetlands/floodplains
• Moist or arid Field of woods
• What kind of woods they are in (deciduous/conifer/ mixed)
• Sandy or arid states
• Coastal areas
Assessing The Pileus Or Cap
a. Examine the form of this cap. Notice the maturity of the mushroom.
• Convex – A sleek, dome-like cap.
• Hemispherical/Ovoid – just like half of an egg.
• Campanulate – Bell-shaped.
• Conical – Cone-like in look.
• Umbonate – Using a fundamental umbo (a curved bulge ) and
horizontal cap.
• Umbilicate – Having a fundamental round melancholy, such as
the opposite of umbonate.
• Papillate – Using a sharp bulge in the middle of the cover.
• Funnel – Steep central depression forming a funnel.
• Sunken – Cap gloomy, with margins greater than the heart.
• Horizontal – A planar cap.
• Cylindrical – Rounded shirt with a very long vertical cap (e.g.
shaggy mane).
• Bracket – Shelf-like limits growing on timber; normally fan-
shaped.
• Spherical – Entirely around; just found in puffballs and
unbroken volva.

b. Examine that the cross-sectional cap edge/margin. Notice the way the
cap and spore surface fulfill.
• Straight – End of this cap onto precisely the exact same
airplane; not any curve.
 • Incurved/Downturned – Edge of the cover arch down.
• Recurved/Upturned – End of this cap arch upward.
• Involute – Edge of the cover curled down.
• Revolute – End of this cap curled upwards.
• Rounded – Edge of the cover round.
• Sterile – If the edge of this cap runs beyond the spore surface.

c. Examine the overview of this perimeter.

• Entire/Smooth – Unbroken outline.
• Scalloped – The lead of this mushroom has a pattern of
semicircles.
• Striate – Brief, parallel ridges.
• Lobed – Margins cleave inward, such as the lobes onto foliage.
• Sinuate – Wavy boundaries.
• Cracked/Rimose – Splits from the cap together margin.
• Appendiculate – Together with tissue dangling off the
perimeter.

d. Examine the look and feel of the cap .

• Smooth—Smooth to the touch.
• Velvety—Tiny hairs that are delicate to touch.
• Scales—Shut to overlapping fibers onto the cap, including
scales.
• Corrugated—Wrinkled in feel and look.
• Hairy—Fibrous; it could be a bit shaggy.
• Areolate—A busted pattern, very similar to paint.
• Warts—Remains of a classic veil scatter the surface.
• Viscid—Moist and slimy (frequently stands out).
• Waxy—Cap coated in a smooth outer coating.
• Zonate—Concentric bands of color (e.g. turkey tail).
Locating Features Of This Hymenium Or Spore Surface
a. Look at the bottom of your own specimen and find the spore surface.
Notice its look. The most frequent kinds are:
• Lamellae—Gills around the bottom; comparatively delicate
and thin.
• Pores—A spongy coating with tubes, that may be regarded as
holes.
• Teeth—Icicle-like structures that hang down.
• False Gills—Flesh ridges about the hymenium; may seem just
like gills (e.g. chanterelle).
• Gleba—The inside spore-producing flesh of puffballs.
b. Locate at which the gills fulfill the stem and notice the process of
attachment.
• Free—Gills don't reach the stem.
• Adnexed—Gills attach just in which the stem and cover meet.
• Adnate—Attached to stalk for the complete width of this gill
(directly).
• Decurrent—Gills run down the stem.
• Collarium—Gills don't reach stalk but are connected by a
round collar.
• Sinuate—Solid top notch at the gills before marginally going
down the stem.
c. Check that the gills to see how they're laid out beneath the cap. Are
they:
• Crowded—Gills in close proximity.
• Close—Gills close together but with all defined spacing
between.
• Subdistant—Gills spread out reasonably.
• Distant—Enormous space differences between the gills.
Assessing The Stipe Or Stem
a. Determine the standing of stem. Examine the bottom at which the clog
and stem meet.
• Central--Situated in the middle of the cover.
• Excentric--Offset into the middle of this cap.
• Lateral--Stem situated in accord with the cap (not
perpendicular ).
• Sessile--Stem maybe not current.

b. Determine the form of this stem. Be certain to find the foundation,

which might be covered or underground.
• Equal—Equal width down the stem.
• Clavate—Stem slowly gets bigger at the bottom, including a
bar.
• Bulbous—Base of the stem, frequently coated, looks like an
onion.
• Volva—Cup-like sac at the bottom of the stem (stays of a
worldwide veil).
• Tapered—Stem gets thinner towards the foundation.
• Radicating—A stalk using a slender root-like structure at the
bottom.

c. Analyze the feel and look of the stem. Notice the color and some other
surface features. Stem texture is frequently vital in boletes (stem and cover
mushrooms together with pores).
• Smooth—smooth to the touch.
 • Scabers--Little stubble-like fibers across the stem; identify the
color.
• Glandular Dots--Pigmented dots around the stem, also an
integral characteristic in differentiating Suillus mushrooms.
• Scales--A wart-like or scaly design.
• Reticulate--A net-like or weathered look on the stem.

d. Examine the inside. Using a sharp knife, make an incision across the
length of the stem and then also the cap if necessary; the aim is to see the
cross-section of this mushroom.
• Strong – Consistency.
• Tubular—Hollow tubing through the center.
• Hollow—Lean walls.
• Fibrous—A thread-like interior.

e. Locate the tight veil, in the event present. A veil covers the
mushroom's spore surface if young and rips in adulthood, frequently leaving
evidence. This isn't a characteristic in most mushrooms. Look around the
stem and then find any remains of a veil; even the stays can take unique
forms like:
• Sheath—Extension of stalks’ outer coating; sticks like a vase.
• Twist Zone—A markers or helpless ring made from the tight veil.
• Flaring—Stiff ring sticks out.
• Pendant—Skirt-like ring.
• Cortinate—Cobweb-like fibers.
• Slimy—Many mushrooms possess a coating of slime for a veil.
Considering Growing Patterns And Spores
a. Examine the entire construction of this specimen along with the place
for many others. Notice the pattern where they develop. Normal designs
include:
• Cespitose—Growing in compact clusters, together with stalks
fused or packaged together (e.g. Enoki).
• Gregarious—Growing individually but in tiny clusters.
• Solitary—Consistently found independently or sprinkled in a
place.
• Fairy Ring—Growing radially out in spots or about a tree.
• Imbricate—Shelf-like, developing on sides of timber in close
proximity, frequently overlapping.
b. Take a spore print. Unless the spores are all evident on or around the
mushroom, you'll require a spore printing to find out the color. To choose a
print, you'll require a sharp knife, newspaper and a container. As soon as
you've correctly taken a print, then it's possible to readily recognize the color
of their spores.
• Make sure that the mulch in question is old enough to filtrate
spores rather than it being too outdated.
• Use a sterile knife to divide the cap out of the stem as much as
you can.
• Set the cap, spore-side down, even on your paper.
• Cover using a container to restrict airflow. Allow spores to
settle on the newspaper for a couple of hours.
• When the mulch is dried or dried out, then put a slightly moist
napkin in the cap; make certain not to wet the newspaper or the
spores are going to be tricky to identify.
Fragrant Different Attributes
a. Check to find out if the flesh has a certain color. Particular mushrooms
can have lightened blue or other colors when the internal flesh is exposed to
atmosphere. This can be a key distinguishing characteristic in certain fungi.
To ascertain these possibilities:
• Make sure that the mushroom is youthful enough to test.
• Locate an untouched place in your specimen's stem or cap.
• Though the mushroom remains refreshing, either create a
little incision or even a depression with your finger.
• Wait and observe the mark you've made; when it does not
bruise over 10-15 minutes, then it probably won't bruise any
color.
• Inspect the color of bruising. Blue is the most usual but
certain species may bruise red or black.

b. Check for any liquid made by this mushroom. Some mushrooms may
bleed a sterile substance called latex. The whole genus lactarius includes this
attribute; they are popularly called milk caps. The latex could be many
different colors and might react with your air or skin shifting colors. To
ascertain whether a mushroom will create this material:
• Make certain the mushroom is refreshing enough to create
latex; frequently old specimens will probably dry out.
• Use a knife to make a little incision, either in which the stem
and gills match or in which the gills match the cap.
• Watch for latex to ooze out. Should it, look if it did so
consistently for 3-5 minutes. Notice any color change. Then wait
after one or two hours to determine whether any response has
happened.
• You are going to want to be aware of the latex and skin color,
 as an important characteristic may be the color reaction between
these. For example, a mushroom with white skin and latex may
afterwards be stained purple by the particular contact.

c. Notice any special scents.

While maybe not a key characteristic in most mushrooms, the odor can be a
distinctive feature. Sniff the mushroom and notice the odor off it. Slice some
of the stem or cap if the odor is subdued.
Determining Odor And Taste
The odor and flavor of a mushroom could be significant in the identification
procedure. I am aware that you most likely don't want me to inform you just
how you can utilize your sniffer and your taste buds. However, there are a
number of things that you might choose to remember in regards to tasting and
smelling mushrooms.
Odors
Take a bit of this mushroom (or even a complete cover, in the event of little
mushrooms) and smash it in my finger and thumb before attempting to check
an odor. Normally the cap is the ideal portion of this mushroom to check but
sometimes you may find that another area of the mushroom ought to be
analyzed (for example, the stem foundations in agaricus).
Some folks can't detect certain scents; cannot smell the "phenolic" odor in
agaricus species but might sniff out "farinaceous" from far off. Experience
will tell you which scents you're best at discovering.
Identifying smells contain:
1. Farinaceous or mealy. Frequently compared with the odor of sodas,
watermelon rind or an old grain mill. Common in several mushrooms, such
as polyporus squamosus, agrocybe praecox, mycena galericulata, tricholoma
sejunctum, clitopilus prunulus, along with entoloma abortivum.
A few mycologists (smith et al., 1979; moser, 1983), armed forces greater
sniffers compared to mine, subdivide "farinaceous" to three odor categories:
rigorously farinaceous, cucumber/farinaceous, and rancid-oily-
fishy/farinaceous. Believe it or not, the cucumber/farinaceous sub-odor was
maintained by compound investigation (wood et al., 1994) as a legitimate
differentiation and also the compound trans-2-nonenal was recognized as
being accountable for this.
2. Foetid-russula odor. Frequently compared with benzaldehyde
(whatever that is); to me, it smells just like maraschino cherries which have
gone slightly awful.
• Fishy or even mushroom-like. Examples comprise Lactarius
 volemus, along with Russula xerampelina.
• Spermatic; mostly in species of Inocybe.
• Much like anise (the flavoring in ouzo or black ginger).
Examples comprise of clitocybe odora and some species of agaricus.
• Like green corn; mostly in species of inocybe.
• Similar to bleach; mostly in species of mycena.
• Like propane gasoline or coal tar. Mostly in species of
tricholoma.
• Much like apricots. Mostly in species of cantharellus.
• Like cakes. Mostly in species of agaricus.
• Similar to garlic. Mostly in species of marasmius.

Taste
To ascertain a mushroom's flavor, tear a tiny piece of the cap (including flesh
in addition to gills or pores). Place it to the tip of your tongue and maintain it
in your mouth for a couple of seconds (maybe a bit longer in the event of
lactarius along with russula mushrooms, because a number of the tastes
develop gradually).
Do not swallow, also try to not trip on anything. Spit the mushroom out, and
wash out your mouth thoroughly with plain water, being careful not to
swallow.
Since there are a few deadly poisonous mushrooms on the market, you ought
to be attentive in regards to tasting mushrooms. One consumed irritation of
the incorrect mushroom could include enough toxin to kill one.
It's ideal to be conservative in things like that --and keep in mind that flavor
is just one of several characteristics which could enable you to determine a
mushroom.
Examine the amanitas, particularly the lethal ones. Memorize their particulars
– from button point to adulthood – rather than taste any mushroom which
may remotely be comparable.

Don't taste any mushroom unless you're pretty certain you have approximated
its individuality and it belongs to a genus that retains no species proven to be
deadly poisonous.
For example, you know that you're carrying a bolete, and you wonder if it
may be a tylopilus; a sensible situation. But don’t think or say: "What is this?
I don't have any idea. I believe I will taste it."
In case your mushroom includes a mealy or even bleach like odor, then don't
waste your time (or your own taste buds) analyzing its flavor. It is going to
definitely taste less than it smells --and checking that the odor is enough for
diagnosis purposes.
In case you've tasted lactarius piperatus, tylopilus felleus or some other
excruciatingly acrid or sour mushroom, then be well prepared to regret the
experience. Don't kiss anybody for many hours later!
CHAPTER SIX: LEARN EVERYTHING ABOUT
MUSHROOM CULTIVATION AND PROCESSES
AND THEIR LIFE CYCLE
Insert Recognizing The Way To Grow Mushrooms: The
Principles
Anyone who's interested in studying the way to grow mushrooms may
discover that doing this may be time consuming procedure, and would
abandon that individual task after viewing all the various methods there are.
Learning how to grow mushrooms in your home is also frustrating because of
catchy sales gimmicks and incorrect, or outdated practices.
Luckily, growing mushrooms in your home, inside, or outdoors is really
relatively simple, and functional for many commercially accessible
mushroom species.
This guide won't be comprehensive but rather function as a guide for the
novice who's interested in developing mushrooms to become knowledgeable
of the fundamental principles and methods of mushroom farming.
Growing mushrooms is attained in several consecutive measures and is a
whole lot more complex than developing crops, normally.
Mushrooms form from mycelium, that's the vegetative area of the fungus, and
it's normally white but color can change with species. Because of the
cultivation of mushrooms, then you'll need to understand what nurtures
mycelium cultures efficiently and there are lots of dangers on the road to
doing this successfully.
The principal obstacle which the majority of men and women encounter is
pollution of the mushroom cultures by rival fungi. The most frequent
contaminant is mold, however, there are a couple of others, such as bacteria
and yeasts.
Mycelium originates from bacterial spores, also develops within an
inoculated bacterium, before the parasite is totally infested with the incubator
the cultivator has selected.
To decrease or mitigate the odds of contamination, that will end your
endeavor to nurture mushrooms, then a cultivator should make a bid to
practice appropriate sterile (aseptic) procedure.
To begin growing mushrooms will call for a definite game plan, and that may
be tough to invent initially, as the newest cultivator is introduced into
enormous amounts of new details.
Hopefully, this information presented in this guide can help to provide you a
few managing tips, if you're in need.
The techniques are divided into three chief categories that are: cakes, bulk,
and sterile, that we'll discuss below.
The Simplest Way To Increase Mushrooms: Cake Methods
Most novices start growing mushrooms by utilizing what we call "cakes."
Cakes are extremely simple to grow mushrooms out of and aren't difficult to
create. You might even buy pre-sterilized cake kits from sellers, if you do not
feel up to the job of home improvement. Below we'll discuss the various sorts
of cakes:
Brown rice cakes (B.R.F.): are the most frequent kind of cakes that are
utilized by the newcomer. Brown rice comprises the majority of the nutrients
which many mushrooms demand, and are extremely simple to create in your
home, in your kitchen.
Wild bird seed starch cakes (W.B.S. cakes ): are made from typical wild bird
seed which you may purchase at most grocery stores or hardware shops.
These kinds of cakes have been utilized significantly less than brown rice
cakes but function really well for many mushrooms.
Wood cakes: are used for timber decomposing mushrooms, like reishi,
shiitake, maitake, etc., and are created of wood sawdust or vaporized timber
mulch.
The Sensible Way To Increase Mushrooms: Bulk Techniques
While cakes are excellent for the newcomer, most newcomer cultivators
move to intermediate farming techniques quickly following success with
cakes.
The motives are for the most part because of the simple fact that yields and
size of these mushrooms have been raised appreciably, and the expense of
farming also reduces.
Nonetheless, this isn't normally a method utilized by the newcomer since
there are additional steps to achievement, which increases the likelihood of
failure.
Bulk methods are utilized with three different container approaches:
• 6-12-quart clear plastic shoe boxes
• 60-120-quart clear plastic storage bins
Notably made mushroom growing totes that have a little filter patch adhesive
for them which allows for gas exchange that is necessary. The mushrooms
are just grown inside the crystal-clear bag.
Sterile Method: The Secret To Success
Observing sterile procedure is quite significant, should a cultivator wishes to
get success. The substrates we make should be pasteurized or sterilized to kill
any competition spores or germs, that will offer an environment that's
beneficial to the species that's being cultivated to thrive. This environment
has to be kept to make sure there is not any pollution, which will finish your
farming effort instantly.
It's important to inoculate your substrates in a glove box (that can be a sealed
container which includes gloves attached to holes at the front, like a box in
NASA for scrutinizing moon stones), or below the sterile air flow of a
laminar flow hood.
Flow hoods are extremely pricey, so many individuals who nurture in house
use a glove box, even as you can be manufactured for under $50.00.
Regrettably, however, lots of field guides lack secrets and so promote what's
most likely the least effective way of identifying mushrooms--especially,
comparing them with photographs.
Photographs almost never communicate the numerous details which are
important in deciding a cultivator's individuality, and consumers of area
guides so often end up making determinations according to cap color and
nothing else.
Shade is among those least dependable characteristics of a mushroom! Also,
look at what many area guides portray and explain a couple of hundred
mushrooms, in the slightest, when there could be 10,000--30,000 species
around the continent.
After you have utilized these key features to analyze further, carefully assess
your description of this mushroom with the descriptions in this guide.
Cultivation & Processing
The difference between bacterial spores and seeds is that all spores do not
have germ casings but just germ buds, whereas seeds do. Thus, fungal spores
want to be presented with a germ casing to develop.
In mushroom farming, that is achieved through the following process: cereal
grains have been boiled to destroy the cereal germ-free buds. What stays is
the bread and germ casings.
The fungal spores then expand in the wheat germ casings, whereas the
mycelium develops around and to them. When the allergen germ casings are
fully penetrated from the mycelium, the sum of roughly a tablespoon will be
separated by the remainder for additional farming functions and placed on the
sterilized substrate.
The mycelium can subsequently metabolize the substrate and therefore create
ingredients that are crucial for the mushroom's additional growth.
After roughly four to five weeks, all substrate was consumed, and also the
mycelium has gained sufficient energy and components to its mushroom to
make its fruiting body using its own sweet (stipe) and generative (cap)
components.
It's an interesting actuality that the mycelium has different components
compared to the fruiting body. This can be of specific significance for reishi
in terms of its high triterpene content. Nearly all of them are located from the
fungal spores, i.e. from the anatomy. In different words, reishi's fruiting
bodies are full of spores. Consequently, they're also full of triterpene, which
clarifies their anti-inflammatory consequences.
Another important element is that the time between picking and processing.
It's vital to procedure mushrooms as clean as you can as they shed their
valuable active ingredients exceptionally quickly.
Speedy and gentle processing play an extremely considerable part in the
caliber of powdered herbal mushrooms. Regrettably, fresh mushrooms that
aren't offered on the marketplace are processed to hide powder.
It's clear they have lost their precious ingredients and those mushroom
powders are consequently not suggested for ingestion.
The Mushroom Lifecycle
The mushroom lifecycle stays largely invisible to the majority of mushroom
hunters; maybe not to cultivators. The mushroom cultivator follows the
course of the mushroom lifecycle.
Fruitbodies form just at the conclusion of the mushroom lifecycle and also
for many species, happen only a couple of days then vanish.
• Inoculation: spores alight on a development medium (or
bacterium). When circumstances are more favorable, spores will
germinate.
• Spore germination: gloomy fungal filaments called hyphae
develop in the spores. Compatible hyphae partner to make
abundant mycelium.
• Mycelial growth: growing mycelium breaks down organic
matter and also absorbs nourishment from the environment. In
this phase of expansion, mycelium climbs at an exponential
speed. In its surroundings, mycelium experiences many
predators and enemies that it repels, having a wonderful
collection of protective enzymes and chemicals. In this way, the
mycelium is the immune system of the mushroom.
• Hyphal knot: mycelium condenses into hyphal ribbons, which
subsequently grow to "primordia" or infant mushrooms.
• Primordia creation: the noodle receptor creates a wonderful
collection of enzymes and optimizes the components of the
mycelium and the growing fruitbody. The host defends harvests
in this summit stage of expansion to catch an abundant
ingredient profile such as polysaccharides (beta glucans,
arabinoxylanes), glycoproteins, ergosterols, triterpenoids and
other myco-nutrients.
• Fruitbody choice: from tens of thousands of primordia, the
expanding organism selects the very promising pair to grow into
adult fruitbodies.
 • Older fruitbody: the receptor stations all its energy and
nourishment to create the fruitbody, which may subsequently
create spores. Spore creation is the sexual reproduction stage of
the mushroom lifecycle.
• Spore discharge: the fruitbody releases spores into the
environment for both propagation. The ones that land onto a
positive substrate (or expansion moderate) could invisibly, start
the entire life cycle again!
• The mushroom: the anatomy of fungi. As a tree produces fruit
that includes seeds for breeding, the fungi's “berry” is that the
mushrooms produce contaminants (such as seeds).
• Spore: reproductive components of fungi. Microscopic, and
generally single celled.
Mushrooms have a number of ways they distribute their spores and guarantee
reproduction, it is among the most interesting facets of a mushroom. As
diverse as mushrooms will be, spores are available in all types of sizes and
shapes too.
You've maybe heard the terms basidiomycetes and ascomycetes. Both really
are just two prominent subdivisions of parasites that are separated from the
fashion of structure that create and release pollutants.
With basidiomycetes, think about the typical gilled mushroom using a stalk
and cover. Basidiomycetes create their spores on team-shaped structures
known as “basidium:” the spores are created on the exterior of little strategies
at the close of the basidium.
Typically generating four to the conclusion of every basidium, these spores
are known as basidiospores.
Ascomycetes cosmetics, approximately 75 percent of fungi, contain items
such as cup fungi, truffles, and morels. Ascomycetes create their spores to the
interior of extended, sac including structures known as “asci” (plural
“ascus”).
An ascus normally produces eight pollutants in each sac like construction the
spores are known as ascospores. Though both of these spore bearing
structures are somewhat distinct, the goal is still the same: create spores to
populate the region with fresh mushrooms.
Typically, thousands upon tens of thousands of spores have been discharged
from one mushroom, actually some species have been believed to create over
30 billion liters each day! Some spores can initiate the reproduction
procedure inside precisely the exact same day of being circulated, others have
a particular procedure they need to experience before they are prepared to
germinate.
There are a lot of ways that a spore ends up getting capable of replicating, not
all these reproductive procedures are totally known yet. Also, of those which
are somewhat known, it could take too much time to describe all of them. For
the sake of simplicity, we're likely to discuss the “sexual stimulation”
procedure a mushroom goes through.
After a spore germinates, a threadlike structure known as a hypha forms from
the spore. As a hypha develops, it branches out and finally joins using
another hypha in the harmonious spore. Now, in regards to sexual
reproduction, they do not always possess “male” and “feminine”
constructions, but instead ”breeding types” which are sometimes known as
“positive” and “adverse” or/and “negative.”
When two harmonious hypha match, they exchange genetic information and
for this particular exchange, the hypha has the finished information they have
to become cancerous. The conjoined hyphae quickly start to branch out and
this branched system is known as mycelium.
Hypha: plural, hyphae. The threadlike fungal cell which collectively
comprises of the immune system known as mycelium.
Mycelium: the vegetative portion of this fungi, composed of an intricate
system of hyphae, often constituting a “root system” to its mushroom in
which chemical and nutrient exchanges occur.
Mycelium can develop wide and far, linking over great distances and
producing a remarkably vast network under our toes. You will notice the term
“mycelial mat,” which describes the region of this ground, generally just
beneath the surface, that's intertwined with mycelium-sometimes dense
enough the dirt and also duff stick from the strength of this mycelium.
The primordial proceeds to grow and our infant mushroom begins to develop.
Some mushrooms have been predeterminate and a few are indeterminate-
what does this imply? A predeterminate mushroom forms together with its
required components (stem, cap, and gills for example) from the early stages
of life, meaning it's “pre-formed,” and also if damaged while young, these
flaws are going to appear in the adult mushroom.
An indeterminate mushroom's silhouette isn't yet ascertained until older.
Even though maturing, this shrub decides its final shape according to its
environment. An indeterminate mushroom can confront an obstacle because
it evolves, such as a twig, and it'll grow, even engulfing it. If broken, they
recuperate without much, if any, disfigurement.
Mushrooms are neither plants or animals. They're a single set of so-called
"eukaryotes" - active beings which feature a nucleus. Compared to crops -- to
what mushrooms were classified - they possess chlorophyll and would not
photosynthesize. Rather, fungal metabolism relies on chemosynthesis. They
utilize enzymes to change organic materials, including timber into chemical
substances which helps to form new soil substances.
 CHAPTER SEVEN: HOW TO DECIDE THE
TYPE OF MUSHROOM YOU WANT TO GROW
IN YOUR HOME
Insert Pick The Right Mushrooms To Grow On Your Own
Farm
If you would like to develop something new this season which supplies a
fantastic value for your time and effort spent, think about developing
mushrooms. "Gourmet" mushrooms—which is, whatever's not the white
button generally located at grocery stores—may be expensive and difficult to
discover.
If you develop your own, but you might have an assortment of mushrooms in
your disposal ranging from delicate to edible, in addition to medicinal. The
number of choices could be overwhelming if you are only getting started in
mushroom farming.
As you get started with narrowing down your choice, keep these thoughts in
mind to select the ideal mushrooms to grow on your farm.
In beginning your cultivating journey, consider the following:
1) Location
First things first: Examine the environmental requirements of where you
intend to cultivate your mushrooms. Most mushrooms function best in high
temperatures (80 to 95%) and indirect lighting but every species has its own
pair of increasing tastes.
A fantastic place to begin in your own mushroom journey would be to choose
whether to grow them inside or outside. If growing outside, think about the
seasonality of the specific species which interests you.
Most mushroom-spawn retailers, such as fungi perfecti and field and forest
products, provide seasonality graphs based on areas of the land. Remember
that mushrooms grown outside frequently take more time to fruit. However,
they may produce mushrooms for many decades.
If growing mushrooms inside, such as in a living space or grow home, you've
got greater control over the surroundings and may fine-tune the requirements
consequently, although this may need you to invest in gear, like a humidifier,
enthusiast or air-conditioning.
2) Growing medium
Not many mushrooms "consume" the same item, and that means you have to
provide each mushroom with its own growing medium of selection. Common
growth mediums--called substrates from the mushroom earth – comprise
blankets, logs, wood chips and coffee grounds. The kind you choose may
depend on accessibility to the space you have available.
A. Logs

Often related to shiitake mushrooms, logs may be utilized to develop quite a

few distinct kinds of mushrooms, such as oyster, nameko, lion's mane, reishi,
and maitake. Use freshly cut timber for mushroom-growing functions, as
trees or deadwood have a higher chance of being inoculated with wild
parasites, thereby limiting your manufacturing potential.
If you reside on a wooded house and therefore are clearing trees such as
timber, consult with a spawn merchant to find out what mushroom is ideal for
this kind of timber.
For example, shiitakes love oaks, while lion's mane will grow nicely on
walnut. Stumps may likewise be utilized for mushroom farming, even
although they may not be as effective as logs.

