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&
35
Pennsylvania
produces more
than half of
NATURE’S BEAUTY:
the edible
mushrooms
grown in the
United States
Mushrooms
A FUNGUS AMONG US
By Tanya J. Tyler,
Staff Writer
Technically, a
mushroom is the
fruiting body of a
fungus. Mushrooms
typically have a stem or stalk, also
called a stipe; a cap, also called the
fruit of the plant; and gills or pores
under the cap. Mushrooms grow
from spores, not seeds.
What surprises me most about
mushrooms is their great variety.
Of course I love the white button mushrooms that I sprinkle
uncooked on my pizza or sauté
in garlic and butter for spaghetti
sauce. And a good-sized portabella mushroom can often be a
hearty substitute for a hamburger
patty. But there are also crimini,
morel, oyster, shiitake, chanterelle, beech, hen-of-the-woods
and enoki mushrooms. Some of
these are quite beautiful. There are
also mushrooms called impudent
stinkhorn and stinky squid. The
jack o’ lantern mushroom and the
luminescent panellus actually glow
in the dark.
While it is entertaining to
learn about the different types of
mushrooms, be aware that some
species are poisonous and you
are not advised to eat mushrooms
you gather in the woods unless
you know exactly what they are.
You can’t identify all poisonous
mushrooms through a single trait
– you really have to know your
mushrooms and be a dedicated
mycophile.
According to www.mushroominfo.com, Egyptians decreed mushrooms were to be eaten by royalty
only. Many cultures believed mushroom ́