In search of the Holy Grail of mushrooms

[xchrom]

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20111016x1.html


o the victor the spoils: Our first matsutake find "somewhere in western Kyoto Prefecture"; matsutake gohan that we rustled up back at home; our guide and inspiration, professional matsutake hunter Toshiaki Mizuguchi. JOHN ASHBURNE PHOTOS

The ancients were none too complimentary about their fungi. "Few of them are good, and most produce a choking sensation," wrote Marcus Athenaeus of Naucratis 1,800 years ago in "Deipnosophistae" ("Philosophers at Dinner").

The proto-vegetarian and Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger had been equally disdainful some three centuries before that. "Mushrooms are not really food," he snooted, "but are relished to bully the sated stomach into further eating."

Seemingly, Bedouins of old were even more robustly opinionated, and wouldn't touch the things with a tent pole.

Pooh bah to the ancients and the nomads, say we.

The Japanese passion for mushrooms, and in particular the aromatic gourmet treasures that are matsutake, was documented as early as 1712 in the "Wakan Sansai Zue" encyclopedia, and kinokogari (mushroom gathering) remains, supermarkets notwithstanding, an integral part of the unchanging rhythm of countryside life.

[formercia]

1. Not to be a stick in the mud, but...

Shrooms tend to be more radioactive than the surrounding area, so, as far as Japan is concerned, they might have to be careful.
The Russians like to collect wild Mushrooms, but Chernobyl put a stop to that in many areas.

[tama]

3. Heard that

there's a new shroom species in Chernobyl that feeds on radioactive radiation.

Ah, found a link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522210932.htm

[formercia]

4. Perhaps all Astraonauts should be dark-skinned

they wouldn't need to eat as much......my bad.

[tama]

2. Healers and teachers

Reishi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom

Psilocybines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin_mushroom

And slime molds "can find their way through mazes by spreading out and choosing the shortest path, an interesting example of information processing without a nervous system."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycetozoa

[saras]

5. Slime molds aren't healers or teachers, they're competitors

Just sayin'