B. Straw

Straw is the best substrate for growing oyster mushrooms also is ideal for a
novice grower, even though situated in a metropolitan residence or flat.
Straw has to be pasteurized initial by drenching it into boiling water, and it
works well if chopped. Then it is possible to add the straw into a container,
like a cardboard box, and set it into a space with minimal lighting.

C. Wood chips
Wood chips may be used to get decomposer mushrooms, for example, wine
cover stropharia along with blewit. While it assumes any old pile of wood
chips may operate, look at developing wine caps into the mulch on your
garden.
In reality, some farmers report inoculating their yards and gardens into the
point at which the mushrooms come up every year. When beginning
mushrooms wood processors, be certain the batch is 40 percent hardwood
obsolete no longer than three decades.

D. Coffee grounds

This is an enjoyable substrate for novices, since it's simple to acquire–only

secure new grounds from the neighborhood coffee shop. Oyster mushrooms
and at times nameko could be increased to coffee grounds, in addition to
what’s spent on brewer's grain.
There is no requirement to pasteurize the coffee grounds before use, since the
brewing procedure does this for you.
Benefits Of Growing
Mushrooms disagree in their developing quirks, so opt for a species
appropriate to your ability level. If you are a newcomer, try oyster, shiitake,
lion's mane or wine cap. Those people who have a bit more experience can
attempt reishi or even nameko but abandon species such as blewit and
maitake into the experts.
Utilize
Last, develop mushrooms that you understand you will love to utilize.
Consider their taste, just how well they consume while cooking, how long
they maintain after crop and if they have medicinal qualities. Here are some
examples of favorites:
• Shiitakes can be utilized as a culinary and a medicinal
mushroom, either dried or fresh. They have a smokey, full flavor
taste, and you should not be worried about overcooking them as
they consume nicely.
• Oysters are all tender and fragile and come in various colors
dependent on the variety. These must be used immediately after
harvest, since they go bad fast.
• Wine caps are big, meaty mushrooms with a gentle nutty
flavor. They substitute nicely for portobello mushrooms in
recipes.
• Maitake, aka fish of the woods, possesses a rich, flavorful,
umami taste.
• Lion's mane mushrooms are all medicinal too as edible.
They're meaty using a crab-like taste.
• Reishis are all bitter and used only for medicinal purposes to
support immune health.

As you venture into the universe of mushroom cultivation, have fun and
explore the choices. There are several unique species and developing
methods you may try, so learn exactly what works better for you and your
farm.
Many anglers wonder whether it's potential to grow mushrooms in your
home. These inquisitive but yummy fungi are generally grown inside instead
of at the backyard, but beyond that, it is certainly feasible to grow
mushrooms in your home.
It's possible to buy mushroom growing kits, however, in addition, it is
feasible to prepare your area for growing mushrooms. Let us learn a bit about
the way to grow mushrooms. Deciding upon a mushroom to cultivate
mushroom growing in your home begins with picking the type of mushroom
you'll be growing.
Some favorite options when developing mushrooms in the home are: shiitake
mushrooms (lentinula edodes), oyster mushrooms (pleurotus ostreatus), and
white button mushrooms (agricus bisporus). Purchase spore or spawn of your
preferred mushroom from a respectable dealer (most are available online).
For the aims of mushroom growing in your home, consider spores as bark
and seeds as seedlings. Spawn is simpler to manage and grow mushrooms in
the home.
Right Environment For Mushroom Growing

When you've selected which mushroom you are going to be growing and
have achieved the favored growing medium, the fundamental steps for
developing mushrooms will be the exact same.
Mushroom growing in your home demands a cool, dark, moist area. Usually,
this is going to be in a cellar but a fresh cupboard will even work – anyplace
you're able to create close darkness and control humidity, and temperature.
Put the growing medium in a bowl and then increase the temperature of this
region to approximately 70 f. (21 c.); a heating pad works nicely. Set the push
on the developing medium. In around 3 months, the spawn will likely possess
"suspended," meaning that the filaments will have dispersed to the expanding
medium.
Once this happens, drop the temperature to between 55 and 60 f. (13-16 c.).
This really is the ideal temperature for growing mushrooms. After that, cover
the spawn with an inch or so of soil. Cover the dirt and pan using a moist
cloth and spray on the fabric with water since it dries.
Additionally, spritz the dirt with water if it's dry to your touch. In a few
weeks, you must observe modest mushrooms.

Oyster mushrooms are just one of those easiest kinds of mushrooms to

increase and understanding how to consume mushrooms may bring you a
nearly infinite supply of these mushrooms in your own dinner table.
Although oyster mushrooms grow in forests, you will find other developing
media which you are able to use in raising them. Consider straw and sawdust;
they're easier to collect than logs.
Oyster mushroom looks like oysters, plus they possess a rich medicinal and
culinary background to boast. Chinese medication, from three million
decades back, utilizes oyster mushrooms as a formula to improve the immune
system.
Even when oyster mushrooms are cooked, the antioxidant amount is still the
same. The mushrooms are demonstrated to have antibacterial properties too.
Oyster mushrooms contain considerable levels of iron, potassium,
magnesium, vitamin c, calcium, niacin, magnesium, Vitamins B1 and B2,
and folic acid. The research demonstrated that ingesting oyster mushrooms
leads to implied dietary needs.
Commercially prepared mushrooms possess pesticides and other substances
in these to make their shelf life more. Although mushrooms may contribute a
great deal in making you healthier, the existence of damaging substances
inside them may make your life simpler. The answer? Discover how to
consume mushrooms and revel in its many great advantages.
Preparations To Your Quest On The Best Way To Plant
Mushrooms
With this endeavor, you may need two little cardboard boxes or milk cartons
to get sawdust to satisfy them two cups coffee grounds or whole grain bread;
spawn of mushrooms.
If sawdust isn't accessible or when you still find it difficult to assemble
sawdust, then you always have the option to use straw for a substitute
(though sawdust is a lot better).
You can start with a kit in case you wish to but if you would like to begin
from scratch, oyster mushrooms may provide you a fantastic margin to be
successful in your project within other mushroom types.
Oyster mushrooms have tons of types to pick from and you may seek advice
from your provider to find the ideal variety that's acceptable for your specific
location. Most oyster mushrooms grow in areas where the temperature ranges
from 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Measures Which You Want To Follow In Learning How
To Plant Mushrooms.
The best way to follow in the way to plant mushrooms aren't complex,
actually they're not hard to comprehend and follow along. It doesn't call for
you to be a genius to be able to develop a number of mushrooms.
You have to cut the sticks that you are likely to use to height or same
dimensions. At the surfaces of both boxes or cartons, punch a few holes (little
in dimensions although maybe not as small as a pin).
If you choose to use sawdust that's pre-inoculated with spawn, then do not
sterilize the sawdust since it is going to kill the spawn. If you're using new
sawdust, then you may want to fix it. You can boil, steam or microwave the
sawdust.
You can boil or steam the sawdust for several minutes, and afterwards
sterilizing it is possible to switch off the heat and keep it covered. Let it cool
at room temperature prior to moving to the next measure. In the event you
decide to microwave, then you have to acquire a microwave-safe bowl and
set the sawdust in with all the bread or coffee grounds.
Fill it with sufficient water until the mix resembles a moist sponge. After the
water starts to boil, then it is going to kill the organisms which you need to
get rid of. You may want to repeat the process in the microwave to complete
all your sawdust. Use non-chlorinated water to damp the sawdust. Ensure it is
altogether moist. Carefully blend on your own spores.
Firmly pack the moist sawdust into the boxes/cartons and leave them in a
cellar, garage, dim cupboard, locker room or basement. You're able to wrap
vinyl under the container and cover them with cooking oil sprayed on them to
snare insects if you can find some.
Keep the sawdust moist with non-chlorinated water and within a couple of
months you will be able to enjoy the fruit of your own labor. When picking,
be certain that you twist the mushrooms lightly to avoid breaking up the
stem. Finding out how to plant mushrooms may be an enjoyable family
activity from which you may benefit in the long-term.
How To Plant Mushrooms - Grow Your Own Shiitake
Mushrooms In Home
There are some studies that show shiitake mushrooms help patients with
specific cancer. Shiitake contains lentinan, a sort of beta glucan that could
improve the immune system which will allow the body to fight cancer.
Shiitake mushroom originated from Japan and China, and it's the most in
demand part of almost any oriental and modern cuisine. They may be
purchased in the market but if you are aware of how to plant foods in the
comfort of your own garden, then you won't just save a lot of cash - you are
sure you'll be ingesting a mushroom that's free of chemicals.
The processes of planting your own mushrooms are easy enough and a few
areas of concern you want to concentrate on while raising your mushrooms
are temperatures, amount of rain, sun exposure and drying winds.
The best way to plant mushrooms - choosing your logs for your shiitake
Know that shiitake mushrooms develop in logs and deciding upon the ideal
log is crucial. Tough wood logs would be the most acceptable for shiitake
mushrooms.
Most mushroom growers select walnut, alder, aspen, willow, hazel, and also
the favorite oak. Apple, ash, and sycamore aren't recommended, and they
aren't great options to cultivate your own mushrooms.
It's advised to reduce your personal logs for those mushrooms out of fit or
healthy trees during fall (if the leaves started to collapse) to spring up (before
the buds pull out).
Be certain not to exceed six months until you inoculate once you cut your
logs. Keep the logs nicely hidden from the sun and be certain strong winds
will not dry them out.
There's a massive probability that other bud contaminants will contaminate
your logs should you leave it more. Ensure the bark is undamaged and clean.
Scars on the log are only going to invite different pollutants to come and the
log will probably lose the essential moisture that you do not need to take
place.
Choose the ones with fewer branches. If you cannot locate the appropriate
logs, then you could always purchase them from farmers, forest supervisors,
tree specialists or even firewood retailers. Just be certain that you define your
needs.
It's sensible to use direct logs with 4 to 6 inches diameter and 40 inches long,
so all these dimensions would be the most perfect for simple lifting and
handling.
A smaller diameter will probably dry out fast which you do not wish to occur
and diameters are more challenging to take care of, plus your patience may
run out since it is going to require longer time to purge the log. Allow the
logs to rot to allow the organic fungicides to die.
The Practice Of Learning How To Recover Mushrooms
You'll need shiitake spawn which can be bought from providers and they
generally arrive from dowels. You may also require wax and applicator,
electrical drill, drill bit, stove, and pan to melt the wax.
After three months of letting the logs rot, you're all set to inoculate. Keep in
mind that you merely have to inoculate the logs. Drill holes inches apart
along the length of the log.
The following row ought to be drilled two to three inches. From the first one,
drill holes to create a diamond outline. Drill additional holes close to the ends
of the log.
Insert or plug in the holes together with dowels. Melt some wax onto a pan
then use or paint the wax on the holes to keep the spawn secure. The wax
really protects the ward against any contamination as mycelium spread
throughout the log.
You can pile the logs from the fencing or put them straws around the ground.
Ensure the logs are put in shady, moist place which allows the logs to keep a
high amount of moisture. If it rarely rains, then it is possible to elect to water
them greatly.
After the chips are fully colonized by mycelium then transfer them to some
more appropriate spot for fruiting. The most appropriate is a hot and moist
place with 70% color and from drying finish's way.
The place ought to be moist but not too wet. Place the logs onto a stone or a
different log and avoid laying them onto the ground.
Expect to see that the fruits of labor evolve six to twelve weeks. Your
shiitake logs will probably still continue to offer you all of the mushrooms
you require for quite a lengthy time, typically around eight decades.
It is worth it to understand how to plant foods and you're able to be glad you
did.
6 Easy Tips On How To Grow Mushrooms
Would You like to Learn how to grow mushrooms? There are several
different mushroom growing kits available on the marketplace which may
make you started, however, there are a couple of secrets which the kits do not
inform you.
Aside from the mushroom growing kit (or mushroom cubes ), then you'll
need the following household items:
• electrical fan
• spray mist bottle
• cooking oil spray

Hint #1:
Prepare the mushroom kit at an area where the temperature is secure. Based
on where you live and what exactly your average daily temperature is, then
you might want to experiment with various areas to cultivate your spores.
Hint #2:
Do not set your mushroom box right facing a window. Provide indirect
lighting, but not direct sun. More light may cause specific mushroom caps to
become dark brown.

Hint #3:
Mist the mushroom cube every day using a spray bottle. Continuous humidity
is essential for the mushrooms to develop and grow. Should you reside in a
humid climate, you might have to mist more frequently. If your climate is
putrid, then you won't need to spray as frequently.
Hint #4:
Supply air flow. Mushrooms require a great deal of air to prevent carbon
dioxide build up. An excessive amount of carbon dioxide is likely to make
your mushroom production stop, and thus don't attempt to grow mushrooms
in a little cupboard or an enclosed area.
Hint # 5:
After the veil which joins the cap into the stem starts to tear, it is time to
harvest - typically after about two weeks at the light. Based upon your
mushrooms, then it can be if the caps would be the size of a masonry or the
exact magnitude of the orange.
Switch the block every day to test for harvestable mushrooms which might be
hiding outside. Gently twist and yank mushrooms out of the cube. Partial
stems left over the cube will decompose, therefore, don't cut them.
Hint # 6:

Problems with pests? Safeguard your mushrooms from insects by spraying on

the flaps of this developing box using cooking oil spray. The oil will snare
and trap the pests until they reach your mushrooms.
 CHAPTER EIGHT: DIFFERENT STAGES OF
MUSHROOM CULTIVATION ON A LARGE
SCALE (MUSHROOM FARMING)
Insert Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of a parasite, like apples will be the
fruiting bodies of the apple tree. A mushroom is a type of fungus (with the
Latin title of agaricus bisporus).
Other fungi that are cultivated in the Netherlands would be the oyster
mushroom (pleurotus ostreatus) and also the shiitake (Japanese mushroom)
(lentinula edodes).
In the fungi kingdom, the mushroom is ranked together with all the
heterotrophic organisms (lower crops). Compared to the bigger, green crops,
these heterotrophs aren't capable of photosynthesis. Fungi are the scavengers
of nature.
In mushroom farming also, waste items like fish manure, horse manure,
straw, gypsum and wastewater (in their own saltwater) are utilized to make a
high-quality pesticide are good for mushrooms to grow. Ammonia is
eliminated by way of a spray washer against the process air until it's returned
to character.
The ammonia in the atmosphere is employed as a source of nitrogen. The
uterus, also referred to as mycelium, utilizes the compost as a source of
energy because of its own combustion, where energy is released and can be
utilized for growth.

Mushrooms include an excess amount of Vitamins B2 and B3. These

vitamins look after the metabolism and the release of energy from
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Vitamin B2 is also essential for wholesome skin. Folic acid is essential for
the creation of blood. It's but one of the very few vitamins that, normally, we
consume too little of. Potassium is vital for wholesome blood pressure and
for both nerve and muscle action.
Phosphorous takes care of healthy bones and also of metabolism. Copper is
crucial for the own immune system, nerves and also for the synthesis of cells.
These nutrient values occur in large concentrations.
Mushrooms grow on mulch. The compost is through technical processes. The
raw materials are blended up to deliver their mulch into the mushroom farms.
The procedure requires four to six months, depends upon the raw materials
along with also the machine used in the compost lawn.
After the mulch has been delivered to the farm, it takes 16 to 20 days before
the starting of mushroom harvesting. Harvesting occurs throughout two to
fourteen days. After this, it's easier to harvest.
Producing Fresh Compost
Based on the raw materials, this stage requires a minimum of 5 around 18
days. The most significant goals in this stage include:
Mixing the horse or straw manure (this may replace the straw into a massive
extent) poultry manure, gypsum and water, so the compost gets
homogeneous;
Opening up the straw, so it absorbs water along with also the hay parasite, the
mycelium could rise from the straw. Following this stage, the mulch is
known as "stage one-compost," "fresh mulch."
- Pasteurizing and fixing
The compost is placed in a sealed space. The grounding of this closed room is
made up of grating, where the compost is stuffed. Conditioned air is blown
through this grounding. The area where the mulch is placed in a tunnel.
The first part is made up of pasteurizing, which will be creating the mulch
pathogen free, through the next procedure, in stage two the mulch is
conditioned, where the ammonia in the mulch is transformed. Following this
stage, the mulch is known as "stage two compost" or even "spawning-
compost."
- Mycelium growing from your compost
After stage two, the mulch is taken in the tube and blended using spawn.
Spawn includes especially prepared grains of wheat that develops using all
the mushroom mycelium. In the stem that the mycelium grows throughout
the compost. This method requires a minimum of 14 to 18 days.
In the conclusion of this stage, the mulch is known as "stage three-compost"
or complete growth compost. This stage takes place both in the tunnel
business in precisely the exact same area where stage two happens or in the
manufacturing company.
In the Netherlands and also the developed mushroom cultivating states, this
stage occurs in the composting business.
- Filling the space
The phase-three-compost is hauled to the farm where the living area is full of
mulch using a particular filling system. A cultivation space is a living space
with racks (Dutch shelf method).
Through filling the compost is put into a coating of 20 cm on top a layer of 5
cm of casing land. This coating is dragged to the shelf system of this farming
room. Casing soil is made up of peat mix, combined by a technical practice.
At farms in which they do stage three themselves, the mulch stays in the area,
but following 14-18 weeks, a coating of casing soil is put to the compost.
- Mycelium growing from your casing soil and allergic stage

After filling the space covering the dirt, the mycelium begins growing from
the compost in the shell soil. This procedure requires 4-7 days. Throughout
mycelium growth in the shell soil, the soil is irrigated. By irrigating during
the mycelium growth stage, the mycelium can't rise into the top of the shell
soil.
Following mycelium growing from the casing soil recovery growth phase
occurs. This stage takes 1 to 2 days. Throughout the recovery growth period,
no irrigation happens and a humid, hot (summer) climate is made. As a
consequence of this climate, the mycelium develops into the face of the shell
dirt.
- Cooling down
After the mycelium has increased to the surface, the grower starts warming.
Slimming down is a fake of crop conditions. Due to the colder atmosphere
and reduced CO2, the fluffy mycelium begins to contract.
In case the mycelium has contracted, 5-6 days later cooling it down, it creates
hooks, which at the mushroom sector known as trap or pinhead. These hooks,
(as large as pin-heads) would be the mushroom primordia. This age is known
as pin formation.
Following this relative humidity (rh) at the area is gradually reduced, so the
pins begin growing into mushrooms. From snare to harvestable mushroom
requires five to seven days. The period following growing from these pins is
occasionally called "stage four."
- Harvest stage
Harvesting mushrooms occur in "flushes." The very initial flush is chosen in
3 to 5 times and returns 15 to 20 kg/m2. When the mushrooms are
automatically cropped, in the kind of once-over harvesting, then this yields
22 to 26 kg/m2. The next flush comes after approximately 5-7 times and
returns a bit less, 9-11 kg/m2 to get hand-harvesting, 10-15 kg/m2 for
mechanical harvesting.
The next flight in all returns 10-15% of manufacturing and is of lesser
quality, since pests and diseases are growing quite closely. Based upon the
financial scenario, a second flush has been chosen. It requires approximately
6 to 2 days until the next flush could be chosen. Throughout hand-picking,
the flush gets chosen in two days.
The complete generation is between 27 and 35 kg/m2. Hand-picking
mushrooms may be saved and eaten fresh. Mechanically harvested
mushrooms have been chosen at a once-over functioning and thoroughly
processed and maintained.
- Cookout
At the end of the cultivation, the mulch might be warmed into 70º c. This is
supposed to be achieved for no less than 8 hours to kill most pests and
diseases.
Cookout is frequently omitted for economic reasons and can be only
performed when pests and diseases are in fact present. After harvesting and
cookout, the mulch might be taken out from the area and cleaning the space a
fresh farming cycle could be initiated.
Fungiculture has slowly grown in a small-scale business with newcomer
companies entering nurturing edible fungus and providing the marketplace
with lots of fresh-grown choices. The great news for people who have
recently ventured out to the company is that mushroom farming isn't quite as
complex or extensive as it might sound. In the event you split this up into
stages, you'll find a total of three of these.
Step one of mushroom farming will be to ready the compost. Here's a quick
description of all of the actions involved with developing mushrooms. They
may also vaguely answer the issue of how to grow them.
a. Preparing the compost
You have to prepare yourself a mixture for your mushrooms to develop in.
This entails a whole lot of wetting and blending of components. This isn't
really hard so long as you receive the piling and stacking part okay. The
compost components need to get piled up and wrapped as a rectangular heap.
The sides need to be tight as you possibly can, as well as the center loose and
thick.
You are able to certainly do that with the dirt by turning the substances
through and may require a compost turner. In terms of materials, you may use
horse manure. As it moves through the turner, spray some water to ensure it
is a thick paste absorbable from the ground. If you wish to maintain it
complicated, prepare artificial mulch together with gypsum and vitamin
nutritional supplements.
With just a tiny aeration of the last item, aerobic fermentation starts. In the
previous phase, pasteurization needs to be completed to destroy nematodes,
insects, or any sort of live organism at the compost.
b. Spawning
Since the mushrooms grow in their own complete quantity, they begin
creating microscopic spores that are basically the way the parasite multiplies.
Presently, a grower does not need to take advantage of this for there's too
much unpredictability involved with it.
Therefore, vegetative propagation is completed as a way to be sure of the
multiplication. Making the stem is just another procedure. You'll need millet
grain, water and chalk, all sterilized. When the mix is prepared, add a little bit
of mycelium.
The colonization of this mycelium contributes to what's known as spawn. The
spawn is then festered for weeks and saved for future usage. Afterwards, it
could be spread out in the compost and forced to blend with this.
c. Casting, pinning, and cropping
The first part entails top-dressing into the compost that's then blended
together with the spawn. For casing, an individual can use a combination of
ground limestone and peat moss.
It's the location where rhizomorphs shape and therefore supplementing it with
nourishment isn't needed. As soon as they have been formed, the mushroom
caps begin to sprout out. This is known as pinning and it requires a little
while for those caps to grow into its full-grown dimension.
It's during the right time of the rotational cycle of hay cultivation that
someone may harvest the mushrooms over a period of 3 to 5 times.
Running a farm is certainly a very hectic endeavor, also for people that are
considering starting one, it's very important that they purchase the right
equipment and machines which are utilized within the farm.
If you're farming mushrooms, then you won't truly need apparatus to
segregate and place the dirt directly, but everything you may need is
appropriate mushroom farming equipment that's needed for correctly catering
into the mushrooms whenever they're in the developing phase.
There are a whole lot of unique procedures that have to be performed while
the mushrooms have been implanted as a way to make them longer, and
should you don't execute these procedures, it would be extremely tough for
you to develop fantastic mushrooms in your own farm.
The typical farming gear does not blend well with mushroom farming, but
largely since this kind of farming is completely distinct from farming for
plants. Prior to going outside to purchase mushroom farming gear, there are
particular aspects you will need to maintain in your mind. First of all, the
dimensions of output creation and also the dimensions of your farm have to
be taken into consideration.
Additional factors like the upkeep of your mushrooms as well as the ways of
farming you will use also perform a significant part. If you're considering
starting on a reduced scale, opt for a little mushroom farming gear.
This gear is for starting farmers and it comprises of basic items like dauber
tags and wax, along with a drill bit.
However, this severely restricts your farming potential, so if you want to
know more about running a complete scale mushroom farm, then you may
call for much heavier mushroom farming equipment.
Heavy machines will be required so as to help with the soil mixing
procedure, in addition to the cutting procedure of these mushrooms. Should
you desire, you might even have packaging equipment in order to find the
mushrooms packaged on your farm just.
A lot of people simply rent mushroom farming gear when the time for
harvesting starts to have close, because they are not able to afford these
expensive machines. But you may also get these machines second-hand, from
a variety of sellers that are accomplished in farming.
There are several different brands that offer mushroom farming gear, which
makes it effortless for you to make your choice based on the very best
manufacturer there is. You can check the testimonials and reviews to decide
on the best one available.
CHAPTER NINE: UNDERSTANDING COMMON
PROBLEMS FACING MUSHROOM FARMERS
Think consuming mushrooms and being organic goes hand in hand, right?
For your vegetarian way of life or anybody who wants to go the natural route,
mushrooms create an excellent meal. That's the reason it has always been
beneficial to grow mushrooms.
Not only are they not hard to grow, but they grow by themselves. You do not
even need to devote a great deal of energy. Literally seeing these grow, your
earnings would certainly grow as well.
Unlike some other types of business, your startup capital doesn’t have to be
much. Your resources are mostly the limited manual labor needed. Should
you need a source of income, developing mushrooms and growing them is
just one excellent business to venture into.
There is a greater need for fresh mushrooms today than in the past. People
today prefer this than the ones that are canned. If you grow rare ones, then it
might even accumulate greater profits, even though those would be the dried
kind.
Here is what you want to understand:
Perhaps you have become determined to grow mushrooms for business? If
you already have, you want some expert guidance regarding the reason and
how to improve the business. Why not read on to find out more regarding the
venture you're about to embark upon.
New technology has yielded a better return. Therefore, if you're a newcomer
in the mushroom growing business, then the very perfect way to increase
them would be to buy a mushroom kit. Within this kit, you'll be presented
with everything that you want. You'll be provided with the spawn.
For all those unaware, spawns are similar to the seeds that you plant in the
substrate or surface. All these are contained in this kit. What's the very best
part? Together with your own substrate and spawns, you can begin.
It may take some time! Discuss the different types you can grow, when all
you've got to do is wait patiently! You might never even need to get another
kit. Maybe from the time your primary mushroom kit has gained its capacity
to make viable mushrooms, then you've got the expertise to delve farther into
mushroom growing.
Alright, here are a few common mushrooms that you're able to cultivate in
your home. It's possible to opt to develop shiitake, oyster, button as well as
morel mushrooms.
Now that you have decided on the type of mushroom, you would see that
there are two types of farming methods utilized in mushroom growing. It is
possible to either utilize soil or wood. In addition, you ought to keep in mind
that the kind of method employed should be determined by the kind of
mushroom, if you would like to find results the quickest.
Using wood means that the spawns are inserted in a log so as to spread the
mycelium. Consider the mycelium as the origin of your own mushrooms, the
component which makes the mushrooms develop into what you consume.
Additionally, included from the wood method is the straw method of farming,
in which you utilize straw as your own substrate.
The additional significant method employs dirt. However, as many
experienced mushroom growers could inform you, mushrooms that prefer
dirt are more difficult to develop than those that favor wood.
The conditions they want ought to be precise – and also to simulate these
conditions are somewhat more difficult to perform. Porcini and chantarelles
are examples of both mushrooms which love dirt. Better stick with the more
ordinary ones to make sure that you've got better yield.
Mushroom Economics
Planting your mushroom garden, cultivating, and harvesting them is just half
of this description. Selling them will not automatically mean you would find
a fantastic flow of cash.
Promoting them at grocery shops and you wind up getting small profits
compared to direct promoting your shrooms for clients. But again, direct
marketing means you have to do the advertising.
If you're going to promote them yourself, you have to make the product more
attractive. How can you do so? Will you promote them as natural and
organic? Will you tell clients you cultivated them inside? Can there be a
personal touch in your own mushroom growing? Can you choose the very
best ones to market? These questions have to be considered important,
whether you'd like your goods to remain in the market.
How do you know which mushrooms are the most lucrative? Consider the
prevalence and the source. Proceed to the neighborhood grocery store and
then scour the veggie aisle. Check out which mushroom sells the most there.
Also, test out what sorts of mushrooms are offered in a specific time of the
year. For instance, shiitake mushrooms are very popular nowadays but on
account of the supply and demand, these mushrooms have been hinted at
being economical during autumn and spring.

