by Prune Bouillot for T2A
The wonderful world of mushrooms
It’s fair to say that when I previously thought about fungi, it was accompanied by a feeling of dread at the sight of long-forgotten food in my student fridge – a very limited perception of these incredible living organisms. Fungus is defined as “any of about 144,000 known species or organisms of the kingdom fungi, which includes the yeasts, rusts, smuts, molds, and mushrooms”. Fungi, quite literally, lie at the root of the functioning of our ecosystems. From saving the environment to providing important health benefits, here is an overview of how fungi can help change our world.
Oil spills can significantly damage local ecosystems, and this decade there have been 62. There exists common ways of responding to oil spills, but you might be surprised to hear that fungi are a potential valuable component of such response strategies. Prior to writing this, I was guilty of adhering to a common misconception: that of perceiving mushrooms as single entities. When walking through the forest, we don’t see the incredible network of rooted filaments that produced mushrooms in the first place. This is called mycelium. Paul Stamets, the world’s leading mycologist, named it “earth’s natural internet” in his 2008 Ted talk.
Miraculous mycelium
Mycelium carries life, as trees use it to trade out carbon for nutrients, and it also has the potential to recreate life in damaged environments. In one of Stamets’ experiments, a pile of soil was saturated with oil and other petroleum waste before being inoculated with mycelium. The results showed that the mycelium absorbed the oil, which led diesel contaminants in the soil to be reduced from 10,000 to 200 parts per million in just about four months. The mycelium also grew oyster mushrooms which sporulated (mushrooms release spores that contain the necessary information to form a new fungus), attracting insects and, in turn, birds. Who would have thought that fungi could turn an oil spill into an oasis of life?
The contaminated soil pile after it grew oyster mushrooms – Paul Stamets described the control piles as “dark and stinky” in his TED talk (photo source: Fungi Perfecti website)
And this is not the only exciting way in which fungi can help save the environment.
Entomopathogenic fungi possess the property of killing insects, which are thus naturally repelled by its spores. Stamets ingeniously used them to get rid of carpenter ants that invaded his house – and he is hoping to revolutionise the pesticide industry.
Similarly, Eben Bayer (founder of Ecovative Design) explained in his 2010 TED talk how he used mycelium to create 100% compostable and self-assembling materials from crop wastes, such as husks or woody biomass. It’s as easy as letting the mycelium grow through the feedstock and act as a glue – using this process, the company was able to develop materials with various applications, from packaging corner blocks… to meatless bacon. And if you were looking for a more natural interior design now that we’re all increasingly spending time inside, other designers use “myceliated” wood to make furniture such as lamps and stools.
Lamps made from ‘myceliated’ wood (photo source: Financial Times)
Healthy things
If the above isn’t enough to get you excited about fungi, let me tell you about their health benefits. I previously lived in China and, while there, I always wondered why fungi were such a big part of traditional Chinese medicine. You might be surprised to hear that fungi functioning is closer to humans’ than any other plant species: we share a common evolutionary history. This means that we possess the same pathogens and that our best antibiotics come from fungi – take the example of penicillin. Certain species are reported to possess surprising medicinal properties including antioxidant, cardiovascular, antiviral, or antibacterial effects. So, if you were looking for something to boost your immune system or support your nerves and memory, check out Host Defense for useful food supplements – the company was founded by Paul Stamets (I know – him again!).
Various studies have also researched the anti-cancer properties of certain fungi, the intake of which could improve the quality of life of cancer patients as well as increasing survival rates for some types of cancer. At the 2011 TEDMED, Stamets explained the mechanisms of such treatment and introduced the audience to his mother, who was diagnosed in 2009 with stage four breast cancer. She survived thanks to a daily intake of turkey tail mushroom capsules!
That’s magic
Last but not least, you might have already heard about psilocybin mushrooms, or “magic mushrooms”. A recent study, directed by a renowned doctor at Imperial College London, suggests that further research be done on psilocybin’s potential to help patients with treatment-resistant depression. Although these are only preliminary results, they are definitely encouraging and worth keeping in mind, as currently more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression in the world. That’s four times the population of the United Kingdom!
