Mushrooms hold a peculiar place in our culture: we love them and despise them, fear them and misunderstand them. They can be downright delicious or deadly poisonous, cute as buttons or utterly grotesque. These strange organisms hold great symbolism in our myths and legends. In this book, Nicholas P. Money tells the utterly fascinating story of mushrooms and the ways we have interacted with these fungi throughout history. Whether they have populated the landscapes of fairytales, lent splendid umami to our dishes, or steered us into deep hallucinations, mushrooms have affected humanity from the earliest beginnings of our species. As Money explains, mushrooms are not self-contained organisms like animals and plants. Rather, they are the fruiting bodies of large-sometimes extremely large-colonies of mycelial threads that spread underground and permeate rotting vegetation. Because these colonies decompose organic matter, they are of extraordinary ecological value and have a huge effect on the health of the environment. From sustaining plant growth and spinning the carbon cycle to causing hay fever and affecting the weather, mushrooms affect just about everything we do. Money tells the stories of the eccentric pioneers of mycology, delights in culinary powerhouses like porcini and morels, and considers the value of medicinal mushrooms. This book takes us on a tour of the cultural and scientific importance of mushrooms, from the enchanted forests of folklore to the role of these fungi in sustaining life on earth.
Autorentext
Nicholas P. Money is professor of botany and the Western Program Director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of many books, including Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard and The Amoeba in the Room.
Zusammenfassung
Mushrooms are loved, despised, feared and misunderstood. They have been a familiar part of nature throughout human history and occupy a special place in our consciousness. Nicholas P. Money introduces the mythology and science of the spectacular array of fungi that produce mushrooms, the history of our interactions with these curious and beautiful organisms, and the ways that humans use mushrooms as food, medicine and recreational drugs.Mushrooms are not self-contained organisms like worms or beetles. They are fruit bodies, or reproductive organs, produced by fungi whose feeding colonies, or mycelia, are hidden in soil or rotting wood. These colonies support life on land by decomposing plant and animal debris, fertilizing soils and sustaining plant growth through partnerships called mycorrhizas. Some of the fungi that produce mushrooms cause diseases of trees and shrubs, and the airborne spores of others are a major cause of asthma and hay fever. Mushrooms release so many spores into the atmosphere that they may affect local weather conditions and promote rainfall. Poisonous mushrooms were described by classical writers and edible species were important in Roman cuisine. Mushrooms became the objects of scientific study in the seventeenth century. Pioneers of mushroom science have included paragons of eccentricity, and their remarkable stories are celebrated in this book.