Some might tell you planting a variety gives better benefits. In the future, you
may also market dried ones that come in powder form or create your kit to be
offered to other enthusiasts.
Farming Mushrooms: A Troubleshooting Guide
If the proper measures are followed, mushroom farming could be a fairly
easy procedure and may lead to years of harvesting but failures occur. When
it's bad fortune, environmental variables or contamination, you have to have a
step to ascertain the origin of the issue with your mushrooms.
After troubleshooting, first analyze your general technique before trying to
isolate the origin of the issue, as executing a single part from the procedure
can exacerbate other issues. Obviously, eliminating possible issues in the first
area is the best choice.
For some issues, once they're found, it may be too late to create mushrooms
from this spawn. If that's the instance, observe these hints and be better
prepared next time.
Problem #1: Inoculated, However No Fruit
If the inoculated medium never creates mushrooms, the very first and most
typical solution for this dilemma is the time. Some mushroom types may
require a year or longer to create.
It can be rough for the novice to exercise patience, but should you stagger
cultivation for a few years, you'll have routine losses for a long time to come.
Several steps exist to speed things up to reinvigorate the mycelium
(mushroom "roots") when it is apparently slow. One would be to moisturize.
This includes moving logs, chips or another medium at least one time every
week-- even more during warm periods--and spraying logs with cold water
for 24 hours.
Another is appropriate airflow. Position logs outside at a well-ventilated
region which gets air from as many directions as possible.
If growing inside, keep a fan going or open windows to guarantee airflow
through the space. It is helpful but not entirely essential, to moisten the spawn
and increasing medium before inoculating.
You might also moisten the growing medium perfectly, following
inoculating, to help things move along quicker and stop the losses.
Another possible element is contaminated spawn. Prevent this by careful
managing. Clean your hands prior to tackling stem and afterwards, taking
breaks out of inoculation. Do not allow the spawn to touch any surface,
except the medium you anticipate inoculating and prevent handling it while
ill.
All manner of germs exist within the body and in the environment, which
may possibly contaminate your own spawn, taking over before the mycelium
has got an opportunity to attain dominance.
If you can, pasteurize your growing medium before inoculating. Ordinarily,
you can do this just with straw. Heat it up just enough to eliminate all
dangerous bacteria but keep beneficial bacteria alive. Sterilization – via
substances or very large heat or pressure – will destroy all germs and leave an
opening for bad bacteria.
The perfect pasteurization temperature is between 160- and 180-degrees F.
Heat water to 160 to 170 levels, keep this temperature and then leave the
straw in water for an hour.
Problem #2: Growing Mycelium However No Fruit
If, upon analyzing your own logs or another medium, you detect white
fibrous substances, your stem has started creating mycelium. It may
nevertheless be a while before to mushrooms arrive.
If they do, or even should they begin to shape, however, you may have
employed a lousy breed or mismatched the pressure along with increasing
medium.
In the prior circumstance, select a different breed another time around; at the
latter, study carefully to make certain you utilize the most suitable medium.
Do not confuse very tiny mushrooms or hooks, using aborted mushrooms.
Frequently, you will just see hooks nicely before you reach complete growth.
Problem #3: Substrate Not Producing
Be certain you realize the best area for the pressure you purchase and the
expanding lifespan before deciding that you've got a developing problem.
The three chief designations of each breed's perfect growing states have been
"warm weather," "cold weather," and also "broad selection."
These signify when they are very likely to fruit in contrast to the environment
where they grow best. To put it differently, if you reside in a reasonably
temperate area, you are able to plant all three breeds to get staggered
harvesting.
Broad range breeds should produce in midsummer, late autumn or early
spring—based on the way northerly or southerly your climate is; chilly
weather breeds will produce in early spring and late autumn in warmer
climates and the majority of the winter at southerly areas; and hot weather
breeds normally produce from midsummer to early autumn in many climates.
The simplest way to deal with mushrooms that are slow to create would be
patience.
Problem #4: Deformities
Long stalks, underdeveloped or cracked caps, "fuzzy feet," and other
deformities may result from insufficient lighting, an excessive amount of
moisture or bad airflow.
The vast majority of mushrooms require a certain level of diffused lighting to
grow. As the fruit grows, it is going to turn towards the light.
A badly lit place will trigger the stem to grow too long since it attempts to tip
the cap, and which will remain little and narrow, encouraging benign.
An excessive amount of moisture or inadequate moisture may also lead to
deformities. Do not let logs rest in pools of warm water or put any medium in
a place which stays always moist.
Moisture is excellent for mushrooms, however, you have to give it a chance
to evaporate. If moisture is insufficient, mushrooms may produce but will
probably be brittle and dry with caps that are cracked.
Insert consistent and more moisture if you experience this. Just like with
almost any other part of the procedure, fantastic airflow is essential to
preventing deformities. Mushrooms enjoy high CO2 environments and can
create fuzzy feet having a deficiency of clean air.
Problem #5: Spoiling Immediately After Harvest
Late harvesting may lead to spoiling. Use late-harvested mushrooms
immediately or prevent harvesting late. Most mushrooms are harvested if
their caps continue to be downturned and while tender. Avoid harvesting
mushrooms that are wet.
If selling and packaging mushrooms in a farmers market, chill them prior to
packaging. Bundle them in watertight containers coated in cellophane or an
anticondensation greenhouse film.
These will be the key issues you might experience when developing
mushrooms. You likely won't experience all--or any of these if you've
followed all proper actions. Always study the suitable technique, increasing
environment and medium for every kind of mushroom you develop.
The majority of the job in developing mushrooms is done punctually. All you
need to do is get things started and wait patiently for this first crop (and a lot
more) of yummy gourmet dishes.
Eight Reasons Why Your Mushrooms Aren't Growing
1. Not enough moisture
Mycelium, the subterranean vegetative development of a parasite, requires a
moist environment to flourish and create mushrooms. Mushrooms themselves
are mostly water, so in the event that you allow the mycelium to dry or even
the humidity level to get too low, then nothing will occur.
Option: Pay attention to moisture and humidity levels! Should you cultivate
mushrooms outside, be certain you keep your bed or padding slightly moist.
Be certain that you water or mist once you feel and see things drying outside.
If you nurture indoors under sterile conditions, you will have to track
humidity and moisture levels more closely. An inexpensive hygrometer can
help you to do so.
2. Too much moisture
The reverse of the aforementioned issue also does occur. Too much moisture
may result in a soggy substrate mold and water.
Standing water promotes bacterial expansion and mold; two items that
compete with your mycelium. Though we wish to continue to keep our
developing network moist and might even take it for a day in the beginning,
leaving in water is simply asking for trouble.

Option: It is about drainage. If you are using a mushroom growing kit, then
do not let it sit after you have misted it. If you are using bins or bags or any
other indoor system, do not over-water and create holes in the ground for
water to escape.
Keep this in mind if you are trying to develop your own mushrooms outside
also. A bed should have sufficient drainage, rather than be in a region where
it'll sit and promote mold.
3. Not sterile enough
The real world is really a continuous battle of good versus bad. Your
mycelium should take over and stay in charge of the area planted or it'll lose
out to mold and other micro-competitors.
Attempting to take this into consideration will result in mold mildew spores
and other awful items taking on your undertaking. Even if it should make
mushrooms, then you likely won't wish to consume them.
Option: This can be easier to perform when seeking to develop mushrooms in
outside beds. Keep hygiene in your mind by keeping up a fantastic working
atmosphere. Follow apparent principles like washing your own hands.
Based on the type of job, you might choose to prepare your own substrate to
begin with to dissuade micro-competitors. Pasteurization by straw is among
those methods.

For many indoor projects like growing from allergens, you are going to want
to keep strict sterility to be able to prevent contamination. Obtaining
equipment like a leak hood, autoclave or pressure cooker (appropriate ) is
frequently vital. Do a great deal of reading until you do something such as
this. It is not for novices!
4. Not enough air exchange
Mushrooms do not want as much new atmosphere as we do, however, they
still require it. With no air , carbon dioxide levels build up along with your
own mushrooms, which will appear as stunted, spindly things which are all
stalks without any limits; very unsatisfactory.
Solution: Make sure that your project has a stream of clean air. Do not put
things in regions having no air flow.
If you are growing in a sealed environment, you might choose to take it out a
couple of times daily for clean air. Just take note that if you introduce new
air, you introduce the possibility of contaminants and reduced humidity
levels. It is a delicate dance!
5. The incorrect atmosphere
The key to learning how to increase mushrooms is to make an environment
that is conducive to the species which you are cultivating. Make them feel at
home!
That means do not attempt to develop a warm-temperature mushroom in
chilly weather. Do not attempt to nurture a timber loving species in soil.
Ensure that your mushroom substrate is nutrient rich. Fundamentally, provide
the mycelia with exactly what it needs to thrive.
Option: Research. Know what type of mushroom you are attempting to
develop and what they want before starting. You do not need to read
somebody's PhD thesis, however, a little understanding goes a very long way.
6. Lousy spawn
Mushroom spawn that is older or has traveled a terrific distance might not be
as vigorous and might fail to flourish and produce. It is no fantastic secret
you ought to possess the safest spawn possible to broaden your odds to
successfully cultivate mushrooms.
Option: First off, just purchase spawn from a respectable firm. In the event
you buy from somewhere sketchy with lousy business practices, you will find
a poor product. Ideally, purchase from somewhere near you, so that your
spawn does not need to go really far.
After all, the best guidance would be to utilize it or lose it! Do not let spawn
sit forever, since it will weaken, and produce wastes, and potentially
contaminate. Keeping it in the fridge will prolong its lifetime, but it becomes
much less feasible with each passing week.
7. Deficiency of research/understanding of the mushroom life cycle
You do not need to become a specialist or mycologist to know a few
fundamental principles of this mushroom life cycle. Understanding how this
organism operates greatly reduces the odds of your mushrooms not growing.
You will be better equipped to know what mycelium is, the way that it feeds,
and everything it requires to endure.
Option: Again, study. You do not need to understand everything, however,
some research at the start is critical.
Do not worry yourself and make things too complicated. Learning how to
develop mushrooms is enjoyable! Consider it as an enjoyable educational
adventure, one that is not limited from the often-boring bounds of a
classroom.
8. Deficiency of patience
Mycelium takes some time to develop into a substrate and develop
mushrooms. In the instance of several mushrooms, such as morels, it might
even take a long time!
This is not an action for the impatient, something that I struggle with, being a
rather impatient individual myself. However, fear not, careful watching and
waiting are rewarded in this hobby.
Option: Ummm. . .be patient? Easier said than done. I understand!
Love watching things develop and becoming the rhythm of fungi life cycle. If
it seems as if nothing is happening, do not quit too soon. Wait a bit longer
and do not simply write the entire thing off.
Frequently at this point, I have discovered that all a mushroom demands is
much more water plus a bit more TLC.
 CONCLUSION

Though growing mushrooms is similar to gardening different veggies, it is

possible to still develop mushrooms on your property. With the perfect
materials, developing this wholesome addition to every dish is much easier
than it sounds. Mushrooms develop from contamination – maybe not seeds—
which are so tiny that you cannot view spores with the naked eye.
Since the spores do not contain chlorophyll to start germinating (like seeds
do) they rely upon materials like sawdust, bamboo, wooden shelves, counter
tops, wood chips, and liquid to get nutrition. A mix of these spores and all
these nutrients is known as spawn. Spawn plays somewhat as the foreigner
needed to create sourdough bread.
The spawn affirms the development of mushrooms' white, threadlike roots,
also known as mycelium. The mycelium grows, before anything which looks
like a mushroom pushes throughout the developing medium.
The spawn itself may grow mushrooms, but you are going to find a better
mushroom crop if the stem is applied to a parasite or developing medium.
Based upon the mushroom kind, the substrate may be soil, filler, logs, wood
chips or mulch using a mix of materials like straw, corncobs, cherry and
cotton seed hulls, gypsum, and vitamin nutritional supplements.
Mushrooms favor dark, cool, moist, and humid growing surroundings. When
growing mushrooms in your home, a cellar is often perfect, however, a place
below the sink might be everything you want.
Examine the proposed place by assessing the temperature. Many mushrooms
grow best in temperatures between 55- and 60-degrees F, from drying to
smoke and heat. Enoki mushrooms favor cooler temperatures, roughly 45
degrees F. Many basements are too hot in the summertime to develop
mushrooms, which means you may wish to think about growing mushrooms
as a winter task.
Mushrooms can withstand some mild chill, however, the place you pick
should remain comparatively dark or in low light. Some mushroom kinds
grow outside in prepared logs or ground, a procedure which takes
considerably longer (six weeks to three years) than in controlled surroundings
indoors.
Farming mushroom is can be quite a hectic endeavor. Also, for people that
are considering beginning one, it's very important that they purchase the right
equipment and machines which are utilized on this farm.
If you're farming mushrooms, then you will not truly need apparatus to probe
and place the dirt directly, however, what you will require is appropriate
mushroom farming equipment that's needed to properly care for the
mushrooms while they're in the developing phase. There are a great deal of
unique procedures that will need to be performed while the mushrooms have
been planted as a way to make them longer, and should you fail to execute
these procedures, it would be quite hard for you to develop very good
mushrooms on your own farm.
Overall, mushrooms are very interesting but complex organisms. They are
very tasty and have been claimed to be good medicine. It should not be
forgotten about the psychedelic features that are experienced by people who
utilize the “magic mushrooms. “
No matter the uses or the nutritional benefits which could be derived by
consuming mushroom, the cultivation of the fungi is not as hard as it seems.
The guide you have just read has detailed the etymology, the distinct feature
of various types and also how best to grow the fungi effectively for yourself
(whether for personal usage or sale).
It is hoped that you use this information to cultivate your own mushrooms
and your interest is piqued enough so as to do further research.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Korman is a gardening expert, agricultural scientist, writer and proud
dad of two beautiful girls. He is a social advocate and a big believer in natural
wellness and healthy lifestyles, advocating for the safe application
psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
Richard fell avidly in love with gardening very early. As a kid and farm boy,
one of his favorite garden plants was sweet basil. His love for gardening was
one deeply felt, for it is still the mystery of plants that keep him awake deep
into the night.
Richard is a graduate of Colorado State University, where he received a BS
and MS in Agricultural Science. He is currently a doctoral researcher of
mushroom botany at the University of Arizona. His latest book, “Magic
Mushrooms” provides outstanding tips and insight into the intriguing benefits
of psilocybin mushrooms.
He is an incurable optimist who sees the good in everyone and thrives by
helping them become a better version of themselves.
 Magic
MUSHROOMS
(The Complete Guide to Growing
and Using Psilocybin Mushrooms)

Richard Korman
 DISCLAIMER

Copyright 2019 by Richard Korman - All rights reserved.

The transmission, duplication or reproduction of any of the following work
including specific information will be considered an illegal act irrespective of
whether it is done electronically or in print.
This extends to creating a secondary or tertiary copy of the work or a
recorded copy and is only allowed with an expressed written consent from
the Publisher. All additional rights reserved.
Additionally, the information in the following pages is intended only for
informational purposes and should thus be thought of as universal. As
befitting its nature, it is presented without assurance regarding its prolonged
validity or interim quality.

The author is not in any way accountable for any results or outcomes that
emanate from using this material. Constructive attempts have been made to
provide information that is both accurate and effective, but the author is not
bound for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information.
 INTRODUCTION
The use of mind-altering substances, such as mushrooms, has been seen in
the history of humankind – whether it be as an aid in religious ceremonies to
encounter “spiritual consciousness” or used recreationally. These substances,
often referred to as drugs, are now established within our societies.
Their usage has been critiqued by many, and such critique within the legal
circles has led to their ban in many parts of the world, especially due to the
results of scientific research that claims they are harmful to the human body
and psyche. The use of these mushrooms is also frowned upon due to societal
norms.
Yet, it is actually scientific research which has led to the continuation of such
a debate of “to use or not to use,” as research has also shown how these
‘drugs’ positively impact the health of humans.
Well, the mushrooms that are apart of such legal discussions are not the kind
that helps to make superb tasting risotto or even those we would commonly
have on our pizzas; nor the mushrooms which are toxic/poisonous and may
lead to death. The mushrooms which are deemed most helpful, and harmful
at the same time, are those of the psychedelic nature. These are known as
“magic mushrooms.” What makes them distinct from other mushrooms, is
the substance “psilocybin,” which produces the hallucinogenic effects
experienced by its users.
If you wish to partake in such an experience, how is it that you will know
which mushroom is safe and will give you the desired results? You may even
question how harmful or useful these drugs may be to you.
This guide hopes to provide the answers to questions such as these and more.
As a guide on magic mushrooms, it will present details about the history of
their usage, provide specifics on the different kinds, and the best ones to
consume.
It will even further guide you on how to identify them, helping you to make a
distinction between psilocybin mushrooms and those that are fatal.
You will also be able to delve deeper into the various research which
provides information on how magic mushrooms may be used to improve
health – research related to cancer, mental disorders and other ailments.
In addition, if your interest has been ever so piqued and you wish to cultivate
these mushrooms for your own use, this guide will give you steps to help you
on your way to grow these in your home.
The objective information presented in this book will look at the varied
positive and negative effects of these drugs. It is hoped that at the end of
reading, you will have a better understanding of magic mushrooms,
producing your own conclusive analysis about the surrounding the usage of
these psychedelic fungi.
 CHAPTER ONE

WHAT ARE MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Magic mushrooms, as they're understood, are naturally occurring fungi that

are ordinarily consumed raw or dried and can be consumed in coffee or tea.
These mushrooms create hallucinogenic effects on the consumer.

Dried Magic Mushrooms

There are variety of magical mushrooms with varying strengths of

hallucinogenic effects. Fundamentally, preparation methods and consumption
methods are dependent on the user. If consumption produces gratifying
effects or even a nightmarish experience is not something the user may
control. It normally takes no more than an hour to your “trip” or for you to
begin hallucinating, and such effects may last up to six hours per day. It's
similar (and is a less extreme alternative) to the a more harmful semi-
synthetic hallucinogen LSD.
Magic mushrooms are usually prepared by massaging and are consumed by
being blended into food or beverages, though some people today eat freshly
harvested magic mushrooms.
They also have “street names.,” such as:

Shrooms,
Mushies,
Blue meanies,
Gold shirts,
Freedom caps,
Philosopher's stones,
Liberties,
Amani,
Easy simon,
Small smoke,
Cubes,
Purple fire,
Holy mushrooms,
Small smoke,
Zoomers,
Boomers,
As well as Agaric.
Whilst the long-term ramifications of taking magic mushrooms may result in
poisoning, the greatest challenge in alleviating that is their normal
accessibility (they increase in wild grazing areas in or about horse and cow
stool).
This may be a little of an irresistible lure to the delight seeking mushroom
users who will go out and gather them on their own, believing that every
single mushroom is consumable.
But not everyone of these parasites will be the desirable types and it can be
exceedingly hard to differentiate ones that are or are not hazardous. A few of
those mushrooms have been extremely poisonous and can kill in a really slow
and painful manner, causing symptoms such as nausea, fever, and diarrhoea.
Some have a delayed response where it takes some time to demonstrate
symptoms or signs prior to committing suicide. There is no antidote for such
an effect.
 Poisonous Mushrooms

Since magic mushrooms are naturally occurring rather than synthesized

before ingestion, they're somewhat naively regarded as a safe medication.
No medication is entirely safe, and many medications are constantly
occurring or processed from organic plants or fungi anyhow. Having said
this, they are not called an addictive or heavy medication.
They are not considered equally overly violent or emotionally harmful as
LSD, nor are they even corroding like heroin or crack. Based upon the
mushroom-users’ psychological disposition, mushrooms may have a harmful
impact on the consumer.
For example, if the consumer is more prone to getting a delicate mental
condition or is obviously an extremely impressionable character, they might
think their hallucinations are the symptom of something authentic and
eventually become somewhat preoccupied with it and ultimately, damaged by
it.
Such documented instances of those extremities includes one in which a child
started taking mushrooms and began having persistent hallucinations of a
blossom dressed as a court-jester which taunted him with insults.
As absurd as it seems, without ignoring these hallucinations, he thought this
abusive-flower was the symptom of misconceptions concerning himself and
he then spiralled to a serious depression.
He and his friends thought he was totally fine before using mushrooms, but
somewhere during the period, the ill-effects became evident.
Unfortunately, to this day, he struggles with emotional and psychological
issues which just were not there before the life-changing hallucinations
brought on by the mushrooms.
It would not be possible to say for sure in this case when and how the
mushrooms were responsible for activating such continuing mental troubles,
or if an inherent mental illness induced with the mushroom, but it's definitely
worth bearing in mind.
In the past it was thought that it was reckless teens and hippies who flocked
to partake in magic mushroom usage; maybe not anymore. According to two
recent researches, magical mushrooms, or even the drug psilocybin, might
have important advantages for cancer patients suffering from stress and
depression.
One (1) dose gave 80% of participants relief from stress in just six months.
Some were anxiety-free four decades later.

Group of Psilocybin Mushrooms

According to researchers, magical mushrooms eased depression and anxiety

due to the sensation of being "you". This induces an alteration in the mind, or
neuroplasticity.
Studies with MRI imaging showed that psilocybin alters brain action,
allowing for communicating between areas of the brain which normally don't
link.
In a December 1, 2016, in a Time Magazine article, Dinah Bazer tells of her
encounter with taking one dose of psilocybin in a research in NYU Langone
Medical Centre.

