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Ben Maleson, a mushroom merchant in Brookline, Massachusetts, plays a mushroom as a double-reeded instrument. He calls it the “Black Trumpet”. Do you think that this instrument has a future in popular music? -via io9
Fungi come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, and their range of habits and habitats is just as diverse.
It’s fungi’s ability to grow just about anywhere that makes it so amazing. If you name a hostile environment there’s more than likely some form of mushroom or yeast that will not only grow there but prefer it over anywhere else. An extreme version of this is when researchers stuck their instruments into one of the most poisonous places on earth and found not only a species of mushroom growing there but one that actually appears to be feeding on the toxicity. How nasty is this place? Well, all you need to say is one word to shudder at the thought: Chernobyl.
But strangeness and fungi don’t end with radiation-feasting mushrooms, for there are quite a number of them that feast on other things — including animals. Nematophagous fungi, for instance, grow miniscule rings that, if a nematode happens to squirm into one, rapidly contract, trapping the unfortunate lunch … I mean ‘worm.’ If this makes you a bit nervous take a bit of consolation in that the popular oyster mushroom is also a nematode killer – and it’s also tasty, so while it eats them we also eat it.
See some beautiful and scary fungi at Dark Roasted Blend. Link
(Image credit: Wikipedia user Lebrac)
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An experiment using the hallucinogen psilocybin on terminally ill cancer patients found that it helped to ease their anxiety.
The study included 12 patients who took a small dose of psilocybin — the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” — while under the supervision of trained therapists. In a separate session, the participants took a placebo pill, which had little effect on their symptoms.
By contrast, one to three months after taking psilocybin the patients reported feeling less anxious and their overall mood had improved. By the six-month mark, the group’s average score on a common scale used to measure depression had declined by 30 percent, according to the study, which was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
In follow-up interviews with the researchers, some patients said their experience with psilocybin gave them a new perspective on their illness and brought them closer to family and friends.
“We were pleased with the results,” says the lead researcher, Charles Grob, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, in Torrance, Calif.
Another study using larger doses of the drug is planned. Link -via reddit
It’s almost a shame to eat something as beautiful as the mushrooms on the most beautiful list… of course, most of them are probably poisonous, so you probably wouldn’t want to anyway.
If you love Mario, you may be interested in learning how to make your own Super Mario Mushroom from a radish. Perfect for bento boxes or party treats, although, if you’re like me, it’s nothing you’d ever want to eat.
