One of the most mysterious living organisms on Earth are mushrooms. Scientists previously attributed them to the plant kingdom, and because of this, mycology - the science of mushrooms - has long been part of the botany, not biology. Now it’s already been found out that mushrooms are somewhere in the middle between plants and animals, and researchers today know about 100 thousand of their species.
What is a mushroom?
In classes for schoolchildren about mushrooms, as a rule, They say that they consist of the ground part - the fruiting body, and the underground - mycelium or, in other words, mycelium, which spreads in the soil or other substrate in the form of extremely thin, only a few microns thick, spider webs. Each of the threads, which are countless in the mycelium, is called hyphae.
The fruiting body can live no more than ten days, and the mycelium exists for tens and even hundreds of years, perfectly tolerating drought or severe frost.
Sites of hyphae at some point gather in tangles, which gradually increase, and their cells, stretching, form a young fruiting body (what we call a mushroom), which breaks through the substrate and grows. From now on, we can admire or collect them in a basket.
Incidentally, the fungus to some extent can be considered the largest living creature on the planet. In North America, for example, there are huge mycelium with an area of hundreds of hectares. And their weight is more than the weight of seven whales!
About the reproduction of mushrooms
Interesting facts about mushrooms can be gleaned from the features of their reproduction. The body of the fungus, which we eat with such pleasure, is only the organ of its reproduction, which scatters spores that allow new mycelium to develop.
Incidentally, even in any room, spores of fungi can be detected by taking an air sample for this.
Traditional mushrooms, such as champignons, emit, for example, about 40 million spores, and dung mushrooms - 100 million. But the most prolific in this sense is the raincoat mushroom, in which more than 7 trillion spores are ready for propagation. And they fly out with a car speed of 90 km / h and spread over an area of more than 2 m.
The sprouting, soft-looking cap of the mushroom's body is capable of breaking through not only the soil, but also asphalt, concrete, and even iron or marble. And where it cannot germinate, the mycelium gradually destroys the barrier.
Mushrooms can create their own weather
Trying to tell everything about mushrooms, one cannot help but mention that these creatures can change weather conditions for themselves. After all, usually the ground part of the fungus spreads spores passively, that is, they move with the flow of air. And if absolute calmness occurs, then such mushrooms, for example, as oyster mushrooms or shiitake, as researchers have discovered, produce water vapor that creates air movement in the form of convection currents and can transfer spores to a certain distance.
Mushroom related beliefs
No matter what the science of mushrooms tells, a person has long been associated with many beliefs and rituals. For example, picking mushrooms, you can not talk loudly or curse, otherwise they will hide. A huge crop of mushrooms is a gloomy omen of impending cataclysms.
A woman who saw mushrooms in a dream should expect an addition to the family, and a man should take care of his health, becoming more discriminating in relations with ladies.
Interestingly, some mushrooms, sprouting, form regular circles. In the Netherlands and Germany, such mushrooms are not collected, since these “witch circles” are considered an enchanted place, and in Scotland - a place indicating a buried, enchanted treasure.
Separately about ceps
Talking about mushrooms, porcini mushroom cannot be ignored. He has long been considered a delicacy and a king among their own kind in Russia. If you do not even mention its taste and aroma, which, by the way, persists even after drying, it still turns out that the porcini mushroom is a wonderful gift from nature.
It found antibiotics that kill Koch's wand, and antitumor substances. People with anemia, as well as inflammatory diseases, porcini mushroom is very useful. And in addition, it speeds up the healing process, normalizes the function of the thyroid gland, improves the condition of nails, hair and skin, and also helps the body recover from infections. Not a mushroom, but a whole pharmacy!
About the shape of mushrooms
You can talk a lot about mushrooms. White mushroom, boletus , boletus and other objects of "silent hunting" - this, of course, is far from the whole mushroom kingdom.
There are many mushrooms in our forests that have a bizarre shape and color. For example, a hornet mushroom, which has a bright orange color and resembles coral branches, or a red lattice, ripening from a white, egg-like body, and eventually acquiring the appearance of a bright red lattice ball.
By the way, this mushroom is referred to as flower mushrooms. Such mushrooms are especially numerous in tropical forests. There are absolutely unique creations there, resembling, for example, a glass like a mushroom from India, or a red mushroom armed with tentacles from Java. And the most outlandish with confidence can be considered the bell-shaped dictiaphor mushroom that grows in the forests of South America. It grows in just two hours and then throws out an openwork white coverlet from under its hat, which envelops the snow-white leg and glows in the evening with a greenish mystical color. Locals, by the way, call him "Lady under the Veil."
Amazing planet mushrooms: “bleeding tooth” and “earthen star”
To understand how unusual these living organisms are, we will describe the most interesting mushrooms in the world.