Dinah stated that at first, she sensed dread and just like she had been
"glancing through space." After being guided by the researchers, she
managed to unwind and view her dread as a black mass within her entire
body. She took charge and arranged the black bulk outside, and it vanished.
She then "... began to feel like love. I felt as though I was being kissed in love
and its own overwhelming, beautiful, lovely... The sensation of astounding
love lingered for months, and four decades later, I feel like it sometimes. My
panic and nervousness were totally eliminated, and they have not return...
The experience changed how I wished to live my entire life... I'd like to
envision what it'd be like when the cancer recurred, however I do not think of
it the exact same way.
While I do not feel well and ideas of a recurrence creep to my thoughts, I
deficiency dread and just believe. Let us just see what happens."
What Goes Up Must Come Down
Even though the advantages of magical mushrooms look promising, based on
Stephen Ross, who headed the NYU research, "If somebody goes out and
will themselves, they might have tremendous pressure and paranoia, [and]
also may feel a lot worse. Though I am sympathetic, I would strongly urge
individuals not [to] do this."
Even in controlled scenarios, we are still quite doubtful that the advantages of
magical mushrooms outweigh the risks. This reminds us how some people
today assert that bong hits of marijuana possess no or few side effects. Just as
we did not need to think it from our late teens, we believe all the drugs have
the capability to negatively impact emotions and psychological wellness,
block religious development, and may entice negative things and religious
demons.
Additionally, it is important to take into account the physiological
complications of swallowing mind-altering drugs (and extra alcohol), which
may include vitamin/mineral deficiencies, liver problems, cognitive issues,
and much more.
 A CONCISE HISTORY OF
MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Some historians believe that magic mushrooms were used in 9000 B.C. in
North African indigenous civilizations, according to representations in stone
paintings found in Spain and Algeria. Statues and other agents of what seem
like mushrooms were also discovered in Aztec and Mayan ruins in Central
America. The Aztecs used a material known as teonanácatl, translated as
"flesh of the gods," that most think was magical mushrooms.

Maya Mushroom Stones

Together with peyote, morning glory seeds, along with other naturally
occurring psychotropics the items have been utilized to cause a trance, create
visions, and speak with the gods. After Spanish Catholic missionary priests
arrived into the New World from the 16th century, a number of them wrote
concerning the usage of the substances.
However, the idea that magical mushrooms have a very long, sacred history
is exceptionally controversial. Some consider that none of the proof is
definitive, and people are seeing exactly what they want to see in the early
paintings, sculptures, and manuscripts. However, there's supported use
among many modern tribes of native peoples in Central America, such as the
Mazatec, Mixtec, Nauhua, and Zapatec.
Magic mushrooms started to be consumed by Westerners in the late 1950s. A
Mycologist (one that studies mushrooms), R. Gordon Wasson, travelled
through Mexico to research mushrooms in 1955. He observed and
participated in a ritual service utilizing magical mushrooms. It was guided by
a shaman of the Mazatec, native men and women that reside from the Oaxaca
area of southern Mexico. Wasson wrote of his findings which was printed in
Life magazine in 1957. An editor developed the title "Seeking the Magic
Mushroom" along with the guide in the origin of the word, though Wasson
did not utilize it. Among Wasson's co-workers, Roger Heim had enjoyed the
assistance of Albert Hofmann (the "father" of LSD), that isolated and
extracted psilocybin and psilocin from mushrooms Heim and Wasson
brought back in Mexico. This was what propelled him to create the Harvard
Psilcybin Project.

Dr. Timoty Leary

Timothy Leary, possibly the most well-known proponent of psychotropic

medications such as LSD, read the Life article and this piqued his interest. He
created the Harvard Psilocybin Project to examine the effects of the chemical
on people. From that point, magical mushrooms became inextricably attached
to the hippie movement along with its own hunt for new types of spirituality,
for the remaining part of the decade.
The 1970s introduced a ban on psilocybin, except in cases of clinical
research, which have just recently started again after over 30 decades.
Who would have believed that some kinds of mushrooms maintain magical
health benefits? Research conducted by Associate Professor Min Zhang,
School of Population Health at the University of Western Australia, about the
favourable effects of ingesting mushrooms for girls in China, demonstrates
that the Agaricus household of mushrooms possess a unique magic, that has
mostly gone unnoticed, which can make us healthier.
 RETURN OF THE MAGIC MUSHROOM

Fans of Super Mario may notice mushrooms in the game, research scientists
are now doing further investigations on the uses of effects of mushrooms, and
chefs across the world cook with them. They appear overnight, disappear as
quickly, and they leave no more trace of the trip.
People who research fungi are known as mycologists and today, the fungus
has been considered as a potential remedy for cancer, obesity, PTSD (Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder), and a few other emotional ailments.

Mushrooms Laboratory Analysis

Mushrooms, occasionally called toadstools, are bodies of fungus that grow

above ground on land or on a food resource. They're separated out of the
plant world within a kingdom called Myceteae, since they don't include
chlorophyll such as plants.
Without the method of photosynthesis, a few mushrooms acquire
nourishment by breaking down organic matter or simply by consuming
higher plants. These are called decomposers. Another type attacks living
crops to kill and eat them, and they're known as parasites.
 Tree Mushrooms

Edible and poisonous forms are mycorrhizal, are observed near or on

branches of trees like oaks, pines, and firs.
For individuals, mushrooms can perform one of three (3) things – nourish,
cure, or poison. Few are benign. The three most common edible variations of
the “meat of this vegetable world'” would be the oyster, morel, and
chanterelles.
They're used widely in cuisine in China, Korea, Japan, and India. In fact,
China is the world's biggest producer, boosting more than half of all
mushrooms consumed globally.
The majority of the edible number within our supermarkets are grown
commercially on trucks, include varieties such as shiitake, portobello and
enoki.
 Shiitake Mushrooms

Portobello Mushrooms
 Enoki Mushrooms

Eastern medication, particularly traditional Chinese clinics, has employed

mushrooms for decades. Within the U.S., research was conducted in the early
'60s for potential techniques to regulate the immune system and also to
inhibit tumour development with extracts utilized in cancer study.
In the quarter century which followed, 40,000 sufferers have been awarded
psilocybin and other hallucinogens like LSD and mescaline. Over 1,000
research papers were created. When the authorities took note of the
developing subculture open to embracing the usage of mushrooms,
regulations were enacted.
The Nixon Administration started rules, which comprised the Controlled
Substances Act of 1970. The legislation established five programs of
increasing seriousness under which medication must be categorized.
Psilocybin was set at the most restrictive program combined with marijuana
and MDMA. Each was described with a "high potential for abuse, no
currently acceptable medical use and a lack of accepted security."
This halted the study for almost 25 years, until recently when research
opened for possible use in coping with or solving PTSD disorder together
with stress problems. In June 2014, entire mushrooms or extracts were
analysed in 32 clinical trials within the U.S. National Institutes of Health
because of their possible consequences on many different disorders and
ailments. Some illnesses being treated include cancer, pneumonia and
immune functions, and inflammatory bowel disorder.
The controversial subject of study is using psilocybin, a naturally occurring
compound in certain mushrooms. Its capacity to assist people experiencing
psychological conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, and
stress, continue to be researched. Psilocybin has additionally been proven to
be more effective in treating addiction to smoking and smoking cigarettes in
certain research.

Mushrooms Laboratory Analysis

Even though the fungi have fascinated people for decades, mushrooms could
finally be arriving into a new age where their therapeutic abilities and
unfamiliar qualities have been uncovered. The mushroom may well hold the
key to a long history of mysteries as well as ailments.
Mycology, the analysis of mushrooms is bringing new researchers who want
to delve into the “fungus among people." Already used for a number of health
care reasons round the world, the humble toadstool could possibly be thrust
into the spotlight very quickly, as an effective, alternative remedy for several
stubborn discomforts.
Mushrooms are appreciated by growers because of their high nutrient value.
For example, they can create vitamin D when exposed to sun. Mushrooms
include B vitamins, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium,
calcium, and zinc.
Medicinal mushrooms have tens of tens of thousands of nutrients and
compounds which are health-strengthening. Eastern medication, notably
traditional Chinese clinics, has employed mushrooms for decades. In the
U.S., research have been conducted from the early 60s for potential
techniques to regulate the immune system and also to inhibit cancerous
tumour development using fungi extracts.
Mushroom searching is a favourite activity in many countries, however it
isn't safe. Many edible mushrooms are nearly equal to poisonous ones. It
requires a specialist to tell the difference. Additionally, mushrooms act as a
sponge and readily absorb toxins from dirt and atmosphere. Even so,
mushrooms can easily be regarded as “healthy.”
Medicinal usage of mushrooms is now occurring after centuries, with great
reason – they're effective. It's time for more focused research exploring other
uses and abilities of the delicate gift from nature.
Magic mushrooms have been wild or cultivated, which feature psilocybin,
also a naturally occurring psychoactive along with hallucinogenic chemical.
Psilocybin is considered among the most famous psychedelics, according to
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations. Psilocybin
is categorized as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse
and contains no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the USA.
 KINDS OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Foraging for wild mushrooms is dicey. Additionally, there are thousands of

species, so many with very similar capabilities. Some poisonous mushrooms
can merely result in stomach issues, but others may lead to organ failure and
death. Hunting for virtually any kind of raw mushroom is usually best left to
individuals that are extremely educated concerning mushroom identification.
Even those who've been searching mushrooms for years have made errors. A
portion of this identification method is the invention of a spore printing,
which entails pressing on the cap gill-side down on a sheet of newspaper
(typically both white and black, to see a comparison); so, its spores are
published. (We will discuss more about the applications for spore prints
afterwards.)
There are scores of species of fauna inside the genus psilocybe. The majority
of them are all on the other side – that the ordinary dimensions is a 3-inch
stem along with also a 1-inch cap. When young, they normally have light
greyish, yellow, or brown stems with brownish or brown-and-white caps and
dark gills.
You will find Over 100 species of magic mushrooms, however, the best ones
are considered to be:

Psilocybe azurescens (greatest psilocybin material)

Psilocybe bohemica (next greatest psilocybin material)
Conocbe cyanopus
Copelandia cyanescens
Panaeolus africanus
Panaeolus subbalteus
Inocybe aeruginascens
Psilocybe cubensis
Psilocybe cyanescens
Psilocybe mexicana
Psilocybe semilanceata
Psilocybe tampanensis
Let’s look at some of the most famous varieties in detail.
Psilocybe cubensis
Psilocybe cubensis is on the bigger side so far as magical mushrooms are
concerned. It is also among the most frequently experienced. It is called the
typical big psilocybe, gold Mexican, or cap mulch, and it has several distinct
kinds. The cover is generally red brown, with a white or yellow stem. When
bruised or crushed, its tacky flesh frequently turns out.

Psilocybe cubensis

Many folks think this a definitive indication of locating a magical mushroom,

however a few poisonous kinds of mushrooms bruise also. It is generally
located in damp, humid climates, and also develops on the dung of all grazing
animals like cows.
Psilocybe semilanceata
Psilocybe semilanceata or freedom cap is a frequent psilocybin mushroom.
Generally, P. semilanceata. It can be located in moist, mountainous areas
usually inhabited by cows.
 Psilocybe semilanceata

However similar to P. cubensis, it does not grow right on the dung. It is a

little mushroom, either bright brown or yellowish, with a rather pointed cap.
The other psilocybe mushroom, Psilocybe pelliculosa, is frequently confused
for P. semilanceata, however, its particular properties are somewhat poorer.
Psilocybe baeocystis
Psilocybe baeocystis includes a dark brown cover and brown or yellow stem
when reenergizing.
 Psilocybe baeocystis

It may be seen in areas as well as developing on rotting logs, including peat

or compost. Nicknames include powerful Psilocybeblue bell and jar cap.
 IDENTIFYING MUSHROOMS

Identification of wild mushrooms may seem daunting and has to be

approached with caution. Observing this list, you are going to be able to
come across basic features that are necessary to properly identify mushrooms.
It's possible to utilize this guide to get a list of items to check and record if
confronted with an unknown species. The identification of mushrooms can be
also a great hobby to boost personality hikes, and with proper knowledge, it
will make it feasible that you forage choice edibles you may strike. This will
not substitute for study on the regional area and in-depth comprehension of
mosquito colonies.
1. Assessing Time and Place:

A. Discover what foods you would expect to find in accordance with

your location and time.
B. Research what mushrooms are clearly situated on your part of the
world; this will narrow your list of possible species tremendously.
C. Notice the time. Some mushrooms are only situated in a particular
interval (spring/summer/fall/winter).

2. Locate what the fungus is growing on:

A. Organic item:

In foliage
Compost
Soil

B. On wood:

Live on sterile timber

Hardwood or softwood
Species of tree
3. Make a determination of species and safety level once the mushroom is
found, in affiliation with one or many tree species. This will mean it is a
mycorrhizal or possibly a parasitic bacterium. Mycorrhizal fungi are
generally found on the root system of trees and will be found round the
foundations of trees, much extending outside. This is occasionally tricky to
distinguish, especially in the event the number of specimens is decreased.

Mycorrhizal fungi increase in a regular radial from the shrub's

base.
Mycorrhizal fungi can create tethered fairy circles across the
base of live or dead trees.
Parasitic fungi will enlarge at the base of the tree directly or on
the wood.
So, know your location and what mushrooms enlarge. In addition, note that
fungal networks can survive after a shrub has died.
4. Make note of your surroundings. Specific Species need certain
surroundings to grow.

Meadow
Wetlands/floodplains
Moist or arid area of forests
What type of forests you're in (deciduous / conifer / mixed)
Sandy or arid conditions
Coastal regions

5. Assessing the Pileus or Cap

A. Examine the kind of the cap. Also, note the maturity of the
mushroom. Is it:

Convex – A slick, dome-like cap.

Hemispherical/Ovoid – Only like half an egg.
Campanulate – Bell-shaped.
 Conical – Cone-like in appearance.
Umbonate – With a basic umbo (a curved bulge) and flat cap.
Umbilicate – With a basic round depression, like the reverse of
umbonate.
Papillate – With a sharp bulge at the centre of the pay.
Funnel – Steep central sadness forming a funnel.
Sunken – Cap gloomy, with margins larger than the centre.
Flat – A planar cap.
Cylindrical – Rounded shirt with an extremely long
perpendicular cap (e.g. shaggy mane).
Bracket – Shelf-like limits climbing on wood; typically, fan-
shaped.
Spherical – Totally about; only discovered in puffballs and
unbroken volva.

B. Examine the cross-sectional cap edge/margin. See the way in which

the cap and spore surface meet. Is it:

Straight – End of the cap onto the specific same plane; no

curve.
Incurved/Downturned – Edge of the pay arch down.
Recurved/Upturned – End of the cap arch upwards.
Involute – Edge of the pay curled down.
Revolute – End of the cap curled upward.
Rounded – Edge of the pay around.
Sterile – In the event the edge of the cap runs past the spore
surface.

C. Examine the summary of the perimeter. Is it:

Entire/Smooth – Unbroken outline.

Scalloped – Has regular of semicircles.
 Striate – Short, parallel ridges.
Lobed – Margins cleave inward, like the lobes on a foliage.
Sinuate – Wavy borders.
Cracked/Rimose – Splits in the cap collectively perimeter.
Appendiculate – Collectively with veins turning off perimeter.

D. Examine the appearance and texture of the cap. Is it:

Smooth – Smooth to the touch.

Velvety – Tiny hairs that are fragile to touch at the base.
Scales – Close to overlapping fibres on the cap, such as scales.
Corrugated – Wrinkled in texture and appearance.
Hairy – Fibrous; might be somewhat shaggy.
Areolate – A busted routine, quite like paint.
Warts – Remains of a timeless veil scatter the top layer.
Viscid – Moist and slimy (often stands outside).
Waxy – Cap coated at a smooth outer coat.
Zonate – Concentric groups of colour (e.g. turkey tail).

6. Find characteristics of the hymenium or spore surface.

A. Look at the base of your specimen and locate the spore surface.
Notice its appearance. The most common types are:
Lamellae – Gills across the floor; relatively thin and
delicate.
Pores – A decorative coating together with tubes, which
could possibly be considered holes.
Teeth – Icicle-like constructions which hang down.
False Gills – Flesh ridges concerning the hymenium; might
seem like gills (e.g., chanterelle).
Gleba – The interior spore-producing flesh of puffballs.
B. Locate where the gills meet the Stem and see the pattern of
 attachment. Are they:
Free – Gills do not reach stem.
Adnexed – Gills attach only where the stem and base
match.
Adnate – Attached to stem for complete diameter of the
gill (right).
Decurrent – Gills run down the stem cells.
Collarium – Gills do not reach stem but are linked by a
collar.
Sinuate – Strong top notch in the gills before slightly
jogging down the stem.
C. Check the gills to see if they are laid out under the cap. Are they:
Crowded – Gills in extreme proximity.
Close Gills – Close together but using described spacing
between.
Sub-distant – Gills spelled out fairly.
Distant – Tremendous space between the gills.

7. Assessing the Stipe or Stem

A. Determine status of stem. Examine the bottom where the stem and
clog meet. Is it:
Central – Located in the centre of the pay.
Exocentric – Offset to the centre of the cap.
Lateral – Stem located in accord with all the cap (not
vertical).
Sessile – Stem not present.
B. Determine the kind of the stem. Be particular to view the base,
which could be underground or covered. Is it:
Equal – Equal breadth down the stem.
Clavate – Stem gradually gets larger at the base, such as a
pub.
 Bulbous – Base of stem cells, often coated, seems to be an
onion.
Volva – Cup-like sac in the base of the stem (remains of a
global veil).
Tapered – Stem gets skinnier at the base.
Radicating – A stem employing a slim root-like
arrangement in the base.
C. Look from the sense and appearance of the stem. See the colour and
another surface attributes. Stem texture is often essential in boletes
(stem cells and protect hens collectively with pores).
Smooth – Smooth to the touch.
Scabers – Small stubble like fibres throughout the stem;
notice the colour.
Glandular Dots – Pigmented dots round the stem,
additionally an abysmal feature in identifying Suillus
mushrooms.
Scales – A wart-like or darkened layout.
Reticulate--A net-like pattern or weathered appearance to
the stem.
D. Examine the interior. Employing a sharp knife make an incision
throughout the base of the stem, then also the cap if needed; the
purpose is to observe the cross section of the mushroom. Is it:
Powerful – An absorption.
Tubular – Hollow tube through centre.
Hollow – Lean partitions.
Fibrous – A thread-like inside.
E. Locate the tight veil, at the function present. The mushroom's spore
surface is covered when young and ripens in maturity, often leaving
signs. This is not a feature in many mushrooms. Consider the stem
and find any remains of a veil; the remains can take particular forms
such as:
Sheath – Extension of stalks outer coat; sticks such as a
 vase.
Twist Zone – A mark or helpless ring produced from the
tight veil.
Flaring – Stiff ring sticks outside.
Pendant – Skirt-like ring.
Cortinate – Cobweb-like fibres.
Slimy – Lots of mushrooms have a coat of slime to get a
veil.

8. Contemplating Growing Patterns and Spores

A. Examine the whole structure of this specimen, together with the

location for others. See the pattern in the place where they develop.
Standard designs comprise of:
Cespitose – Growing from compact clusters, as well as
stems fused or packed together (e.g., Enoki).
Gregarious – Growing separately however in tiny clusters.
Solitary – Always found individually or invisibly in an
area.
Fairy Ring – Growing radially outside in areas or around a
shrub.
Imbricate – Shelf-like, growing sides of wood in close
proximity, often overlapping.
B. Take a spore print. Unless the spores are evident on or around the
mushroom, you are going to look for a spore printing to learn the
colour. To select a print, you will need a sharp knife, paper, and a
container. Whenever you have properly taken a printing, then it is
likely to easily recognize the colour of the spores left.
Ensure the mulch question is old enough to deposit spores
as opposed to overly obsolete.
Use a sterile knife to split the cap from the stem as simply
as you're able to.
 Place the cap, then spore-side down on your own paper.
Cover, using a container to limit airflow. Permit specimen
to remain the paper for a few hours.
After the mulch is either dried or dried outside, then place
a somewhat moist napkin from the cap; be sure to not wet
the paper or the spores will be tricky to recognize.

9. Fragrant Distinct Characteristics

A. Check to Learn if the flesh lumps are a specific colour. Particular

mushrooms may lighten blue or other colours when the inner flesh
is exposed to air. This is sometimes an essential distinguishing
feature in certain fungi. To determine busing potential:
Ensure the mushroom is young enough to check.
Find an untouched area in your specimen's stem or cap.
Although the mushroom stays refreshing, possibly make
just a tiny incision or possibly a melancholy along with
your finger.
Wait and watch the mark you have made; if it doesn't
bruise within 10-15 minutes, then it's likely will not bruise
any colour.
Inspect the colour of bruising. Blue is the most typical but
certain species can blossom black or red.
B. Check for any latex developed with this mushroom. Some
mushrooms can bleed a sterile chemical known as latex. The entire
genus lactarius has this feature; they're popularly referred to as
wheat caps. The latex may be several distinct colours and may react
with your skin or air altering colours. To determine whether a
mushroom will produce this substance:
Make sure the mushroom is sterile enough to make latex;
often old specimens will likely dry out.
Use a knife to make a tiny incision, either where the stem
and gills fit or where the gills fit the cap.
Watch for latex to ooze out. If it does, then see it always 3-
 5 minutes. Notice any colour change. Wait for 1 or 2 hours
to ascertain if any reaction has occurred.
You will wish to know the skin and latex colour, as a
significant characteristic could be the colour response
between them. By means of example, a mushroom with
white latex and skin may later be stained purple from the
special contact.
C. Notice any distinctive scents.
While not a key attribute in the majority of mushrooms, the odour may be a
distinguishing feature. Sniff the mushroom and also note if the odour is “off.”
Slice a number of the caps or stems when the odour is lighter.
 MUSHROOMS THAT KILL

Fungus can be quite fascinating and there are several diverse types. They are
a plant species which develop without chlorophyll and thus, do not need the
sun to strive. This provides them many areas to grow and flourish that's well
worth researching. One of the most preferred kinds are ones that we
consume.
Yeast, for example, is a parasite which people use in cooking and also
mushrooms. They can be quite delicious and we may become addicted to
them, which describes the reason why they can be very costly to buy.
Many species are toxic and may be carried and spread by insects, animals as
well as many others. A fungus transported by means of a frog, for instance,
was imported to the Americas throughout the time of the 1930s into the
1950s and was used to check when girls were pregnant.
This mushroom has been discharged to the wild and the outcome is that the
global loss of countless species of frogs and possibly even salamanders. That
alone demonstrates that by adding species in 1 continent to the other has
frequently led to catastrophic results on the regional fauna. The Cane Toad
introduced to Australia at roughly the same time has had a devastating impact
on the neighbourhood wildlife due to its deadly poison.
Moulds, Smuts, rusts, yeast, and mould fall are also included in the class of
fungus. While we understand the threat, if and when we come in contact with
them, it's the mushrooms which folks have a tendency to take the maximum
risk with.
Magic mushrooms, for example, located in mountainous regions in Australia,
provide the consumer a high like other medications. Under the influence of
the variety, several people have experienced dire consequences such as death.
It's currently illegal to collect or have them.
Unless one understands what they're doing, picking mushrooms out of a field
to consume isn't a smart move. This was shown in Canberra at 1912, when a
Chinese cook saw some mushrooms which resembled one located in China.
He served it as a meal for several friends who were visiting. Unbeknown to
him, he'd served them one of the deadliest of fungus, the snowy cap
mushroom. They died in misery in hospital several days afterwards.

Amanita phalloides (poisonous mushroom)

Fungi have over 100,000 species, and therefore, are no more considered
plants at the taxonomy research studies. Their spores may survive in extreme
temperatures and can be hugely harmful as we understand about moulds,
particularly in buildings.
The most effective approach to manage them is to prevent contact and to
simply purchase them from protected providers and if enticed to select them
in a field the consumer should be aware of what they're doing.
Amanita pantherina mushroom
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE SHROOMS

Mushrooms containing psilocybin appear different from dried ordinary

mushrooms. They have long, slender stalks which are whitish-grey and
darkish brown caps with mild white or brown at the middle.
Dried mushrooms are rusty brownish with isolated regions of off-white.
Magic mushrooms can also be eaten, combined with meals, or brewed for tea.
They may also be blended using cannabis or tobacco and smoked.
Liquid psilocybin may be available, That's the naturally occurring
psychedelic drug utilized in freedom caps. The liquid is clear brownish and
comes in a little vial.
 WHY DO PEOPLE USE
MAGIC MUSHROOMS?

