Mushrooms are truly unique, because they are neither plants nor animals. And this is by no means a whim of botanists and biologists – this is a fact. The differences are too great to classify the mushroom kingdom as a flora or fauna. However, numerous mushroom pickers do not really think about such information, throwing another russula into the basket.
Interesting facts about mushrooms
- Strictly speaking, a mushroom is the whole organism as a whole, and a large part of it falls on the mycelium located underground. What we used to think of as fungi are just the reproductive organs of these organisms.
- Live fungal spores have been found in the atmosphere at an altitude of more than 30 kilometers.
- In total, about 2 million different species grow in the world. types of mushrooms. At the same time, about 95% of them have not yet been studied.
- After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, mushrooms in the vicinity of the plant managed to survive, despite strong radiation.
- Mushrooms are older than dinosaurs. The oldest fossil mushroom ever found by archaeologists grew on Earth approximately 400 million years ago.
- The Plasmodium mushroom can move. Slowly, of course, but in a couple of days he is quite capable of crawling over a small clearing.
- Some predatory mushrooms have special devices for catching insects that they feed on.
- About 90% of almost any mushroom is water.
- Veselka is the fastest growing mushroom in the world. It grows 4-5 millimeters in a minute.
- The spores of the cordyceps fungus penetrate the bodies of insects and take control of them, forcing them to go where the conditions for the growth of mushrooms will be optimal. Subsequently, the body of the zombified insect serves as food.
- Mushrooms grow in Ecuador that can feed on rubber (interesting facts about Ecuador).
- Images of mushrooms were found on rock paintings in the polar part of Chukotka, despite the fact that they do not grow there.
- Among the variety of species of these creatures, hats there are only about 7000 species.
- The most expensive mushrooms in the world are truffles.
- The world’s largest mushroom weighing 168 kg was found in 1988 in Japan (interesting facts about Japan).
- In the USA, Oregon, a mushroom grows with a mycelium area of more than 900 hectares. He is the largest known living being on Earth.
- The ancient Roman emperor Claudius was poisoned with a soup in which a pale toadstool was added.
- Cep mushroom, a favorite of summer residents, can reach a weight of 3 kg.
- The mycelium of most species grows by 10 -12 centimeters annually.
- Tinder fungus growing on trees live for 60-80 years, and the mass of the largest of them has reached 500 kg.
- The crystal pyrobotus fungus shoots spores with such acceleration that they experience an overload of 20 thousand Gs. By comparison, an overload of 10 Gs is fatal for most people.
- No one has yet learned to grow most mushrooms artificially. Only mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and champignons are successfully bred.
- Cep mushroom broth is 6-7 times more caloric than meat.
- The most common champignon for reproduction throws about 40 million spores into the air.
- A growing mushroom is able to break through asphalt and stone.
- Some species, such as autumn mushrooms, glow in the dark.