Gidnellum Peka or “Bleeding Tooth”. This amazing mushroom can be seen in the coniferous forests of Central Europe and on the northwest coast of the Pacific Ocean. The bright red liquid that it secretes is really like drops of blood. In addition, he has a very bitter taste, which repels animals and people.
"Earth star". This mushroom is attributed to raincoats that live in all latitudes of the world. He is notable for his ability to change his appearance, barely appearing from under the ground. The rays of this “star” gradually bend down, and the spherical fruit body rises and “shoots” with spores into the air. The Indians consider this mushroom to be able to predict the coming heavenly phenomena.
Interesting facts about blackberries and plasmodium mushrooms
Very interesting hedgehog comb, which does not look like a traditional mushroom. Rather, it resembles algae that somehow ended up on a tree, where, by the way, the blackberry loves to grow. Properly prepared, the mushroom is very tasty, but in addition, it is able to reduce the level of glucose in the blood of a person and has the ability to protect the body from toxic effects.
Looking at plasmodium, you can find out some more interesting facts. It is impossible to think about mushrooms that they can move around, but it turns out that they know how. Plasmodium, of course, is not a sprinter, but in a few days it can climb a favorite stump. Like this! Walking, or rather, this miracle of nature rolls in central Russia and looks very much like a jellyfish.
The brightest and fastest growing mushroom
Multi-colored trachetes decorated with bright stripes look very attractive - this is a widespread species of mushrooms that lives mainly on the trunks of dead trees. Scientists have found that the substance from this fungus enhances immunity and can be of great help in the treatment of cancer, and in Chinese medicine it has been used for many centuries.
And here's another interesting thing about mushrooms: by the way, these organisms can sunbathe. They produce vitamin D, and the color of their hats largely depends on how much sunlight is in their habitat.
A fungus mushroom is added to the Guinness Book of Records, which grows by 1 cm in 2 minutes. Appearing from the ground, it looks like a grayish egg, the next day it is already an umbrella on a thin stalk, and on the third day the aerial part of the fungus disappears.
On the habitats of mushrooms: where they just do not live!
Mushrooms are amazing in that they can exist in the most incredible conditions. They feel great both inside mammals and in the upper atmosphere, at an altitude of about 30 km. Researchers also have such curious information about fungi: they, it turns out, can withstand any type of radiation and can even develop on sulfuric acid.
And in 2002, on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in a destroyed reactor, scientists discovered fungi that needed radiation to grow just like light plants. The composition of these amazing organisms includes an incredible amount of melanin, the very substance that protects our skin from ultraviolet radiation.
Interesting about mushrooms - predators
There are also predator fungi that prey on small insects. They have sticky growths or other devices for hunting. For example, a mushroom can throw out spores that adhere to the body of the caterpillar and begin to germinate in it. The victim, of course, dies.
But all about fungi of the species Cordyceps one-sided has not yet been clarified. He, by the way, can even turn an insect into a zombie. How he does this, the scientists do not know, but the ant, in the respiratory system of which spores of the fungus have got, “obediently” goes to a place that is convenient for the further development of the parasite that has settled in it. The ant finds such a plant and climbs onto it, choosing a leaf with a suitable temperature and humidity, and then digs into it from the back of the leaf. The fungus kills the ant, germinating in it, and having got out through the back of the head, scatters new spores-killers.
Mushrooms will help clean the planet
We know about poisonous mushrooms, predatory fungi, parasitic fungi, but we should not forget that they can also provide invaluable assistance with their amazing ability to live where other organisms die.
So, an expedition from Yale University found in the jungle of Ecuador a new species of fungus (Pestalotiopsis microspora). These organisms feed on polyurethane, and do so even without oxygen. This promises in the future the prospect of getting rid of material that practically does not decompose, greatly clogging the planet.
Mushrooms have sex!
Of course, science cannot yet say that it knows everything about mushrooms. Researchers make discoveries in mycology every now and then. For example, scientists have identified a gene that is responsible for the affiliation of the fungus to the female or male sex. Incidentally, it is located in short DNA sequences resembling sex chromosomes in humans.
Fungi, it turns out, are a very suitable model for studying gender differences at the genetic level.
Mushrooms are much older than dinosaurs
Mycologists have absolutely amazing information about mushrooms: as it turned out, they inhabited the Earth 400 million years ago! It turns out that they are older than dinosaurs. These are the most ancient inhabitants of the planet who lived together with giant ferns and, unlike the latter, did not shred, but mutated and adapted, retaining their appearance to the present.
And we have, apparently, to learn many more interesting facts about them. Too little is known about mushrooms, but it is already clear that these organisms are worth the most detailed and careful study.