Magic mushrooms have been hallucinogenic drugs, which used, cause one to
view, discover, and feel sensations that seem real but aren't. The effects of
magic mushrooms are highly variable and considered to be affected by
ecological variables.
Shrooms have a very long history of being connected with religious
experiences and self-discovery. Many consider that naturally occurring
medications such as magical mushrooms, bud, along with mescaline are holy
herbs which empower people to reach superior spiritual conditions. Other
folks choose magical mushrooms to have a feeling of euphoria, connection,
or have a twisted sense of time.
The psilocybin discovered in shrooms is converted to psilocin in the body,
which also can be thought to affect serotonin levels within the brain, resulting
in unusual and altered senses. The effects require 20 to 40 minutes to start
and may last up to 6 hours; the exact same period of time that it requires for
psilocin to become metabolized and excreted.
Lots of variables affect the effects of magic mushrooms, including dose, age,
weight, personality, psychological condition, environment, and history of
psychological illness.
While magical mushrooms are usually sought out for their psychedelic
effects, large shrooms have been reported to cause stress, terrifying
hallucinations, paranoia, and confusion at best. In reality, the majority of
hospital admissions linked to the usage of magic mushrooms have been
linked to what's referred to as a "bad trip." Let’s examine its use in the next
chapter.
Extent of Usage
From the U.S., the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
indicated that, between 2009 and 2015, approximately 8.5% of individuals
reported with psilocybin at a certain time in their daily life.
When people today utilize psilocybin, it's popular at dancing clubs or at select
groups of folks looking for a transcendent religious experience.
In clinical settings, physicians have analysed psilocybin to be used in curing
cluster headaches, end-stage cancer stress, depression, along with other stress
disorders.
But scientists also have questioned its efficacy and security as a curative step.
 CHAPTER TWO

USE OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS

So, do individuals who enjoy magic mushrooms simply pop a couple of

shrooms into their mouths? Let’s examine how mushrooms are used, what is
regarded as a "dose," as well as the manners in which individuals consume
magical mushrooms.
An odd thing among our most different food resources, the mushroom is a
catalyst, not a plant. This usually means that it develops out of a spore,
ordinarily in the dirt or on decaying plant material, like a log. Some forms
contain nutrients and vitamins and mushrooms are primarily utilized to
provide an earthy taste and meaty texture to everything from pizza to risotto.
Some mushrooms, nevertheless, are famed for more than their flavour. Called
magic mushrooms, shrooms, mushiest, lettuce mushrooms, psychotropic
mushrooms or psilocybin, trigger differences in disposition, perception and
behaviour that are generally called "tripping."
All these kinds of mushrooms belong to the genus psilocybe. Mushrooms of
additional genera may also bring about hallucinations, but a lot of purists
insist that psilocybe mushrooms would be the considered "authentic" magical
mushrooms.
Psilocybe mushrooms trigger hallucinations due to the fact that they include
the psychotropic tryptamines psilocybin along with psilocin (a few species
also include additional, weaker psychotropic substances such as baeocystin or
even norbaeocystin). A single mushroom comprises anywhere from 0.2 to
0.4% psilocybin.
Magic Mushrooms are among the most frequently used recreational
antipsychotic drugs since they are sometimes located in the wild or produced
rather readily and inexpensively. In accordance with the 2003 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health, roughly eight percent (8%) of adults over
age 26 in America have used magical mushrooms.
Contrary to manufactured psychotropic drugs like LSD, magic mushrooms
have a very long history dating back centuries, as a part of religious or
spiritual ceremonies. But magical mushrooms have a great deal in common
with LSD. Let us begin with studying how ingesting them are able to affect
individuals.
Mushrooms have a great deal in common with LSD concerning how they
influence your system. These two are psychotropic medications and act on
the central nervous system to produce their own effects.
A lot of individuals have explained a mushroom trip as a milder, shorter
variant of an LSD trip. Much like LSD, magic mushrooms do not technically
trigger hallucinations, or dreams of items which are not really there. Rather,
they exude the understanding of real objects.
Individuals tripping on mushrooms may see things in various colours or see
patterns. Present colours, sounds, textures and tastes might be distorted, while
emotions and feelings intensify. It may feel as though time has sped up,
slowed down, or ceased entirely. There may be a changed understanding of
somebody's place in the world and a sense of communing with a greater
power.
Much like LSD, what happens in a mushroom trip varies for each individual,
the dose, and the kind of mushroom consumed, as a few are stronger than
others.
"Establish and placing," or even the psychological state of the consumer, and
the sort of environment he or she is in, play a very significant role in whether
the “trip” is favourable or not. Users that are in a bad mental condition or an
extremely controlled environment are more inclined to have an entirely bad
trip, that can be when you are feeling paranoid, stressed, nervous or even
fearful, rather than regretting.
The only means to recover from a bad trip would be to wait it out. New
customers are usually advised to have a seasoned friend present to direct
them during the encounter.
Taking mushrooms may lead to nausea, vomiting and other stomach issues,
muscle fatigue, loss of desire, and numbness. These symptoms deteriorate as
the trip comes to an end. Many seasoned users smoke marijuana to fight the
nausea.
Mushrooms are not regarded as addictive, but endurance builds up really fast
– using it two times in a row frequently ends in a less extreme experience the
next day, for instance. There might be cross-tolerance with other
antipsychotic drugs such as LSD, mescaline and peyote, meaning that
carrying one can develop tolerance for a different.
Thus, are they harmful? Individuals with mental disorders (diagnosed or not)
have had their symptoms affected throughout the usage of mushrooms.
There is no evidence of death brought on by magical mushrooms; the sum
that someone would need to eat to bring about death is hundreds of times
larger than the standard dose.
Death could result from accepting misidentified mushrooms, nevertheless.
Bearing that in mind, you may revisit the list of mushrooms and how to
identify them, as discussed in Chapter 1.
 MICRO-DOSING

Micro-dosing has become increasingly popular through the years, spreading

over web communities and websites.
Everyone from students to bikers is reporting that undercover micro-dosing
enhances their focus and problem-solving abilities. Others are asserting it
assists them with regular functioning. However, no clinical trials have
researched this occurrence.
One study recruited 21 individuals who collaborated with micro-dosing.
They reported increased mood, cognition, and imagination. Most considered
the favorable effects assisted them to counteract depression and anxiety.
Some discovered psychedelic micro-dosing hard and unworthy. "Micro-
doses" are usually considered anything; that's 10-20 times less compared to
the entire dose, which amounts to approximately 0.1--0.3 gram of Psilocybe
cubensis mushrooms.
From the above-mentioned research, micro doses did not change functioning
or perception. A quarter of a complete dose (mini-dose) was not compatible
with work and regular pursuits.
Seasoned users micro-dosed to get a few months or weeks, one to 3 times
weekly, then stopped for a time period. Some documented dosing on daily
basis. Even a very low dose (0.014-0.043 mg/kg) of psilocybin has been
enough to boost mood at a report of 51 cancer sufferers.
Laboratory Chemical Research
 OFF-LABEL OR LATELY APPROVED USES

In 2018, researchers from John Hopkins University advocated reclassification

of this drug in Schedule I to Schedule IV so as to permit it for medical usage.
Studies imply that psilocybin may be employed when treating cancer-related
gastrointestinal distress, depression, stress, cigarette addiction, and substance
abuse.
In 2019, Denver became the first city to decriminalize mushrooms. A month
later, Oakland also followed suit.
This doesn't mean that the use of shrooms are legal, but the city isn't allowed
to "spend funds to impose criminal penalties" on people found in possession
of it.
Common Side Effects
All hallucinogens take the risk of inducing mental and psychological issues
and causing injuries while under the influence. Among teens, magical
mushrooms are often taken together with alcohol and other drugs, raising the
physical and psychological dangers.
The quantity of psilocybin and psilocin included in any magic mushroom will
determine its level of toxicity, and mushrooms differ greatly from the
quantities of contents that are carcinogenic.
This means it is very difficult to distinguish the duration, intensity, and type
of "trip" somebody will encounter.
Consuming shrooms may lead to a mild “trip,” causing the consumer to feel
rested or drained after a terrifying encounter, marked with hallucinations,
delusions, along with fear. Also, magical mushrooms have been known to
cause convulsions.
Unwanted effects of magic mushrooms may be both physical and
psychological.
Physical effects:

Nausea
Yawning
Increased heart rate, blood pressure, and fever
Muscle fatigue
Drowsiness
Slurred speech
Dilated pupils
Headaches
Emotional effects:

Euphoria
Having introspective (religious) adventures
Hallucinations (visual or auditory)
Nervousness
Paranoia
Stress reactions
 Distorted sense of time, location, and truth
Psychosis
More study is required on the long term, lasting side effects of shrooms. But
it's been noted that consumers may undergo long-term changes in character,
in addition to flashbacks long after ingesting it.
Since magical mushrooms appear like poisonous mushrooms, poisoning is
another possible risk of taking these drugs.
Mushroom poisoning can result in severe illness, organ injury, and even
death. Additionally, it is normal for magic mushroom products to be polluted.
An analysis of 886 samples reported to function as psilocybin mushrooms
examined by Pharm Chem Street Drug Laboratory revealed that just 252 (28
percent) were really hallucinogenic, whereas 275 (31 percent) were routine
store-bought mushrooms laced with LSD or phencyclidine (PCP), and 328
(37 percent) contained no medication whatsoever.
Signals of Usage
If a loved one is utilizing shrooms, they are nauseous, or they look nervous or
paranoid. In the example of drug usage, it is always important to look for
some changes in eating and sleeping patterns in addition to changes in mood,
personality, and social pursuits.

Symptoms of using Magic Mushrooms

(nausea, paranoia and nervousness)
Myths & Common Questions
There are various myths about magical mushrooms. Some people today think
that, for example, magic mushrooms have been "safer" and create a "milder"
effect when compared to other hallucinogenics.
In reality, along with their own potential to poison anybody who chooses
them, magical mushrooms are merely as widespread in their effects along
with other medications.
Some individuals have reported a whole lot more extreme and terrifying
hallucinations on magical mushrooms compared to LSD.
Lots of people also confuse fly agaric mushrooms with psilocybin-containing
mushrooms, but they're not similar. Fly agaric mushrooms include the
carcinogenic compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol, that are known to cause
twitching, nausea, perspiration, nausea, vomiting, and delirium.
 MUSHROOM DOSAGES:
HOLD YOUR HEAD

The dose and intensity of magical mushrooms depends not just on the
species, but also, where it was developed and how it's been managed.
There are numerous distinct breeds of P. cubensis; Thai P. cubensis
mushrooms are regarded as more powerful and could lead to a more extreme
high, whereas those located in the Gulf Coast are assumed to create a
"mellower" high quality.
The psylocybin material from the mushrooms also will deteriorate if they are
dried, therefore, individuals who ingest dried mushrooms take longer to feel
its effects.
Mushrooms are usually sold from the U.S. at eighths, which means one-
eighth of an ounce (3.5 g), which generally costs approximately $20. The
effects of magic mushrooms may constantly differ from person to person.
Generally, individuals new to taking mushrooms have been advised to begin
using 1g of dried mushrooms (the equivalent of roughly a P. cubensis), wait
for an hour and then, according to how they feel, they can then choose
whether to take more.
A lot just chew on dried or fresh mushrooms; however, they do not always
taste great.
Some magical mushrooms have been known to have a floury flavour, while
some are bitter or sour -- ingesting them with fruit like berries can hide the
taste.
Individuals who dislike the flavour and feel have developed recipes to
everything from sodas to chili, though cooking the dishes for lengthy spans of
time will probably breakdown the psilocybin and lead to a poorer
psychotropic effect.
Magic mushrooms do not in fact need to be consumed to feel their
consequences. They may be brewed to make mushroom tea by squeezing
them or steeping them in warm water and straining the subsequent liquid.
Proponents of the method maintain that this does not have any influence on
the high level of the trip.
Considering that alcohol and magical mushrooms are frequently used
together, on occasion, the mushrooms have been placed in rum or tequila or
used in blended alcoholic beverages.
Individuals who have had mushroom tea or alcoholic infusion state they start
to feel the consequences faster than when they ate the mushroom. Ultimately,
sometimes the dried mushrooms are both crushed and packaged with gelatine
capsules to make mushroom pills. In this manner, the flavour and feel are
avoided entirely.

Ecuadorian Psilocybe Cubensis

 JUST HOW LONG DOES
PSILOCYBIN STAY IN YOUR SYSTEM?

As noted, before, the short-term consequences of magic mushrooms usually

last between 6 to 12 hours. But remember that consumers may undergo long-
term changes in personality and flashbacks long after taking these
medications.
The typical span of psilocybin effects ranges from 1 to 2 hours. Also, it
generally requires five to six hours for a material to be removed from the
body.
The normal urine drug screening for job doesn't test for Psilocybin, however,
there are certain tests which may be ordered to check for the powerful
hallucinogen. Like many other medications, magical mushrooms remain in
hair follicles for as many as 90 days.
 TOLERANCE, DEPENDENCE,
AND WITHDRAWAL

Like many medications, the longer you use magic mushrooms, the greater
endurance you. develop. Tolerance also grows quickly with routine use. This
usually means that you want more of this drug to get the exact same effect.
Creating a tolerance can be particularly risky with shrooms since swallowing
a massive amount may lead to signs or symptoms, which although not
deadly, may include chills, nausea, vomiting, muscle fatigue, anxiety or
paranoia, psychosis, and seizures.
 MAGIC MUSHROOMS AND THE LAW

The legality of owning, taking, selling or growing magic mushrooms heavily

depends on your geographical area. In the USA, psilocybin is a Schedule I
drug under an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act known as the
Psychotropic Substances Act.
This usually means it has a higher potential for abuse, has no currently
accepted medical use and is not safe to be used even under a physician's
supervision. Because psilocybin is a psychotropic compound in magical
mushrooms, then this is normally interpreted to imply that the mushrooms
themselves are still prohibited.
But because mushroom spores do not include psilocybin, a few have pointed
to this ambiguity in the national law.
Usually busts linked to magical mushrooms happen under state legislation
(unless they are in exceptionally large quantities) and many states ban
possession of those.
In February 2009, Florida is your only exception when it has to do with new
wild mushrooms -- basically, the legislation motives that because mushrooms
grow rampant, it is possible for folks to select magic ones unintentionally and
maintain possession of small quantities. Back in California, Georgia and
Idaho, it is illegal to own magic mushrooms at almost any point, even spores.
Additionally, the majority of states have sued for anything linked to
mushrooms or expanding them under legislation associated with drug
paraphernalia and intention to market. In 2019, Denver became the first city
in the U.S. to decriminalize magical mushrooms.
Some growers in the USA have to buy spores from some other nations,
however, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) started cracking
down on ownership of these kits since 2003.
Possession and sale of mushrooms and allergens (dried mushrooms are nearly
always prohibited) remains valid in many areas around the world. However,
there's been a wave of prohibiting them in several European nations in the
2000s.
Yet, before 2005, it had been authorized to market new magic mushrooms at
Great Britain. In many European countries pore ownership remains valid.
The Netherlands, formerly called “a hotbed for drugs prohibited
everywhere,” banned the purchase of mushrooms in 2001 and new
mushrooms in 2008. In different nations, it could be legal to possess them not
market them.
Some states, like Mexico, create exceptions to bans on magical mushrooms
when utilized by indigenous people in spiritual ceremonies.
 CHAPTER THREE

BENEFITS OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Soft light. Comfortable furniture. Art decorating the walls. With the untrained
eye, this setting is apparently a living area. But it's not. It is a research facility
especially designed to evoke ease and comfort.
Let’s imagine that a psilocybin treatment session is taking place. On the sofa
lies a different patient. Gentle music is playing. Two members of this
research team exist to help direct the session within the duration of eight
hours per day. Much of the time is going to be spent in silent introspection.
Trained health care staff are onsite, if anything unexpected occur.
Regardless of the trappings of normalcy, this treatment session is anything
but. Psilocybin, the most active ingredient contained in magic mushrooms or
shrooms, is a potent psychedelic.
Despite being roughly 100 times stronger than LSD, it is effective at shifting
perception of time and space, inducing visual distortions, chills, and
mysterious experiences.
Unlike marijuana, that has witnessed a dramatic change both concerning
support of legalization and recognized therapeutic applications, or MDMA,
that has captured headlines recently because of its capacity to deal with PTSD
(some scientists believe that the drug could meet Food and Drug
Administration approval when 2021), psilocybin lacks the exact same amount
of cultural cachet.
Also, you can be forgiven for believing that shroom are only a remnant of
this surplus of the 1960s.
However, make no mistake: psilocybin has numerous future health benefits.
Studies have shown psilocybin to possess potential to deal with an assortment
of psychiatric and behavioural disorders, though it's still to get FDA approval.
Its possible positive effect may include alleviating depression and obsessive-
compulsive disorder, stopping smoking and alcohol dependence, heroin
dependency, cluster headaches, along with cancer-related or alternative
terminal mental distress.
High-profile campaigns have also surfaced recently in Denver, Colorado, and
Oregon into decriminalizing psilocybin mushrooms. But specialists say they
are not likely to pass.
Psilocybin mushrooms remain a Schedule I drug based on The Drug
Enforcement Administration, meaning they are categorized as having "no
currently accepted medical use and a higher potential for misuse." Additional
Schedule I drugs include marijuana, MDMA, and LSD.
However, despite societal stigma and legal red tape, scientists have been
forging ahead with clinical trials for FDA approval. Dr George R. Greer, co-
founder and president of this Heffter Research Institute, a non-profit research
centre that focuses on the therapeutic applications of psychedelics, especially
psilocybin, describes his motives:
"Our assignment is twofold: you to perform research which helps us
understand that the brain, the mind, the way all this works, and two, to reduce
discomfort via therapeutic use of psychedelics."
The doctor is currently concentrated on two main areas of psilocybin study:
dependence and cancer-related psychiatric ailments. Cancer-related
psilocybin treatment is regarded as one the most promising areas of study for
your medication.
But thinking about the large number of possible indications for psilocybin, it
is important to remember the quantity of research also varies widely, from
pilot research to stage II or III approval trials from the FDA.
Here Is what the current study says about psilocybin remedy for a few
potential symptoms.
 DEPRESSION

Depression is one of the most investigated signs for psilocybin treatment.

Since Healthline formerly reported this past calendar year, psilocybin
treatment was granted "breakthrough treatment" designation from the FDA
for treating depression. The Usona Institute, a research centre, is now in the
planning phases of the stage III trial, and which will probably begin this
season.

The FDA has granted a Breakthrough Therapy designation to the Usona Institute for its trial use of
psilocybin in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), with the view of accelerating trials
testing its efficacy.
 SMOKING CESSATION AS
WELL AS OTHER ADDICTIONS

In a small pilot research project by Johns Hopkins University Trusted Source,

researchers discovered that psilocybin treatment considerably improved
appreciably from smoking on a 12-month follow-up interval.
Matthew Johnson, PhD, Associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural
sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, directed that
research.
Based on his findings, psilocybin has potential to deal with other means of
substance abuse, such as cocaine and alcohol dependence.
"The overall notion is that the character of the ailments is really a narrowed
mental and behavioural ministry," he advised Healthline.
"So, [psilocybin] at well-orchestrated sessions [has] the ability to shake
somebody from the regular to provide a glimpse of a bigger image and
generate a psychological plasticity by which people may step out of these
issues."
In reality, a small open-label study from Trusted Supply on psilocybin and
alcohol addiction, found that after therapy, both drinking and heavy drinking
diminished.
Researchers at Alabama are currently now conducting trials to get psilocybin
treatment on cocaine dependency.
Johns Hopkins Launches Center For Psychedelic Research
 CANCER-RELATED EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

"There have been several promising preliminary results of these areas like the
treatment of overpowering existential anxiety in people that are facing the
end of life, those that have investigations of advanced-stage cancer," Dr
Charles Grob, professor of psychiatry at the UCLA David Geffen School of
Medicine, advised Healthline.

Dr Charles Grob

Grob, who is also connected with the Heffter Research Institute, has analysed
psilocybin widely and wrote a study about the topic, for example, among
other items, a pilot study by Trusted Supply in 2011 on psilocybin remedy for
stress in people with cancer.
A randomized, double-blind trial out of Johns Hopkins in 2016 discovered
that one dose of psilocybin considerably increased wellbeing and reduced
depression and stress in people with life threatening cancer diagnosis.
"What we possess the most evidence for is cancer-related depression and
worry. That sounds really powerful, and I would be amazed if these results
did not hold up," Johnson explained.
 COULD PSILOCYBIN BE
ACCEPTED BY THE FDA?

Despite promising study, there is no realistic deadline for when or if,

psilocybin will be accepted by the FDA. All three (3) specialists advised
Healthline that they knew the material could be harmful for a plethora of
different motives if handled incorrectly.
"It'll simply be administered at a practice by especially trained and accredited
therapists or doctors. It is never going to be accessible out on the road where
people may sell it or require a lot of or require too a lot of their tablets out of
a prescription," Greer explained.
Psilocybin affects the cardiovascular system and also may lead to increased
blood pressure or irregular pulse. Additionally, it has the most potential to
create severe and permanent psychological problems.
"Psilocybin is a lot more emotionally harmful than cannabis, also it is
particularly dangerous for a small number of those who've experienced a
feeling of psychosis or mania, manic episode, or maybe say, a close relative
whose had such issues, since it can activate a psychosis or depressive episode
at someone who's vulnerable to this," Greer explained.
“And there is always the chance of a bad trip or adverse encounter while
taking the drug. You will find rare but documented instances of people
leaping to their deaths or behaving erratically in this manner that threatens
themselves or people around them.”
Grob states that if they are "indulged in uncontrolled settings, frankly, all bets
are off. You do not understand what you are gonna receive."
However, psilocybin treatment isn't anything like taking shrooms in a
celebration. It is meant for a thoroughly controlled environment to make sure
that nothing unexpected occurs.
"You name this danger, and we've got excellent mechanics for fixing it,"
Johnson stated.
He explained, "There are dangers, but they're dramatically decreased in
clinical research and possibly in authorized medical usage. I would assert that
those dangers and our capacity to tackle them very moderately in contrast to a
lot of processes which are routinely utilized in medicine."
Nevertheless, the efficacy and safety of psilocybin treatment should still be
satisfactorily demonstrated to the FDA, which, so far, it has not been. While a
few are hopeful that psilocybin can follow at the forefront of MDMA
treatment and possibly have approval over another five to ten decades, its
own pathway is far from apparent and quite uncertain.
When asked if there is a realistic deadline for acceptance, Grob advised
Healthline, "I do not think so. Though the research we are speaking about has
by and large been quite encouraging and positive, there has not been
sufficient study."
"There needs to be FDA-approved clinical study using psychedelics." He also
added, "investigating the best way to maximize their therapeutic possible but
also attempting to find a better comprehension of the assortment of healthcare
consequences, which might be debatable...there are still some concerns which
will need to get answered."
 SENSORY CHANGES

In a different brain imaging research study using seven volunteers, psilocybin

(0.25 mg/kg (oral) intensified feelings and sensory perception, resulting in
problems concentrating, dreaminess, and, a reduction of ego boundaries. The
sensory alterations ranged from illusions to complicated scenery
hallucinations. The majority of them also experienced improved disposition
or unhappiness. The consequences which surfaced after 30-40 minutes, also
began to diminish after two hours, and totally subsided in the following six
months.
 ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Some believe psilocybin is quite handy for understanding the nature of

human comprehension. In a study of eight healthy individuals, psilocybin has
been given at different dosages – in quite low (45 μg/kg) to elevated (315
μg/kg). With high doses, psilocybin triggered a more extreme consciousness
change, marked with:

Oceanic boundlessness, chills, and depersonalization

Ego dissolution, which might provoke pressure
Visual hallucinations and synaesthesia (blending of the senses)
Dreaminess and diminished alertness
Due to the borders between self and surroundings was normally advocated as
touching or "merging with a greater reality," moderate and large dosages
caused hallucinations, although the reduced doses just caused a few changes
in understanding.
Just one individual from the high-dose group underwent stress.
Psilocybin triggers sensory modifications and intensifies emotions.
Higher doses may lead to ego dissolution, full scale hallucinations, and also
the feeling of oneness with the world.
Amsterdam Smartshop Showcase, Netherlands
 PRESENT RESEARCH

Joint Research performed by Zhang in The University of Western Australia

and Zhejiang University in China, discovered that ingesting mushrooms and
drinking green tea can protect against breast cancer.
Zhang noted that breast cancer has been the most frequent kind of cancer
among women worldwide and its speed was growing in both developing and
developed nations. The prevalence of cancer within China has been five times
greater than in developed nations.
The research hoped to reveal if this may be on account of using fresh and
dried mushrooms and green tea in the traditional diet. Mushrooms,
mushroom extracts, and green tea had revealed anti-carcinogenic properties
that were believed to stimulate immune responsiveness from prostate cancer.
The ingestion of mushrooms and green tea with 2,000 females, aged from 20
to 87 in comparatively wealthy northeast China, has been noted. Half of these
girls were healthy, and others had supported breast cancer. On vacation, it
was discovered that new white button mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus, and
dried mushrooms, Lentinula edodes, would be the most commonly eaten
species of coriander. A few of the girls in the study have neither mushroom
laced green tea whereas others appreciated both around three times every day.
The results of this analysis demonstrated that the combination of a dietary
consumption of mushrooms and green tea decreased breast cancer risk having
another reduced influence in the malignance of the cancer. Zhang reasoned
that, if verified consistently in additional study, this cheap dietary
intervention could have possible consequences for defence against breast
cancer growth.
Dr W. J. Sinden in the University of Pennsylvania and Dr E. D. Lambert in
Lambert Laboratories would be the first to show their study results about the
medicinal chemicals of Agaricus blazei. They attracted the interest of the
health care community for the mushroom. Former President Ronald Reagan
employed this mushroom in his own health care, which assisted to publicise
Agaricus blazei.
MUSHROOMS BLEND FOR HEALTHY LIVING

The Piedade mushroom, located from the rainforests of Brazil, is well

recognized globally for its curative properties. Specifically, the folks of this
Piedade area who consumed that mushroom, were reported to have enjoyed
exceptional wellness and health, many living ailment-free well into their
100s.
Following a few clinical trials, the Piedade mushroom as well as the Agaricus
blazei mushroom, cultivated from the mountainous area of California, were
united to produce a super-hybrid and powerful mushroom liquid.
Employing a 10-phase extraction technology which captures every healthy
element, also blended with Western Sasa Bamboo, a highly effective
antioxidant, this item is thought to be a powerhouse of nutrition crucial to
preserving and keeping a healthy and active way of life.
We no longer need to visit the volcano in Brazil or scale the hills in
California to come across this pure stone.
 THE ESSENTIAL PRODUCT BENEFITS

Each human is vulnerable to aging, environmental pollutants, chemicals in

water and food, disease, along with the pressures of a fast-paced way of life.
Furthermore, we can all significantly benefit from efficiently improving our
immune system. This joint mushroom merchandise boosts health and general
wellbeing.
It boosts natural killer cell activity and boosts energy and normally protects
your system. It could also lower cholesterol, control blood pressure and
alleviate arteriosclerosis.
Mushrooms are nutrient-rich food supplements with an active ingredient
demonstrated by research to become a successful developing agent in the
immune system.
Coupled together with your everyday ingestion of triggered liquid zeolite, a
naturally shaped vitamin which strips the entire body of heavy metals and
toxins, requiring this mushroom merchandise may firmly put one on the path
to enhanced health by combating serious health issues.
Much like the people of this Piedade area, you may live a healthy and joyful
life, appreciating the magic of mushrooms.
Dry Magic Mushrooms
 MAGIC MUSHROOM AND YOUR HEALTH

Despite the negative side effects that may be experienced through the
ingesting of magic mushrooms, there are also health benefits to be derived as
well. Let’s look at some of these:
1) May Improve Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Psilocybin decreased OCD symptoms within 1 trial with 9 individuals.
Each individual received four distinct psilocybin doses weekly.
The dose was not an issue in this particular study, as everybody undergone
improvements -- either in micro-doses (25 μg/kg) and large doses (300
μg/kg).
Additionally, it reduced OCD symptoms.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

2) May Assist with Addictions

Scientists understood the possibility of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, for
treating dependency back into the 50s.
They understood that educational consequences they created may promote
sobriety. That is when the word "psychedelic," has been initially coined,
meaning "mind-manifesting."
Psilocybin is appearing as an option for beating tobacco and alcohol
dependence, in addition to chemical abuse disorders.
It's not addictive, has low toxicity, and it is safe when used at a controlled
atmosphere.
Psilocybin works differently compared to the drugs now utilized to resist
dependence since one session could cause long-term changes in behaviour
and thinking.