As you can see, fungi have a myriad of applications, be it in ecology, design, health, or even spirituality. They can change the way life happens, and have been doing so for billions of years. If I have managed to give you the mushroom bug, definitely check out Merlin Sheldrake’s book, and why not try growing them yourself?
by Prune Bouillot for T2A
The wonderful world of mushrooms
It’s fair to say that when I previously thought about fungi, it was accompanied by a feeling of dread at the sight of long-forgotten food in my student fridge – a very limited perception of these incredible living organisms. Fungus is defined as “any of about 144,000 known species or organisms of the kingdom fungi, which includes the yeasts, rusts, smuts, molds, and mushrooms”. Fungi, quite literally, lie at the root of the functioning of our ecosystems. From saving the environment to providing important health benefits, here is an overview of how fungi can help change our world.
Oil spills can significantly damage local ecosystems, and this decade there have been 62. There exists common ways of responding to oil spills, but you might be surprised to hear that fungi are a potential valuable component of such response strategies. Prior to writing this, I was guilty of adhering to a common misconception: that of perceiving mushrooms as single entities. When walking through the forest, we don’t see the incredible network of rooted filaments that produced mushrooms in the first place. This is called mycelium. Paul Stamets, the world’s leading mycologist, named it “earth’s natural internet” in his 2008 Ted talk.
Miraculous mycelium
Mycelium carries life, as trees use it to trade out carbon for nutrients, and it also has the potential to recreate life in damaged environments. In one of Stamets’ experiments, a pile of soil was saturated with oil and other petroleum waste before being inoculated with mycelium. The results showed that the mycelium absorbed the oil, which led diesel contaminants in the soil to be reduced from 10,000 to 200 parts per million in just about four months. The mycelium also grew oyster mushrooms which sporulated (mushrooms release spores that contain the necessary information to form a new fungus), attracting insects and, in turn, birds. Who would have thought that fungi could turn an oil spill into an oasis of life?
The contaminated soil pile after it grew oyster mushrooms – Paul Stamets described the control piles as “dark and stinky” in his TED talk (photo source: Fungi Perfecti website)
And this is not the only exciting way in which fungi can help save the environment.
Entomopathogenic fungi possess the property of killing insects, which are thus naturally repelled by its spores. Stamets ingeniously used them to get rid of carpenter ants that invaded his house – and he is hoping to revolutionise the pesticide industry.
Similarly, Eben Bayer (founder of Ecovative Design) explained in his 2010 TED talk how he used mycelium to create 100% compostable and self-assembling materials from crop wastes, such as husks or woody biomass. It’s as easy as letting the mycelium grow through the feedstock and act as a glue – using this process, the company was able to develop materials with various applications, from packaging corner blocks… to meatless bacon. And if you were looking for a more natural interior design now that we’re all increasingly spending time inside, other designers use “myceliated” wood to make furniture such as lamps and stools.
Lamps made from ‘myceliated’ wood (photo source: Financial Times)
Healthy things
If the above isn’t enough to get you excited about fungi, let me tell you about their health benefits. I previously lived in China and, while there, I always wondered why fungi were such a big part of traditional Chinese medicine. You might be surprised to hear that fungi functioning is closer to humans’ than any other plant species: we share a common evolutionary history. This means that we possess the same pathogens and that our best antibiotics come from fungi – take the example of penicillin. Certain species are reported to possess surprising medicinal properties including antioxidant, cardiovascular, antiviral, or antibacterial effects. So, if you were looking for something to boost your immune system or support your nerves and memory, check out Host Defense for useful food supplements – the company was founded by Paul Stamets (I know – him again!).
Various studies have also researched the anti-cancer properties of certain fungi, the intake of which could improve the quality of life of cancer patients as well as increasing survival rates for some types of cancer. At the 2011 TEDMED, Stamets explained the mechanisms of such treatment and introduced the audience to his mother, who was diagnosed in 2009 with stage four breast cancer. She survived thanks to a daily intake of turkey tail mushroom capsules!
That’s magic
Last but not least, you might have already heard about psilocybin mushrooms, or “magic mushrooms”. A recent study, directed by a renowned doctor at Imperial College London, suggests that further research be done on psilocybin’s potential to help patients with treatment-resistant depression. Although these are only preliminary results, they are definitely encouraging and worth keeping in mind, as currently more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression in the world. That’s four times the population of the United Kingdom!
As you can see, fungi have a myriad of applications, be it in ecology, design, health, or even spirituality. They can change the way life happens, and have been doing so for billions of years. If I have managed to give you the mushroom bug, definitely check out Merlin Sheldrake’s book, and why not try growing them yourself?