Psilocybin Helps Fight Addictions

 ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

In 10 individuals with alcohol addiction, psilocybin improved abstinence

from alcohol in the long-term without the negative impacts.
Psilocybin was accompanied with a 3-month inspirational treatment. The
gains accounted for 6 weeks following the first sessions.

Psilocybin Helps Fight Alcohol Addiction

 SMOKING CESSATION

Psilocybin assisted 12 from 15 cigarette smokers in a clinical Trial, with no

negative effects. They obtained both medium (20 mg/70 kg) and large (30
mg/70 kg) doses within the 15-week cessation interval.
Six months afterwards, 12 of these completely stop smoking. This type of
success rate (80 percent) is higher than any other treatment.
Interestingly, the more extreme mystical-type psilocybin encounters were
connected to a larger decrease in urge after 6 weeks within this particular
study.
Insightful encounters with psilocybin may promote laughter and assist with
addiction.
It revealed promising results for alcohol addiction and smoking cessation, but
more trials are required to verify that result.

Psilocybin Helps Fight Tobacco Addiction

3) May Assist with PTSD

In traumatized mice, psilocybin decreased anxiety. All these mice developed
PTSD symptoms from being exposed to sound-signalling electroshocks.
Reduced doses of psilocybin assisted mice surpass the anxiety better
compared to high doses.
In this analysis, psilocybin also improved Neurogenesis, the development,
and repair of cells in the hippocampus, a brain centre for feelings, mood, and
memory foam. In case neurogenesis is obstructed in mice, then fear
intensifies. In imaging research, individuals with PTSD had smaller
hippocampi.
Psilocybin may have the ability to increase neurogenesis in the hippocampus
and assist individuals with PTSD, similar to effective emotional therapy does.
Psilocybin can help overcome PTSD, however, the accessible evidence is
restricted to animal research.

Psilocybin Can Help Overcome PTSD

4) May Boost Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis isn't important just for PTSD. Increasing your mind may also
assist with psychological health, cognition, and brain injuries. Psilocybin
could boost neurogenesis in mice that are senile.
Other comparable psychedelics improved both neurogenesis and fresh brain
relations -- synapses -- in both animal and cell research.
Psilocin and comparable psychedelics also improved the branching of mind
their plasticity, each of which are critical for emotional health and cognition.
According to cell and animal studies, psilocybin can increase the arrival of
new brain cells, that is vital for disposition, cognition, and general brain
health.
5) Increases Positive Emotions and Disposition
In 17 healthy individuals, psilocybin improved favorable feelings and
improved mood. When the study participants had been shown pictures of
individuals, their focus shifted to become constructive and dismiss negative
emotions and facial expression.
It improved mood in a different study of 25 athletes.
Its effects on mood might be significant both for healthy individuals and
people with mental health issues. Individuals with anxiety and depression
have an overactive amygdala, which causes mood.
In smaller clinical trials, most individuals getting psilocybin experienced
positive opinions and have been in a much better mood.
6) Induces a Dream-Like Condition
Moderate and high-dose psilocybin triggered a dream-like condition in eight
healthy volunteers. Similar effects have been derived from other research as
well.
Actually, there's a great connection between the state and the dreaming
condition, for example:

An altered state of understanding

Emotional vision
Emotion activation
Stress memory extinction.
They're nearest to lucid dreaming, a combined condition of waking and
dreaming consciousness.
Some scientists believe that out-of-body encounters are triggered by identical
pathways within the body which psilocybin and other psychedelics behave.
Psilocybin may cause dream-like countries with altered perception, emotions,
memories.
These impacts can tell us a great deal about dreaming and altered states of
awareness.
7) May Boost competencies
Psilocybin and other psychedelics can raise, for example:

Cognitive versatility
Divergent thinking
Creating more relationships
A distinctive use of words and language
Intense psychological vision
Finding significance in audio or other stimulation
Back in the 60s, scientists found similarities between the characteristics of
creative people as well as the heavenly expertise.
More study is necessary to determine if psilocybin might be an imaginative
nootropic.
Psilocybin and psychedelic adventures can stimulate cretaivity, however,
newer well-designed trials must confirm this result.
8) May Alter Cognition
Though psilocybin has deep effects on understanding, it does not
considerably alter psychological control. In many human researches, it
slowed down responses but did not decrease memory precision. In addition, it
reduced concentrated attention and created focusing harder.
In a report of 20 hallucinogen consumers, psilocybin didn't induce cognitive
challenges. It did change working memory, however, particularly in large
doses (30 mg/70 kg).
Psilocybin can slow down responses and change memory. According to
which little research can be found, its effects on cognition are combined and
need additional research.
9) Psychedelic Psychotherapy
Initial research in the 50s gave birth "psychedelic psychotherapy," that a
concept that is still being explored.
The majority of the mentioned research in this essay have shown the
advantages of psilocybin together with psychotherapy.
Psilocybin handled without emotional help and a supportive environment
might have restricted benefits, and in rare circumstances, even worsen
somebody's condition.
 SONGS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psilocybin may be used with particular kinds of songs to encourage meaning-

making, psychological reaction, mental vision in a psychotherapeutic
atmosphere.
Music can play an essential function in easing the advantages of psychedelic
treatment, but more study is necessary.
Psychotherapy and service are crucial elements of psilocybin treatment. A
mix with audio therapy might be especially valuable, but more study is
necessary.
10) May Reduce Criminal Behavior
In prison experiments from the 60s, psilocybin with embryo decreased
criminal behaviour.
The offenders weren't provided support after discharge from prison, nor
correctly followed. Whether psilocybin can decrease crime or not remains
unknown.

11) May Reduce Infection

In animals, low doses of psychedelics decreased inflammation. Compounds
comparable to psilocybin have been researched as anti-inflammatory
medication.
12) May Reduce Migraine Headaches
Migraine headaches are brief but extremely debilitating. Many folks turn to
psilocybin to relieve the pain and decrease attacks.
In 1 interview, 22 from 26 psilocybin consumers with cluster problems
reported developments and half of these experienced full remission.
 MAGIC MUSHROOMS AND DEPRESSION

Researchers have been on a fast path to creating a remedy for depression by

employing the psychedelic chemical psilocybin, best referred to as the active
ingredient in so-called "magic mushrooms."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently gave "breakthrough
treatment" designation into a psilocybin-based medication being analysed by
COMPASS Pathways.
This implies an accelerated investigation and approval procedure to get a
medication with strong preliminary evidence demonstrating it could be a
significant improvement over currently available treatment.
"The studies show that psilocybin treatment can offer an immediate and
continuing decrease in depression after one therapy," Tracy Cheung,
communications manager for COMPASS Pathways, advised Healthline.
"The result was described as psilocybin vibration up the brain like a snow
world, or dispersing the mind, providing new relations as well as deactivating
connections that may have caused melancholy."
COMPASS Pathways is operating the initial large-scale psilocybin treatment
clinical trial for treatment-resistant melancholy. The analysis will happen in
Europe and North America within the next year or so.
"The FDA will soon be working closely together with us to re-evaluate the
growth procedure and boost the possibilities of getting this therapy to
individuals afflicted by depression as swiftly as possible," explained George
Goldsmith, COMPASS Pathways chairman and also co-founder, at a recent
announcement.
The 400-plus patients enrolled in the research will get synthesized psilocybin
capsules, not mushrooms. The clinical trial will last for 12 to 18 weeks.
The life sciences firm is working together with all the Heffter Research
Institute, which financed the very first research to using psilocybin to take
address depression at Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and
the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
Magic mushrooms are a more natural kind of psychedelic drug people use for
recreational or religious functions. In the U.S., magical mushrooms are
prohibited.
They feature the schedule controlled materials psilocybin along with psilocin.
This medication classification means magical mushrooms have no approved
medical value and a higher potential for misuse. But scientific reports
demonstrate that magical mushrooms may cure depression.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the fixing psilocybin for
usage in a drug trial to get treatment-resistant depression.
Which are the advantages and disadvantages of using mushrooms to
depression? Also, just how does this therapy compare to other choices?
 THE PROS OF USING MAGIC
MUSHROOMS FOR ANXIETY

Powerful for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Research shows that patients experiencing treatment-resistant depression
responded well to psilocybin. Results indicate psilocybin “reset” the minds of
the patients.
Dr Robin Carhart-Harris headed the psilocybin research and stated that
“similar mind effects" happened when "using electroconvulsive treatment."
"Psilocybin might be providing these folks the temporary “kick start” that
they have to break from the depressive conditions..."
Treatment-resistant depression is when gastrointestinal symptoms are not
relieved by any attempted remedies, such as:

Various medicines
Different therapy treatments
Lifestyle modifications
Alternative therapies
 LASTING RESULTS

Research shows that aid lasted around five months following two doses of
psilocybin. Independent studies reveal that one dose of psilocybin can reduce
depression and anxiety in cancer patients.
In contrast, most depressed patients will need to take antidepressants daily
and/or attend treatment each week to acquire similar advantages. These kinds
of therapy may also persist for decades.
 FAST-ACTING

In accordance with Professor David Nutt of Imperial College London, "Our

analysis has revealed psilocybin is secure and quick acting for all these
patients." In one research on magical mushrooms, all of the depressed
patients showed improvements following each week. The fast-acting
personality of psilocybin mushrooms for depression is appealing since
antidepressant drugs and/or treatment may take weeks before sufferers
believe advantages. This may prove problematic if your gastrointestinal
symptoms are acute. Self-harming behaviour or suicidal ideas involve instant
therapy.

Professor David Nutt

 EMOTIONAL LINK

Researchers say that magical mushrooms help patients reconnect with their
feelings. They contrast this impact together with antidepressants, which
alleviate depression by dulling your own emotions.
Many individuals using antidepressants state that they help decrease low
mood, however they lessen positive mood too. This will leave you feeling
cluttered or level.
Psilocybin appears to provide patients advantages by raising psychological
processing. Following the psilocybin experimentation, patients stated they
had been willing to have feelings.
They believed that previous remedies encouraged them to "fortify
psychological prevention and disconnection."
 NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS
– LIMITED SIDE EFFECTS

The Disposition of psilocybin's consequences and its short-term usage means

that there are some side effects. Magic mushrooms lack the unwanted effects
of different antidepressant drugs, which frequently comprise:

Increased appetite and weight reduction

Reduction of sexual desire or alternative sexual issues (erectile
dysfunction, diminished orgasm, etc.)
Infection and nausea
Dry mouth
Blurred vision
Insomnia
Dizziness
Indigestion and stomach aches
Diarrhoea or constipation
 THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING
MAGIC MUSHROOMS FOR ANXIETY

LIMITED ALTERNATIVES

Magic mushrooms are prohibited from the U.S., such as for clinical use,
therefore patients with depression cannot get the treatment summarized in the
research previously unless they enrol in new experiments.
Magic mushrooms are legal in some countries, also you may also find
“Magical Mushroom retreats” in the Netherlands along with Jamaica. These
retreats do not appeal to individuals with depression, although some people
today attend them for this reason.
They are also not regulated or structured in precisely the exact same manner
psilocybin studies have been. Also, there might be no psychotherapists
directing the sessions.
 UNSETTLING EXPERIENCES

Researchers warn against individuals having magic mushrooms as a kind of

self-medication. That is because it entails some risks which you might not
have the capability to deal with yourself. These include:

Paranoia
Confusion
Frightening hallucinations, either visual or sensory in character
Derealization (the sense your surroundings are not actual)
Depersonalization (a condition where your thoughts and feelings
appear believable)
Distressing ideas
If you don't have a trained mental health professional to guide one through a
challenging experience or procedure, it might be unsettling in the long term.
 LEGAL RISKS

If you choose to utilize magic mushrooms for depression in the U.S., you're
committing a crime.
Most patients do not wish to violate the law to take care of their mental health
state. Additionally, knowing that you will be getting a controlled substance
may boost your disagreeable feelings, such as paranoia, through an encounter
with magical mushrooms.
 ALTERNATIVE TO MAGIC MUSHROOMS
FOR ANXIETY DEPRESSION AND STRESS

Rather than preventing depression and stress with drugs and suffering from
side effects, or even utilizing magical mushrooms and denying the potential
side effects, how about identifying and handling the origin of the issue?
It has been noticed that many problems may have a physiological,
psychological, psychological, and spiritual element. Occasionally, when you
tackle the religious part, others are less difficult to handle or even vanish.
After utilizing our totally free Spiritual Detox script for many years, each day
for intervals (that, like peeling an onion, and additionally eliminates a layer of
damaging routines every time), we discover profound changes in the way we
feel and our own understanding and consciousness.
We're confident of the significance of clearing one’s ego of religious debris.
Whenever we feel depression or anxiety, we just take 10 minutes and read the
script out loud. By doing this we seek greater than ourselves and to provide
us with assistance to clean away the hidden issues and we immediately feel
better. It is really straightforward, some individuals have difficulty
comprehending it, but it works.
You may be wrong if you presume that the most depressed men and women,
or drug addicts or alcoholics do not possess any spiritual connection.
They are exactly like everybody else who may become physically cluttered
from everyday life. Everybody picks up negative energy at times,
occasionally in the form of depressing things.
The much more tolerable and sensitive you are about it, the more you will be
able to overcome it.
Diet modifications and regular exercise are shown to be much more powerful
than drugs for depression. Seek your spiritual, psychological, and
psychological sides by incorporating some kind of regular religious clearing
(for instance, our Religious Detox script) together with routine meditation,
and you've got a winning, unwanted effect-free mix.
For even more profound advancement, we suggest reviewing past moments
of depression to locate the main cause of any issue. Alas, a lot of individuals
will not bother because they have dropped to the myths and fallacies
concerning it without even doing their own research.
However, for people that are ready to continue being objective and think
critically, this religious instrument and many others mentioned previously
can bring relief and awareness.
 TMS TREATMENT AS AN ALTERNATE
CHOICE

While a lot of people are optimistic that using magical mushrooms for
depression will approved, it is difficult to say whether this will ever be true.
However, you don't need to hold your breath to get fast-acting, short-term
therapy! Proof proves that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a very
effective depression treatment.
Even the sessions are fast and provide long-term relief from treatment-
resistant depression.
When together with a healthy lifestyle, TMS will help raise your fog of
depression when nothing else appears to get the job done.
 HOW DO MUSHROOMS
HELP FIGHT CANCER?

The Agaricus blazei mushroom is composed of Beta (1-3)-D-glucan, Beta (1-

4)-a -D-glucan & Beta (1-6)-D-glucan. Called Beta Glucan, these resistant
enhancing materials are known to have quite strong anti-inflammatory
properties. While they don't directly trigger the adrenal impact, they really do
activate the bodies' own anti-tumour reaction.
A kind of anti-tumour white blood cell called natural killer cells (NK cells) is
created by the body which makes the amount of NK cells within the body
quite simple to quantify. When human subjects have been awarded Agari in
their daily diet, a 300% increase of NK cells from the blood is observed over
2-4 days.
Natural killer cells are famous for their capability to kill tumour cells, but
there's also been signs for their function in controlling disease in the first
stages of the immune reaction by the human body.
 CHAPTER FOUR

HOW TO GROW MUSHROOMS

HOW DO MUSHROOMS GROW?

Mushrooms grow from spore, not seeds, that can be so tiny you can't see
human spores along with the naked eye. Considering that the spores doesn't
need chlorophyll to begin germinating (such as seeds do) they rely on
materials such as sawdust, bamboo, wooden shelves and counter tops, timber
chips and liquid to acquire nourishment.

Puffball fungus spores

A mixture of those spores and each of the nutrients is called spawn. Spawn
performs a bit like a starter required to make sourdough bread.
The spawn supports the maturation of mushrooms' white, threadlike roots
called mycelium. The mycelium develops, prior to anything that resembles a
mushroom push through the growing medium.

Mycelium

The spawn itself can grow mushrooms, however you will find more superior
mushroom harvest if the spawn is applied to a growing medium. Depending
upon the mushroom type, the substrate might be logs, wood chips, or mulch
working with a mixture of materials such as straw, corncobs, walnut and
cotton seed hulls, gypsum, and vitamin supplements.
Mushrooms
 GROWING MUSHROOMS AT HOME

Many people just buy their magical mushrooms, before, but picking them
from the wild is another alternative. But some enterprising magical
mushroom fans cultivate their own in the home. We are going to examine this
latter option.
Most mushroom cultivators begin with Psilocybe cubensis as it's the most
common and also the easiest to grow. There are many distinct methods to
begin growing mushrooms, however, we will only look at a single
fundamental method.

Psilocybe cubensis

All methods start with a single important component: the spore. A spore
develops into one mushroom, and a mushroom could create thousands and
thousands of them.
Spore prints, along with being used for identification of uncontrolled
mushrooms, may likewise be utilised to nurture mushrooms. The spores that
are dry on the print has to be hydrated to be used.
Sterility is significant in all facets of mushroom growth; bacteria or mould are
able to prevent them from growing completely but might also cause polluted
mushrooms to emerge.
Many mushroom growers buy spore syringes (full of spores and sterile water)
from providers instead of creating their own.
The cost of a spore syringe can range from $10 to $20 based on the specific
strain.

Magic Mushroom Spore Syringe (magic-mushrooms-shop.com)

Other gear includes a big plastic container, canning jars, along with a
pressure cooker or canner, brown rice flour and vermiculite (a mineral sand
utilized in plants that are parasitic), in addition to basic kitchen things.
The brown rice is blended with the water along with vermiculite to make a
loose, fluffy noodle cake, a nutrient-rich surrounding where the mushroom
spores will probably develop.
The substrate is then placed in the jars that can be sealed and sterilized
together with the pressure cooker or canner.
After the jars have cooled, the substrate is emptied using the spore syringe
Through holes punched in the jars' lids. Then they need to be incubated in a
continuous temperature of approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23.9
degrees Celsius).
The spores must start to grow in a week and generally seem like principles of
white fuzz known as mycelium. If mould develops, or nothing happens, then
something went wrong.
If the cakes have been covered in mycelium, they are placed into the plastic
container to start maturing.
When removed from the container, the cakes need to acquire mould and a
great deal of humidity.
If all goes well, mushrooms start to develop after a couple of weeks and are
ready to decide when the caps start to grow up. Each cake may create
mushrooms for as much as a month, typically in waves.
A lone cake can create countless mushrooms. They could decompose pretty
fast; therefore, mushrooms are often dried or refrigerated to maintain them.
Growing mushrooms is not all that pricey but getting the spore prints or spore
syringes can be challenging since it is not necessarily legal to purchase, sell,
or have them.

Magic Mushroom Grow Kit (magic-mushrooms-shop.com)

 THE BEST PLACE TO GROW MUSHROOMS

Mushrooms prefer dim, cool, moist, and also humid rising environment.
When developing mushrooms in your house, a basement is often ideal, but a
location beneath the sink may be what you desire.
Assess the suggested place by assessing the temperature. Many mushrooms
grow best in temperatures between 55- and 60-degrees F, from ventilation,
direct smoke and warmth.
Enoki mushrooms prefer cooler temperatures, approximately 45 degrees F.
Many places in the house are too hot during the summertime to create
mushrooms, which usually means you might want to consider growing
mushrooms just as a winter occupation. But the area you select should remain
relatively dark or in low light.
 6 EASY TIPS ON THE WAY
TO BOOST MUSHROOMS

Tip #1:
Ready the mushroom kit with a region where the warmth is protected.
According to where you reside and what your typical daily temperature is,
then you may want to experiment with numerous regions to cultivate your
meals.
Tip #2:
Don't place your mushroom box directly in a window. Provide indirect light,
but not direct sunlight. More light can cause certain mushroom caps to earn
dark brownish.
Tip #3:
Mist the mushroom block daily utilizing a spray bottle. Continuous humidity
is critical for the mushrooms to come up with and grow. In the event you live
in a humid climate, you may need to mist more often. If your climate is more
rancid, then you certainly won't have to spray frequently.
Tip #4:
Supply air circulation. Mushrooms demand a whole lot of atmosphere to
prevent carbon dioxide develop. An inordinate quantity of carbon dioxide is
very likely to make your mushroom production stop, and so do not try to
build mushrooms in a tiny cabinet or an enclosed region.
Tip # 5:
Following the veil that combines the cap into the stem begins to rip, it's time
to harvest - normally after about a couple of weeks in the light. Do a daily
check for harvestable mushrooms which could be hiding out. Gently twist
and twist mushrooms from the block. Partial stalks left over the block will
corrode, and therefore do not cut them.
Tip # 6:
Shield your Mushrooms from insects by spraying on about the flaps of the
growing box with cooking oil spray.
 CONCLUSION

Throughout this guide you have been exposed to a history of magic

mushrooms. You have also been exposed to an understanding of how it is
used medicinally and recreationally.
Despite the negative side effects that have been purported by science, there is
scientific evidence which proves that using magic mushrooms in a controlled
environment will allow for the user to experience much health benefits.
Research has also shown that there is great propensity for the chemical
properties of the mushroom to help to alleviate symptoms of OCD and PTSD,
improve cognition and creativity, and so on.
Yet, it must be stated that more research is needed in relation to the benefits
of these mushrooms and how the side effects may be alleviated.
Until then, the legality of these mushrooms is still in limbo worldwide, due to
the negative effects experienced by users.
If you decide to grow these mushrooms on your own, tThere is a simplistic
guide provided to ensure that this endeavour is a success.
However, home cultivators should realize that psilocybin mushrooms can
elicit strong results and need to be employed with both respect and caution.
Hallucinogens, even in low doses, aren't very great societal drugs. There are
individuals who shouldn't ingest hallucinogens, also you will find many
others who might encounter a negative idiosyncratic response to the
mushroom or the medication inside.
Additionally, there are instances of anxiety and psychological disturbance
when the most seasoned user shouldn't partake.
Psilocybin mushrooms will be best utilized privately, secure, serene
surroundings, free of outside disturbance.
 AUTHOR BIO

Richard Koreman is a gardening expert, agricultural scientist, writer and

proud dad of two beautiful girls. He is a social advocate and a big believer in
natural wellness and healthy lifestyles, advocating for the safe application
psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
Richard fell avidly in love with gardening very early. As a kid and farm boy,
one of his favorite garden plants was sweet basil. His love for gardening was
one deeply felt, for it is still the mystery of plants that keep him awake deep
into the night.
Richard is a graduate of Colorado State University, where he received a BS
and MS in Agricultural Science. He is currently a doctoral researcher of
mushroom botany at the University of Arizona. His latest book, “Magic
Mushrooms” provides outstanding tips and insight into the intriguing benefits
of psilocybin mushrooms.
He is an incurable optimist who sees the good in everyone and thrives by
helping them become a better version of themselves.
 Healing Power of
Mushrooms
Improve Your Health With The 10 Best Medical Mushrooms

Richard Korman
 DISCLAIMER
Copyright 2020 by Richard Korman – All rights reserved.
The transmission, duplication or reproduction of any of the following work,
including specific information, will be considered an illegal act irrespective
of whether it is done electronically or in print.
This extends to creating a secondary or tertiary copy of the work or a
recorded copy and, is only allowed with an expressed written consent from
the Publisher. All additional rights reserved.
Additionally, the information in the following pages is intended only for
informational purposes and should this be thought of as universal. As
befitting its nature, it is presented without assurance regarding its prolonged
validity or interim quality.
The author is not in any way accountable for any results or outcomes that
emanate from using this material. Constructive attempts have been made to
provide information that is both accurate and effective, but the author is not
bound for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information.
 INTRODUCTION
Over time it has been determined that the fungus is a vegetable that is
considered "Magical." Different cultures in all corners of the world have
consumed or used medicinal mushrooms for many centuries, with Egypt
being their mainland of origin. What does this mean? Well, we are in the
presence of an extremely ancient vegetable or food as well as the first
existing civilizations in the world.
This plant fungus has been characterized by being immortal and has proven
that it has a lot of health benefits, mainly for presenting a protein, vitamin,
and other components of great quality. People who consider themselves
mushroom lovers, that is who have spent their entire lives eating mushrooms,
emphasize that. In addition to being an exquisite food, it has different flavors
that vary according to their species; this is a food that contains great benefits.
At present, about 140,000 species of fungi have been detected, of which only
10% of them are studied by different scientists worldwide, according to the
renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, who has written different books on this
subject.
Nearly 100 different species of plant fungi have been identified and studied
that offer health-promoting benefits and about half a dozen of those studied
have an exceptional characteristic that significantly strengthens the immune
system.
It is of utmost importance to consume only fungi that have been organically
grown, this mainly because they absorb everything around them, be they
good or bad organisms. This is what generates and intensifies the potency of
fungi. They are also known to absorb heavy metals, such as contaminated
water and air, so strictly healthy growth conditions are considered a critical
element. Although it may sound strange, we humans are much more related
to the fungal family than with any other species, this is because we share the
same bacteria and viruses.
As a defense mechanism against the invasion of bacteria, fungi developed
different antibiotics that are also highly effective for humans. Penicillin,
streptomycin, and tetracycline are medications that come from the fungus
extract.
In a study published in 2010 by the Experimental Biology and Medicine,
five different types of fungi (maitake, cremini, oyster, and white button) were
examined where they were found to "Significantly Eliminate" the growth and
reproduction of cells that produce breast cancer, which makes us think that
they can work as a kind of natural protectors against this type of cancer.
In addition, Shiitake-type fungi contain the compound "Lentinan," which
according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; can help extend
the life of patients with certain cancers in particular when used in
chemotherapy. It is known that since 1985 it has been used as a kind of
“Helper” for patients suffering from stomach cancer in Japan because it has
anti-tumor effects. According to the Cancer Center in Japan, “The lentinan
compound does not kill cancer cells directly. Instead, it improves the immune
system, which can help slow the growth of tumors. The compound also kills
viruses and microbes directly.”
Furthermore, it is proven that lentinan stimulates the immune system like
beta-glucan, which is a type of sugar that is located in the cells that are inside
the walls of different fungi, one of them the best known, such as the
mushrooms.
The consumption of fungi helps reduce cholesterol in our body. In general,
they do not contain cholesterol in their composition, but they are an excellent
source of chitin and beta-glucan, which are famous fibers that help reduce
cholesterol. In a study conducted by the International Journal of Medicinal
Mushrooms in 2012, it was found that pink oyster mushrooms reduce total
cholesterol and bad cholesterol. On the other hand, shiitake mushrooms
contain in their composition a component that helps the liver perform the
functions of total elimination of cholesterol from the bloodstream, according
to the doctor Andrew Weil, who is the founder of the Center for Integrative
Medicine of Arizona.
Other scientists and doctors worldwide point out that fungi contain a lot of
phytonutrients that are extremely potent to prevent cells from adhering to the
walls of blood vessels, so it keeps blood pressure very healthy.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Langone
Medical Center of the University of New York examined and analyzed the
properties of fungi in 80 people suffering from cancer and were prone to a
crisis of anxiety, depression, or fear of death. Patients received a dose of
psilocybin (the psychedelic component that possesses different types of
fungi), which approximately 80% of them experienced what was known as an
"Increase in optimism, a feeling of connection with other people and mystical
and spiritual experiences. The effects persisted during the 6-month follow-up
period.” This research was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology
and suggests that the component called psilocybin may be beneficial for
people with depression or posttraumatic stress disorders.
In the following book, we will detail the medical benefits that exist for the
consumption of 10 plant fungi as well as how to use them in the kitchen of
your home.
 CHAPTER ONE: MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
Medicinal mushrooms have been used for several centuries, especially in the
countries of the Asian continent to treat numerous infections. The most recent
application includes the treatment of different respiratory diseases, lung
diseases, and cancer. Specifically, in Japan and China, the implementation of
medicinal mushrooms to complement treatments for cancer patients was
approved more than 30 years ago.
They have a high safety clinical history as single supplements or combined
with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the Asian continent, more than 100
species of medicinal mushrooms are used regularly. Some of the most
common are Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), Trametes Versicolor or Coriolus
Versicolor (Turkey Tail), Lentinus edodes (Shiitake), and Grifola frondosa
(Maitake).

Food And Medicine Since Ancient Times

China was the cradle of mycotherapy in the world. Although medicinal
mushrooms were used for a long time, they were described, analyzed,
examined, and ordered in the first physiotherapy treatise "Pen Tsao King"
written about 200 BC. This treatise describes the medicinal properties that
Reishi and many other fungi had.
The pharmaceutical industry in China uses 270 species of medicinal
mushrooms and most of them have already been defined and compared in
terms of therapeutic uses and properties in the "Treaty of Medical Matters"
(Pen Tsao Kang Mu) in 1575.
Already in the eleventh century, the Chinese perfectly mastered the
techniques of log cultivation by hypha inoculation and also the growth of
many medicinal mushrooms.
Ötzi, The Man Of The Alps
As strange and incredible as it may seem knowledge of the therapeutic
virtues of fungi in the West is probably as old as in China. This is evidenced
by the remains of the Man of the Alps called Ötzi, who died frozen over 5000
years ago in the Alps and carried small pieces of Piptoporus betulinus and
Fomitopsis officinalis.

Ötzi, the man of the Alps

It is very possible that in those times the flammable characteristics of both
fungi were already known and that the “Iceman” used them as tinder to light
the fire. On the other hand, it is also possible that by that time the
antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory (polypeptide acids), antibiotic (piptamine),
antiviral, and antitumor properties of the former were already known (in fact,
the Ötzi autopsy revealed that he suffered from intestinal parasites).
Effects Of Medicinal Mushrooms
In different studies worldwide the effects of fungi have been examined in
detail in the immune response pathways and direct antitumor mechanisms.
The help of immune effects is produced by a fungal stimulation of innate
immune cells, such as monocytes, natural cytolytic lymphocytes, and
dendritic cells. In general, it is considered that the cause of this activity is due
to the presence of polysaccharides that contain a high molecular weight in
fungi. Although it is also possible that different constituent elements are
present. Modern science has discovered in the medicinal fungi several
activities, such as hypolipidemic, antitumor, antioxidant, antiviral,
antibacterial, antiparasitic, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, etc.
What Are They Used For?
Vital medicinal mushrooms are mainly used for the following purposes:

They strengthen the body's immune system and serve as a

natural support for the body's defenses.
Chelation therapy in the body: ligation and subsequent
total or partial elimination of all toxic substances, such as heavy metals.
It serves as a support for detoxification of the organs.
As supportive therapy or aid for radiotherapy and
chemotherapy treatments in cancer patients.

As they are not legally approved as official medicines in the European

continent, vital medicinal mushrooms are marketed under the name of food
supplements.
However, when these mushrooms are required to be used for treatments in
the form of capsules, care should be taken that only better quality products
are used. Since if the fungi come from areas with high exposure to pesticides,
toxins, and other substances, circumstantially decreases its quality and ability
to act against diseases, analysis of the raw material is an excellent way to
carry out a verification. Also, it is advised that products containing fungal
extracts instead of powder be used since the ingredients are much more
combined and concentrated in the extracts.
 Shiitake Mushroom
Fungi are rich in carbohydrates and prevent, above other things, constipation.
They are low-fat vegetables and apart from containing a high protein value,
they contain between 10% and 50% of carbohydrates that are not digestible
above human beings, but can be partially fermented by bacteria that have the
colon, which is attributed to them that produce a similar effect on the
digestive system to which the fibers produce.
They also have an effect that regulates intestinal transit. Besides, they have
antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic properties, so it is essential to have
these fungi in our diet, being cheaper those that are obtained directly from
nature and moderately affordable those that are cultivated.
The mineral content they possess is a very important component of the
balance of body fluids in the human body. It is important to highlight the
importance of fungi as bioactive producers, which are implemented in
medicine to delay and overcome complicated diseases, such as Alzheimer's or
cancer.
In addition, mycological components are used to treat patients with diabetes,
hypertension, or to strengthen the immune system of our body.
Defense Against Bacteria
Fungi in defense against bacteria have developed an antibiotic shield, so
when consumed by anyone, it produces a significant improvement in immune
function due to the composition of long-chain polysaccharides (B-glucans).
Many of these fungi are bitter, so our liver will have greater protection.
Recommendations For Use And Dose For Fungus Supplements
When we talk about mushroom supplements, we refer to two main types:

Concentrate or Fungus Extract: Most of them are called

hot water extracts; the mycelium of the fungus (body of the fruit) is
boiled for a long period to extract the polysaccharide chains. The final
product is a concentrated form of complex sugars called glyconutrients,
which is said to be the main compound that generates the health benefits
of fungi.
Whole Mushrooms (Raw): Eating raw mushrooms or
using products from whole fungus (powdered pills) is usually the best
alternative you have if you are a person without any disease, that is, you
are a healthy person and what you want is to maintain your health
optimally since they help to maintain the vital functioning of several
systems, instead of just focusing on imparting a direct effect. Most of
the knowledge about fungi comes from ancient medicine in China,
where fungi are considered as tonics. They consider that tonics generate
non-specific benefits throughout the human organism without
diminishing over time.

As mentioned above, if raw mushrooms are consumed, it must be ensured

that they have been organically grown since they easily absorb air and soil
pollutants.
Similarly, it is strictly necessary to ensure that commercial products are
certified as organic for the same reason. In addition to the valuable nutrients
that fungi possess, they also provide the necessary dietary fiber to act as a
prebiotic platform in the growth of organisms in the intestine, which is
extremely important for digestive health.
 CHAPTER TWO: TYPES OF MEDICINAL
MUSHROOMS
In general, fungi are fascinating species and even more medicinal
mushrooms. They are not vegetables or animals, and although this is known
by most people, what they do not know is that they share more DNA with
animals than they do with plants.
Another outstanding fact, as we mentioned in the previous descriptions, some
of the most important medicines worldwide are found in fungi and could
change the course of our passage through the planet.
Next, we will list and detail the most potent medicinal mushrooms to date.
1. Turkey Tail
When it comes to functional foods, the turkey tail mushroom can top the list.
It is named for the colorful autumn stripes that adorn your entire physical
body. Turkey tail mushrooms have been used for many years by Asian
countries as a medicinal tea. The Japanese call it "Kawaritake" or
"Mushrooms in the cloud" because they indicate that its shape has swirling
clouds.
They have been very aware and successful in detailing the benefits of this
super fungus full of energy; the world's most recognized scientific
researchers point out that its main benefit is to strengthen the immune system.
This cloud image symbolizes "Longevity and health, spiritual, and infinite
attunement" in these Asian cultures.
What Do We Know As A Turkey Tail Mushroom?
This super fungus comes from the Trametes Versicolor family, formerly
called Coriolus Versicolor. It is one of the approximately 100 species of
fungi that have been studied and analyzed for their medicinal properties.
The turkey tail fungus grows on dead trunks that are found in totally forested
environments around the world and is named after the brown and roasted
rings that resemble the feathers of a turkey's tail. It is a support type fungus,
which means that it forms generally very thin circular structures that look like
leaves.

Turkey Tail Mushroom

If one of them is required to be found, it is likely that you only have to
observe around the ground when you are in a purely forested area. Although
it presents a variety of autumn colors, such as the feathers of a turkey's tail,
one of the most vivid colors is bright green, which is algae.
Turkey tail fungus is commonly known to stimulate immune function and
reduce inflammation. It has an excellent and long history of use throughout
the Asian continent among practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine,
which used products based on turkey tail formations to promote and promote
general health, longevity, and strength.

Turkey Tail Mushroom With Green Algae

Benefits Of Turkey Tail
The benefits of turkey tail fungus are so well known for their ability to
achieve the following:
✓ Prevents and treats the common cold and the flu.
Over time, it has been shown that the turkey tail fungus prevents any type of
infection, including those from the common cold or the flu. This helps the
immune system to become more resistant against germs that in many cases
cause disease. When there is a flu season, it is strongly recommended that
you include turkey tail as a supplement in the dietary routine.
It has been scientifically proven that the turkey tail fungus modulates the
immune system, helping to fight infections and diseases.
✓ Offers support to chemotherapy patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted a series of
clinical trials so that patients who have very advanced prostate cancer and are
receiving normal chemotherapy are tested using a turkey tail extract, also of
assessing how women with breast cancer behave in combination with a given
vaccine in the hope of having a new and better cancer therapy.
Ultimately, because chemotherapy is responsible for totally or partially
suppressing the immune system, the hope is that the fungus develops the
suppressed immune system to try to manage the weaknesses that
chemotherapy causes. A stronger immune system can help fight deadly
cancer cells, making the Turkey Tail fungus a potentially potent food to
fight cancer.
✓ It helps treat human papillomavirus.
This particular fungus has the virtue that can help cure several infections in
humans, such as an oral strain of human papillomavirus. According to studies
in 61 patients with gum disease that tested positive for human
papillomavirus, 88% of the sample of 41 patients who received turkey tail
fungus and Reishi mushrooms, showed great improvement after only two
months of treatment.
✓ Digestion aid.
The turkey tail fungus has perfect prebiotics that helps the microbiome. This
means that it helps the growth of good bacteria that exist in the body,
including acidophilus and bifidobacterium, which generates more benefits for
all people who may suffer from the leaky gut syndrome. This better digestion
even helps with weight loss.
✓ It can help patients with HIV or AIDS.
Medical studies reveal that using turkey tail fungi, together with different
medicinal mushrooms found in East Africa can be useful for the treatment of
patients with Kaposi's sarcoma, which is a skin cancer that in many cases
affects to people with AIDS. This same product has even benefited AIDS
patients without sarcoma.
Turkey tail fungus has unique antibacterial and antioxidant properties. This
extract is called PSP, it has been studied in vitro and has been identified as an
antiviral agent that can prevent HIV replication.
How To Use Turkey Tail Fungus?
The best and medicinally most effective way to use this fungus is to use the
powder extracts.
Mushroom Science is a very high-quality brand that offers a very powerful
turkey tail extract product, according to scientists and customers, it is one of
the best in the market. There are also encapsulated lyophilized powder
extracts from the mycelium of the actual biomass fungus.
It is advisable to open the capsules containing the turkey tail mushroom
extract powder and stir it in hot drinks, smoothies, and tonic teas with other
nutrient-rich foods, such as shilajit and maca. This powder has a bittersweet
taste, but is not captured when mixed with most recipes.
Fresh turkey cola tea is another very good option for those who like to
harvest their wild foods. This drink has to be necessarily decoction (it is
advisable to observe herbal tea preparations) in hot water for a period
between 20-60 minutes to extract the medicinal polysaccharides contained in
turkey tail.
As a result, you have a liquid tea that can be consumed by the numerous
properties of immune development. The current fungus is discarded due to
the temperature at which the tea was cooked and not at the time of being
consumed since it is not pleasant for the human palate.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Turkey Tail Tea and Turmeric.
Ingredients:

1 cup chopped turkey tail mushrooms.

2 teaspoons of turmeric powder.
Grated raw ginger.
½ tablespoon honey.
1 drop of lemon essential oil.
5 cups of purified water.

Preparation:

1. Chop the turkey tail mushroom into small pieces.

2. Add water and turkey tail mushroom in a pot on the
stove.
3. On medium heat boil the water (boiling point), then
simmer for an hour.
4. Then pass the mixture through a strainer.
5. Add turmeric, honey, ginger and stir to the mixture.
6. Add lemon essential oil to the mixture, stir again, and
ready to drink.

Note: If you want an additional flavor you can add almond milk,
cinnamon, or stevia.
Keep the mixture in the refrigerator, you can reheat it later or consume
it cold
2. Reishi
With an excellent medical history of more than 4,000 years, the Reishi
medicinal mushroom is one of the most precious and effective fungal species
studied. In China, they are called "Grass of the spiritual power," but around
Asia, it is also known as "Fungus of Hope" or "Elixir of Immortality."
This medicinal mushroom is a genuine gem of the so-called Micotherapy. Its
actions and results are scientifically proven and that is why we talk about the
mushroom king. In addition to this, it is widely known that in times past the
use of this mushroom was exclusively for the family of the king or emperor,
which helps to get an idea of its value.
On a descriptive level, Reishi is a fungus that has a reddish color composition
and a woody texture. Its interior is made up of sour and sour meat, so it has
traditionally been consumed in infusions or through extracts.
What Do We Know As The Reishi Mushroom?
Some people describe this fungus as hard and woody because of its
characteristic bitter taste. The part of the fungus that grows and protrudes
from the earth and those that are constantly growing under the earth are used
medicinally.
Reishi mushrooms are used to treat a host of diseases, such as cancer. It is
also widely used to treat aging, to stimulate the immune system, prevention,
or treatment of infections, among others. In combination with other natural
herbs, these fungi are widely used in patients suffering from prostate cancer.
In addition, combining with other ingredients is used to treat viruses, such as
human papilloma, genital herpes, and canker sores.

Reishi Mushroom
Main Characteristics Of The Reishi Mushroom
It is a fungus that has a cornered shape, when it is in its natural state, in the
environment and before drying its shape is flattened, it is very soft and has
reddish tones. It grows on the trunks of aged or ancient trees, in subtropical
forests of Asia. Its characteristics tend to vary according to the environmental
conditions of the site where it grew.
Oriental medicine discovered the benefits and properties of this fungus more
than 2000 years ago, but in the West, it was only discovered, so it began to be
studied in the 1980s. This task is not simple since there are more than 400
bioactive components, all with therapeutic and nutritional properties that
make it a real gem for amateurs in maintaining health and wellbeing to the
fullest, whether they are research scientists or simply people looking for a
balance.
Benefits And Properties Of Reishi
In China, Japan and several countries of the Asian continent it is known as
the "Fungus of Immortality." This name refers to the medicinal uses of the
Reishi mushroom that is used to combat senility and in times of recovery
after a prolonged illness. They also recommend it to boost the immune
system, to stimulate liver function and reduce cardiovascular problems.
Oriental medicine emphasizes that Reishi can enhance ancestral energy (Jing-
Qi) and eliminate stagnations that cause bronchitis, arthritis, asthma,
insomnia, neurasthenia, and heart disease.
This fungus is considered as an anticancer, this due to the large number of
antioxidants it has and that is why it is being used as an assistant in the
treatment of some cancers, with surprisingly good results in terms of tumor
reduction and decreased side effects caused by conventional chemotherapies.
Also, it is considered as a powerful anti-inflammatory. It has been possible to
isolate biocomposites with exceptional performance against infections and
almost no adverse effects.
It also improves the response of the body's immune system and helping to
balance it. This is mainly due to the number of active ingredients that help
improve the body's response to invading agents.
 Reishi Mushroom
It can be used as an anti-aging treatment. This is thanks to the antioxidants
that Reishi contains, being this one of the most important properties of the
fungus. Several laboratories of the best global brands of personal care
products use Reishi as a base.
It is possible to use in the treatment against diabetes because different
components of the Reishi mushroom increase the production of insulin in the
blood and contribute directly to the reduction of blood sugar.
It is an antibacterial and antiviral fungus, is being implemented in the
treatments of patients with HIV and Herpes. It is also used as an
antihypertensive and to improve the quality of sleep.
Consume Of The Reishi Mushroom
This fungus should be consumed only as an extract. If consumed as a dry,
natural, and powdered fungus for more than a month it can cause very strong
and severe liver damage due to the non-extraction of the toxins that it
presents in its composition, which is done in the extracts.
It is not recommended to consume Reishi in pregnancy or breastfeeding. It is
also not recommended for consumption in people who have recently
undergone some type of surgery as well as in people who have low blood
pressure.
Can I Add This Mushroom To My Diet?
Of course, you can do it, below we will show one of the best recipes in which
you can add the Reishi mushroom and enjoy all its benefits.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Risotto with Reishi Mushrooms.
Ingredients:

2 garlic
1 onion
Reishi Extract
 2 cups of pump rice
White wine
Cheese powder
Saffron
Olive oil
750 ml of vegetable stock
Black pepper
Salt

Preparation:

1. Cut the garlic into slices, to sauté with olive oil over low
heat along with the salt and pepper and reserve.
2. Then chop the onion and slowly fry. Once golden brown,
add the raw rice and the wine that just covers the rice, cook until the
wine evaporates.
3. Heat the vegetable stock.
4. With the dry rice, add the hot vegetable stock, and stir
until all the starch comes out. At that time, we remove from heat and
cover the pan.
5. With the rice already soft and always creamy, we put the
extract of Reishi, cheese, and saffron to taste, but not much so that it is
not heavy, mix well and ready to eat.

Note: Quantity for 4 servings.

3. Chaga
Chaga is a fungus that has the scientific name "Inonotus obliquus" and the
common name "Carbon Nose," belonging to the family
"Hymenochaetaceae," these fungi grow parasites of dead trees in leafy and
conifers, specifically parasitic white birch. It is a non-toxic fungus that grows
on top and inside the birches and takes approximately five years to develop.
Its external appearance is that of a black mass, hard, striated, and amorphous,
it has an aspect of burnt coal. The inner part of the fungus has a color
between brown, orange and yellow, which changes as it grows inside the tree
over time. This mushroom is very common to find them in birch forests with
extremely cold weather, it grows and develops in the birches of eastern and
northern Europe, Russia, Canada, and some mountains of North Carolina.
Chaga is considered very important in traditional medicine in China. To the
east of Europe, it has been used for several centuries as a remedy for some
diseases. Its use being found since the 16th century when the fungus was
administered in patients suffering from bone cancer, gastritis, ulcers, and
tuberculosis.

Chaga Mushroom
Composition Of Chaga
Its composition highlights the high content of superoxide dismutase, that is, a
large set of enzymes that will protect the body from free radicals. This is
what makes this fungus an excellent antioxidant. It also contains in its
composition what we call polysaccharides, which help us maintain
cardiovascular health and significantly improve blood sugar levels. In
addition, its components, we find Beta-glucans and triterpenes.
Properties And Effects
Anti-aging:

Attacks free radicals, which makes it one of the most

antioxidant substances.
Increases longevity considerably as it decreases the
aging process.
It is responsible for the protection of body tissues,
especially it is responsible for the skin, thus reducing cancer risks.
 Thanks to the high melanin content they present, they
can nourish the hair, eyes, and glands.

Immune System and Oncology:

It is responsible for the modulation and control of the

immune system in cases of autoimmune diseases and allergies.
It has an excellent antitumor capacity, being effective
when administered in the early stages of the development of tumor
diseases.

Digestive and Hepatobiliary System:

It helps balance cholesterol levels.

It considerably improves blood glucose levels.
Reduces oxidative stress, that is, it is a hepatoprotective
by nature.

Infections:

It contains botulinic acid because it has antiretroviral

properties that are very useful against HIV.
It helps fight infections from bacteria and viruses when
balancing the immune system.

Energy and vitality:

It helps the body to adapt to any stress situation due to

its natural adaptogen character.
It helps patients who present cases of chronic fatigue.

Circulatory system:

It improves, protects, and favors the circulation of blood

throughout our body.
Preserves cardiovascular health.
 Chaga Mushroom
How To Consume The Chaga Mushroom?
We must take into account the arguments of different scientists worldwide, in
which they emphasize that these fungi despite presenting in their composition
so many chemical compounds and micronutrients they "Do not, in any case,
provide a healthy diet," but also leave, of course, there is no proven reason
why Chaga fungus should not be consumed (except in cases of
contraindicated disease).
Therefore, the most traditional and common way to consume the Chaga
mushroom is in small pieces, preparing them as if it were an infusion and
mixing them with water, which results in a drink very similar to coffee.
Currently, it is marketed in powdered or encapsulated extracts. These extracts
are used in conjunction with other species, such as cinnamon, turmeric,
ginger, pepper as well as mixing it with other beverages, such as herbal tea,
chocolate, and milk as well as smoothies and ice cream.
The doctors and scientists in charge of the study of fungi point out that many
other ways of how to prepare the Chaga mushroom product are currently
unknown, so they consider that its implementation in the gastronomic field is
still far from being common and usual.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Chocolate Cinnamon Chaga (Vegan) Ice Cream.
Ingredients:
 3 bananas.
1 tablespoon of pure organic cocoa powder.
2 tablespoons Chaga extract with cinnamon.

Preparation:

1. Cut the bananas into small rounds.

2. Add the bananas in a blender and mix until smooth.
3. Then gradually add cocoa and Chaga extract to the
blender and mix until it becomes a dark color.
4. Take it to the freezer for a few hours and ready to eat.

Note: Makes 2 servings.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer 15 minutes before serving to
soften it a bit.
4. Lion’s Mane
Lion's mane, as it is commonly known to the fungus "Hericium Erinaceus,"
is a species called lignícola that parasitizes planifolia trees, particularly in
oaks. They are grown on sawdust and sterilized logs.
It is a fungus without foot or support that usually lives to hang on the trunks
of the planifolia trees. Its structure or shape is rounded from which numerous
needles hang. Inside it is a kind of somewhat elastic meat, so it is
recommended to consume it when it is young and fresh. Its smell is fungal
and the taste is very pleasant to the palate, sweet and soft, with a memory of
the taste of seafood.
In its composition, it has a group of bioactive substances that are known as
hericenones, which stimulate the reproduction of neurons damaged by
peripheral vascular problems, which indicates that it is an excellent aid
against senile dementia, vascular lesions of the brain, and learning problems.
In addition, the NGF (Neuronal Growth Factor), that is responsible for
regenerating the myelin present in the nerves.
In addition to all this, it has an effect that protects the mucous membranes of
the digestive system because it exerts a repair function in the epithelia, so it is
extremely beneficial in the case of ulcers, Hiatal hernias, gastritis, intestinal
inflammations, and disease of Cröhn.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

Benefits And Medicinal Properties
Currently, research regarding the health effects of the lion's mane is very
limited. However, there have been findings in animal research, laboratory
studies, and small clinical trials that indicate that lion's mane can offer several
health benefits, which we will describe below:
Brain function
This fungus can be very beneficial in older adults who have a mild cognitive
impairment, according to a study conducted and published by Phytotherapy
Research in 2009. This study consisted of scientists assigning 30 older adults
with mild cognitive impairment to consume Lion's mane extract or in other
cases a placebo for a total of 16 weeks. Three cognitive tests were taken
during this time, at 8, 12, and 16 weeks of the study, the results were
surprising, the patients who consumed the lion's mane extract showed much
greater improvements than those who took only the placebo.
Another recent study about this wonderful fungus published by Biomedical
Research in 2011 shows that scientists examined the effects of a lion's mane
on the brain function of a group of mice. The results were equally surprising,
the scientists indicated the lion's mane helped significantly protect mice from
memory problems caused by the accumulation of the brain-forming substance
associated with Alzheimer's called Beta Amyloid.
Depression
Lion's mane tends to help relieve depression and anxiety; this is indicated by
studies published in Biomedical Research in 2010. In this study, it was
shown with a sample of 30 menopausal women that the group of them
consumed some cookies that contained a lion's mane extract in its
composition, at 4 weeks they were less irritable and anxious and had less
difficulty concentrating than the group that consumed the placebo.
Natural anticancer
In a study conducted by Food & Function in 2011, tests on human cells
showed that a lion's mane can help suppress all or part of the cells that
generate leukemia. In addition to this, another study published by the Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry of the same year found that the lion's
mane extract used in mice suffering from colon cancer helped reduce the size
of the tumors. These investigations about this fungus suggest that the lion's
hair fungus can help fight colon cancer and, in part, increase the activity of
different cells that are involved in the immune response of our body.
However, it is too early to know if this fungus can effectively help prevent
colon cancer.
How To Consume The Lion's Mane?

The extract of this fungus is mainly obtained in capsules.

The recommended dose is two capsules daily (Before breakfast and
Dinner) together with 0.50 grams of Vitamin C.
In the case of gastritis or reflux, it is recommended to
consume the extract dissolved in hot water after the main meals.
The minimum time for the treatment of the lion's mane to
take effect and the cell of the same is incorporated into the body is 45 to
60 days.
 Lion’s Mane Mushroom
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Poached with Butter
Ingredients:

1 Lion’s mane mushroom.

½ cup clarified butter.
¼ cup of dry white wine.
¼ cup of chicken broth.
1 large garlic clove.
1/8 tablespoon of salt.
1/8 tablespoon black pepper.
1 teaspoon of fresh parsley.

Preparation:

1. Cut the Lions Mane mushroom into slices.

2. Cut the garlic and parsley into small pieces.
3. Add all ingredients except mushrooms and parsley and
bring to the stove over medium-low heat and bring to 160° F.
4. Add the mushrooms and poach for 30 minutes.
5. Then add the parsley and let it poach another five
minutes.
6. Serve on grilled steaks.

Note: Makes 4 servings.

5. Shiitake
According to numerous investigations, studies, and clinical trials, the fungus
called Shiitake contains a large number of antioxidants and stimulants in the
immune system that makes it a food with essential medicinal properties.
Shiitake is the Japanese name of the fungus “Lentinula Edodes,” it is an
edible fungus, with a pleasant taste. According to the different studies carried
out by scientists worldwide, it has excellent medicinal properties, especially
to stimulate the immune system and helps in carcinogenic treatments.

Shiitake Mushroom
Nutrients And Medicinal Elements Of Shiitake
Shiitake contains many micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals, but then the
most important elements will be shown:

They are rich in water and low in calories: Like many

other fungi, the main component of Shiitake is Water.
High protein content: Shiitake has 9 essential amino
acids, so it has a high protein content, among them we have arginine and
methionine.
They contain a lot of fiber: This fungus is rich in fibers,
so it is completely ideal to repopulate and keep the intestinal system in
good condition.
Contains high levels of enzymes: The enzyme
Superoxide Dismutase stands out, which is an extraordinary antioxidant.
Vitamins and Minerals: It has a great variety of Vitamin
 B, Vitamin D, iron, zinc, selenium, and magnesium.
Medicinal Principles: This is the characteristic that makes
the Shiitake mushroom stand out above the others, as it contains a high
content of antioxidant medicinal elements that stimulate the immune
system and help treat, among other diseases, cancer.

Health Benefits
Shiitake is a fungus frequently consumed in Japan for thousands of years as a
medicinal element. The trajectory of this fungus, together with its traditional
use, is sufficient to demonstrate all the benefits they have for people's health,
so much so that, in recent years, many universities throughout the world have
conducted clinical studies and trials, which demonstrates the great ability of
the fungus to stimulate the immune system.
These are some of the health effects that the usual consumption of Shiitake is
related to:
✓ Cancer: Thanks to the lentinan component and many other
antioxidant elements, one of the main uses of Shiitake is as an anticancer. It
is responsible for stimulating the immune system and has been shown to
reduce the side effects caused by chemotherapy and other drugs.
✓ Heart and hypertension: Shiitake contains elements that delay or
eliminate platelet aggregation, which is why it prevents heart attacks and
greatly improves the state of the arteries.
✓ Lung diseases: Thanks to interferon, Shiitake is also recommended
for viral infections of the lungs and respiratory problems.
✓ Digestion: Since Shiitake is rich in enzymes and has high fiber
content, this fungus favors the process of digestion, helps the correct
metabolism of food and helps the proper functioning of the intestine.
 Shiitake Mushroom
Shiitake Mushroom Nutrition Table
Next, we will show the nutritional table of this fungus for every 100g:

Water: 90g Fiber: 2.50g Calcium: 2mg Zinc: 1.30mg

Proteins: Vitamin B3: Selenium:
Iron: 0.41mg
2.50g 3.80mg 5.70mg
Folic Acid: Magnesium: Phosphorus:
Fat: 0.40g
18mg 20mg 112mg

How To Get Shiitake?

Dehydrated: Soak it for about 20 minutes until it softens

and use it as a common mushroom.
Fresh: This is, without a doubt, the best option, the most
nutritious and the tastiest.
Supplements: If you can't get Shiitake because you can't
find it in your place of residence, you can buy it in supplements to
benefit from its medicinal properties.

BEST KITCHEN RECIPE

Quinoa and Shiitake Salad
Ingredients:
Salad

1 cup of raw quinoa.

1 ¼ cups of vegetable stock.
Olive oil.
4 sliced shiitake mushrooms.
1 shallot chopped into thin slices.
3 cups of spinach.
1 sliced avocado.
Salt
Pepper
Finely chopped green onions to decorate.

Seasoning

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons shallot oil.
1 tablespoon soy sauce.
2 tablespoons of rice vinegar.
1 tablespoon brown sugar.
Juice of ½ lemon.

Preparation:

1. Wash the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer.

2. Add the quinoa in a nonstick pot and toast the grains for
about 2 minutes.
3. Add 1 ¼ cups of toasted quinoa broth, boil, reduce heat,
and cover.
4. Cook for 15 minutes, remove from the stove and let stand
for 5 minutes.
5. Warm up the pan is the olive oil over medium fire, add
the shiitake mushrooms and cook in until golden brown and crispy about
2-3 minutes, flip and continue cooking on the other side.
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Then season with salt and pepper while the mushrooms
are still hot.
8. In another skillet over medium-low heat add the shallots
 and stir until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. When golden brown
removes from the stove.
9. Let the shallot oil cool and set aside for the dressing.
10. In the same pan cook the spinach, season with salt, and
pepper.
11. In a bowl mix all the dressing ingredients.
12. In a bowl place quinoa cover with mushrooms, spinach,
and avocado.
13. Garnish with shallots and green onions and add the
dressing to taste. To enjoy.

6. Cordyceps
All human beings have always been in search of the elixir of eternal youth, a
concoction or some tonic that just by ingesting would be able to revitalize
and rejuvenate. More than 2000 years ago the Chinese thought they had
found it, they called that substance "Winter worm and summer grass," the
only problem that existed was that it only occurred in a very remote corner of
the empire where extraction was very expensive, thus being reserved for the
imperial or royal family.
This substance has already been identified, studied and analyzed. It is the
Cordyceps, which is a parasitic fungus that is very beneficial for health,
getting not only to reinvigorate the body, but also the mind.
What Is Cordyceps Mushroom?
It is mainly a parasitic species, the main hosts being insects and arthropods.
This species of fungus has as its raw material the vegetable caterpillar, which
is what provides the ingredient that is essential in traditional Chinese
medicine.
The fungus will develop on the body of a caterpillar, a larval form of the
Himalayan bat moth. The moth's life cycle is to lay eggs from which
caterpillars will be born when they reach maturity, they are buried to carry
out their final transformation, butterfly or moth.
When the caterpillar is buried to pass its final step before completing its life
cycle, it is when it is invaded by the fungus, which begins to feed on the
caterpillar, completely ending it until it begins to grow inside the cover of the
caterpillar has already disappeared.
The beneficial effects of Cordyceps were discovered by Himalayan farmers
when they realized that their cattle after consuming a fungus that was under
the grass, had greater sexual vigor and the number of offspring had increased.

Cordyceps Mushroom
Cordyceps Fungus Benefits

Increased performance and energy: According to a

study published by the International Journal of Medicinal
Mushrooms, it was revealed that consuming the Cordyceps fungus
prolonged the time in which test mice could be swimming, and
increased the number of glycogens in the muscles and in the liver, which
has a positive effect against fatigue and increases the use of oxygen and
the elimination of lactic acid. This statement began to be investigated
and studied after in 1993 Chinese athletes broke three world records in
their respective disciplines and claimed that they had taken a diet rich in
Cordyceps Sinensis.
Anti-Aging: In addition to its anti-fatigue effect, it has
been shown that the Cordyceps fungus counteracts the effects produced
by oxidative stress, which is responsible for accelerating aging and
promoting the appearance of various diseases. Likewise, an
experimental process was carried out where a group of mice was given
to consume the fungus and another group that consumed a placebo,
 which resulted in the mice that consumed the fungus lived several
months longer than those that consumed the placebo.
Sexual invigorating: This has been the main use given to
Cordyceps and apparently can be effective in both sexes. In research
published by the Indian Journal of History of Science, it was concluded
that it can combat sexual dysfunction and be a natural alternative to
Viagra.

In addition, the other proven benefits of the Cordyceps fungus will be named:

Stimulates the immune and anti-inflammatory

system.
Protects the heart.
It helps control blood sugar levels.
May have anticancer effects.
It helps improve fertility.
It is extremely beneficial for the liver.

How Can We Consume Cordyceps?

If you are lucky enough to buy the Cordyceps mushroom in a completely
natural way, that is, if you travel to one of the places where it grows, then you
will have the honor of tasting its true flavor.
The most common form of preparation is infusions, where you will consume
both the fungus and the broth resulting from cooking. Another of the most
common ways to ingest it is by adding it chopped in recipes for duck,
chicken, or pork.
However, due to its high price and the poor marketing of the fungus in its
original version, it is more common to take Cordyceps as a food supplement
in the form of powder or capsules. Although its content comes in most cases,
from Improved versions of the fungus grown in laboratories.
Various scientific research affirms that it is advisable to consume between
three and nine grams a day to obtain all the health benefits that we mentioned
before.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Cordyceps with Linguine, Shallots, Watercress, and Chives.
Ingredients:

2 ounces whole fresh Cordyceps mushrooms.

3 ounces of linguine or dried spaghetti.
1 spoon of toasted breadcrumbs.
¼ cup of dry white wine.
Salt.
Pepper.
1 cup of fresh watercress cut into small pieces.
Dry red pepper flake.
1 shallot in thin pieces.
2 tablespoons olive oil.

Preparation:

1. Cook the shallot in olive oil in a pan, stirring until golden

brown.
2. Add wine to the pan and reduce by half.
3. Then add the cordyceps mushrooms to the pan until
golden brown and remove from the stove.
4. In a pot with water and salt cook the pasta until al dente.
5. Then mix the pasta with the mushrooms in the pan.
6. Add the red pepper flakes, the cress.
7. Garnish with breadcrumbs and eat.

Note: Makes 4 servings.

7. Maitake
The Maitake mushroom, whose scientific name in Latin is “Grifola
frondosa” is a fungus native to Japan, which reproduces and grows in
clusters at the base of the oaks, and has been like most medicinal mushrooms,
highly prized for its properties medicinal for several centuries. We commonly
know it as a forest hen or ram's head.
Currently, they are granted endless virtues, it is considered an adaptogen. By
stimulating the immune system, Maitake helps our body resist the attack of
various external pathogens as well as helps fight stress and fatigue.
The Maitake fungus is analyzed in detail as part of the so-called metabolic
syndrome because it helps lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood
glucose level.

Maitake Mushroom
Appearance And Composition
The Maitake mushroom is a gray-brown fungus that gradually fades with age.
It is an atypical fungus because it closely resembles a coral. It is very easy to
identify thanks to its layers that have the shape of spatulas or fans that are
organized in groups. It consists mainly of a branched trunk, extremely short.
It can reach 50 centimeters in diameter and a weight of 10 kilograms.
When it is harvested young, this fungus has a very pleasant smell and its
flavor is very similar to that of mashed potatoes, which is very popular in
world cuisine.
The compound isolated from Maitake that is responsible for the medicinal
activity is a polysaccharide called beta-glucan.
Benefits And Effects Investigated
During the past 30 years, scientists in charge of studying Maitake have
revealed a large number of medicinal properties it possesses and its benefits
to humans. Beta-glucan is the sugar that many fungi possess, but especially
that of Maitake, it gives incredible oral and injectable efficacy while other
fungi do not.

Regulation of the immune system: Studies about this

fungus show that it helps significantly the immune system. The “Grifola
frondosa” or Maitake fraction acts directly and complexly on the
immune system. The tests obtained after trials have revealed an
inhibitory activity in several viruses (herpes type 1m Hepatitis B, among
others) by stimulating the actors of immunity.
Antidiabetic effect: The hypoglycemic potential of
Maitake is conclusive, the decrease in glucose present in the blood is
mainly due to a) Increase in the sensitivity of cells to insulin, b) Inhibits
alpha-glucosidase, which transform maltose into maltose.

It also has excellent effects on metabolic syndrome and has a very good
antitumor activity.

Maitake Mushroom
How To Consume Maitake
This mushroom can be consumed raw or cooked. Although many people
consume Maitake as a dietary supplement, in capsule form or extract, or in
liquid form to administer intravenously.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Japanese-style Noodles with Maitake Mushrooms in Soy Broth.
Ingredients:
 2 crushed garlic cloves.
1 piece of ginger cut into thin slices.
1 cup of Maitake mushrooms.
¼ cup of soy sauce.
¼ cup dry wakame
4 cups of water.
2 spoons of vegetable oil.
Salt
Black pepper.
8 ounces of Japanese style noodles.
4 tender turnips cut into thin slices.
4 egg yolks.
4 scallions cut into thin slices.
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds.

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan add the garlic, ginger, 4 cups of water,

and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add the soy sauce and wakame to the mixture, remove
from heat and set aside.
3. In a pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the
Maitake mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and let them brown
and crisp approximately 10-12 minutes.
4. In a pot with boiling water and salt cook the soba, stirring
occasionally until al dente.
5. Return the reserved broth over low heat.
6. Divide in soba and the broth into 4 bowls, add the
mushrooms, turnips, and egg yolks to each of the bowls.
7. Add the scallions and sesame seeds to decorate.

Note: Makes 4 servings.

8. Enokitake
The Enoki or Enokitake mushroom is native to Japan and there is a marked
and very important difference in appearance between the wild and the
cultivated. The former usually grow dark brown while those grown as they
are not exposed to sunlight are white.
They have a very delicate and brittle texture, their flavor is sweet and they are
very fresh in salads or dishes with very little cooking, adding them at the last
moment in soups or sautéed to the wok. This mushroom is one of the most
used natural ingredients in Asian cuisine.

Golden Enokitake Mushroom

Properties Of Enoki
It is rich in antioxidants, such as ergothioneine, and the many tests performed
on animals have resulted in possible applications in the development of
vaccines and immunotherapy for cancer. An investigation carried out by the
National University of Singapore published in 2005, affirmed that the stem
of the Enoki fungus or as it is commonly called a gold needle, contains a
large amount of a protein called “Five” by researchers, which helps to the
regulation of the immune system. The Enoki fungus also has flummoxing,
which is a cytolytic and cardiotoxic protein that has been non-toxic when
absorbed orally.
They are rich in Vitamin D, fiber, potassium, iron, and phosphorus. In 2009,
the Journal Immunology published a study that shows that the consumption
of enoki extracts significantly improves the survival rates of some mice that
were infected with the human papillomavirus, which is the main cause of
cancer of the cervix.
Enokitake In The Kitchen
The enokitake should be chosen firm and white, avoiding having a slimy
brown foot. It is recommended that they are consumed in a short time
because they are very perishable.
It is convenient to keep them in a refrigerator for no more than five days,
wrapped in some special paper, and then in a plastic bag to create moisture.
The Enoki is rich and very crispy in salads, providing a subtle flavor very
similar to radish. Asian chefs also often add them to soups and stews, which
are usually fish or meat.
It can be added as meat and seafood companions, but in these cases, it is
convenient to add them almost at the end of cooking so that they are not dry
and hard.
It is also recommended to cut the mushrooms at the bottom and remove all of
its stems, separating them very carefully. For example, if you only get them
in the dry variant, you have to hydrate them first before using them in a stir
fry. Many people use it very often as a kind of noodle in the soup or
conjunction with other mushrooms in a mushroom dish.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Mushrooms Enokitake in Soy Sauce.
Ingredients:

8 ounces of enokitake mushrooms.

1 tablespoon sesame oil.
1 clove garlic finely chopped.
2 tablespoons soy sauce.
½ tablespoon grated ginger.

Preparation:

1. Cut the bottom of the enokitake mushrooms and discard

them and separate the threads gently.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic to the pan and brown for about 1 minute.
4. Then add the enokitake mushrooms and cook until they
wilt about 2 minutes.
5. Add the soy sauce and ginger and cook for 1 - 2 more
 minutes and eat.

9. Agarikon
“Laricifomes officinalis” is the scientific name of the fungus, which we
commonly call Agarikon, which is a polypore type fungus. It has different
colors in its structure, but without a doubt the one that stands out is brown.
This fungus causes conifer heart rot. The fruiting bodies that they possess,
were widely collected for the production of quinine drugs, which are believed
to possess by the bitter taste of the powdered conk.
These fruiting bodies can be very large, approximately two feet long and in
columnar form. They are very soft, yellow, and white when they are young,
becoming white and brown everywhere. The flavor as mentioned above for
both fruiting and felt bodies is very bitter and distinct for each species.
The Agarikon fungus has become extremely complicated to find for two
reasons: The first is that “Laricifomes officinalisen” is only found in very old
forests, which is even more complicated by global climate change that is
changing the humidity and temperature regimes in every corner of the planet,
including the Pacific Northwest, where this species resides in America. By
altering the Earth's atmosphere, we have directly influenced the reproduction
and growth of this species.
Unfortunately, after 150 years of logging and burning of forest trees in the
Pacific Northwest, only 5% of old forests remain.
Since this species has a high medicinal value, it has been collected in excess
and distributed in many pharmacies around the world.
 Agarikon Mushroom
Medicinal Benefits
The Agarikon mushroom was used by the ancient Greeks to treat
tuberculosis, according to the writings of Dioscorides in 65 AD and by some
indigenous people of the time for the treatment of smallpox. The recognized
mycologist Paul Stamets has conducted numerous scientific investigations of
the biological activities of Agarikon.
Antiviral activity has been demonstrated against a variety of a virus
determined in vitro, especially against smallpox family viruses, HSV-1 and
HSV-2, Influenza A, Influenza B, and Mycobacterium.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Agarikon Latte.
Ingredients:

½ teaspoon Agarikon powder.

1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
1 cup of almond milk.
Honey.
Cinnamon.

Preparation:
Blend all the ingredients and go.
10. Birch Polypore
Birch Polypore fungus is known by the scientific name of “Piptoporus
betulinus” is commonly found in birch forests, especially in dead tree trunks.
This species of fungus is a very attractive polypropylene, it is extremely easy
to recognize by the place where it grows and by the fact that its cap or hat is
folded thereby forming a border around the surface of the pore, which
distinguishes it from others mushrooms.
These caps are white and brown while the surface of the pore is white or
grayish brown. Although this type of fungus is considered annual, that is, it
does not live in more than one season, its fruiting body is hard and generally
found next year.

Birch Polypore Mushroom

Macroscopic Description

Hat: They are especially large when they reach their

total development, they reach up to 40 centimeters in diameter, their
normal diameter being 25 centimeters. The thickness varies between 5
and 10 centimeters. When it begins its growth, that is, in its young stage,
it is globose, like a spherical lump that sprouts from the trees, which
evolves in a convex plane, in the form of a horse or kidney helmet. Its
margin is very characteristic, it is incurred, rolled on tubes.
Hymenium: It is made up of short tubes with a length of
up to 1.5 centimeters, with thick walls, white, and darkens when ripe.
 The pores are small, 3 to 4 millimeters, rounded white that turn cream
when dry.
Foot or Base: In many cases, it does not have, but when
it exists it is extremely small, 1.5 centimeters, of the same texture and
color of the hat.

Medicinal Benefits
Many years ago, people used this fungus to eliminate parasitic worms from
the stomach and digestive system. It was mainly added to herbal tea to act as
a laxative. It was also used to calm the nerves and eliminate fatigue.
One of the most important benefits of this fungus is that it stimulates the
immune system. This is extremely important since an organism with a strong
and healthy immune system does not suffer health problems frequently. This
fungus also has antiseptic properties. It prevents infections when used as a
bandage, people who have used it have said that it not only takes care of
healing the wound, but also leaves no scar even when the wound is very
deep.
It is also considering an anti-inflammatory, that is, it is capable of
suppressing or completely reducing pain without touching the central nervous
system.

Birch Polypore Mushroom

Consumption Of The Fungus Birch Polypore
When the fungus is very young, even without the hymenium, it can be
consumed, but it has little taste, besides being hard, elastic, and very bitter in
texture.
This type of fungus is not known to be culinary, however, it can be used in
cooking recipes in several ways. Younger polyps can be cut into very thin
and small pieces to marinate and then roast. Already cut and dry, they can be
used to be consumed in an herbal tea. Although it does not have a delicious
taste, it is beneficial for the human organism.
The excellent dehydration of the fungus can preserve them over time (exactly
the time in which it can be preserved is unknown). Once they have been
dehydrated, they can be turned into powder by spraying them and adding
them to any dish of your choice, to improve the chemical composition of the
food and be much healthier.
It is advisable to store them in a cool place and that they are not in contact
with any type of lighting (natural or artificial) once dehydrated.
BEST KITCHEN RECIPE
Birch Polypore Tea.
Ingredients:

1 cup dehydrated birch polypore mushrooms.

1 liter of water.

Process:

1. Cut the dried birch polypore mushrooms into small cubes.

2. In a pot, place the water with the mushrooms and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and cook until the water gets a pleasant color.
4. Remove from heat.

Note: It can be consumed cold with ice or reheat.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Korman is a gardening expert, agricultural scientist, writer and proud
dad of two beautiful girls. He is a social advocate and a big believer in natural
wellness and healthy lifestyles, advocating for the safe application
psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
Richard fell avidly in love with gardening very early. As a kid and farm boy,
one of his favorite garden plants was sweet basil. His love for gardening was
one deeply felt, for it is still the mystery of plants that keep him awake deep
into the night.
Richard is a graduate of Colorado State University, where he received a BS
and MS in Agricultural Science. He is currently a doctoral researcher of
mushroom botany at the University of Arizona. His latest book, “Magic
Mushrooms” provides outstanding tips and insight into the intriguing benefits
of psilocybin mushrooms.
He is an incurable optimist who sees the good in everyone and thrives by
helping them become a better version of themselves.