Most of you are mycophagous--this means that you eat mushrooms and other fungi. We do not normally think much about mushrooms in our diets. because they are used mainly as garnishes in dishes or salads or as appetizers. Nonetheless, mushrooms are fairly rich in vitamin B2 and niacin and also in copper, and raw mushrooms have only 10 calories per half cup and contain some protein. (The sautéed and marinated mushrooms have many calories, because they are prepared in triglycerides!)
When you look closely at a bread mold, you can see that this fungus consists of tiny threads of cells, which are called hyphae (collectively mycelium). Likewise, the solid mushroom is actually composed of thousands of interwoven hyphae. Unlike plant cells, whose cell walls consist of cellulose, fungal cells typically have cell walls made of a material called chitin. Moreover, typical mushroom cells have two haploid nuclei (1n) per cell, a condition termed dikaryon.
The hyphae of a mushroom first grow extensively throughout a substrate, such as soil, rotting organic matter, or manure, before producing the aboveground, umbrella-shaped structure. The mushroom that we commonly eat has a stipe (the so-called stem) and a hemispherical cap. We usually eat the common grocery store mushroom, Agaricus bispora, before the cap is fully expanded. When expanded, one can see the gills on the underside of the cap. These finlike structures produce the spores, which are the way mushrooms reproduces.
There are numerous more exotic mushrooms in marketplaces and restaurants, perhaps none as valuable these days as the matsutake, a strongly scented species that is harvested in the wild from eastern Asia, Turkey, Mexico, and British Columbia to northern California. The hunt in the Pacific Northwest is conducted largely by Asian Americans, who, armed with a $50 permit from the U.S. Forest Service and a screwdriver, remove as much as 1.2 million pounds in a good autumn week. For their efforts, the workers can earn enormous profits, in certain years as much as $300 per pound when scarce but rarely hitting $100 per pound--shootings are not uncommon where collecting mushrooms has the air and profitability of a gold rush. Most of the large fungi that we consume are gill fungi, but the highly prized truffles and morels are sac fungi (Ascomycetes).
Although some mushrooms are edible and are even considered to be delicacies, many are nonpalatable or are instead poisonous and even deadly. Last century in France, where eating wild mushrooms was a favorite sport, 100-150 people died from mushroom poisoning, and this century there have been about that many deaths annually in the United States. Poisonous mushrooms are often called toadstools, derived from the German die Tode Stuhle or "seats of death." Most characteristic of the toadstools are the death angels in the genus Amanita, which have wartlike scales on the cap. Most mushroom deaths result from consumption of several species of Amanita; ironically, some of the species in this genus are also edible. The rule of thumb in eating mushrooms is to play it safe--never, never eat a fungus that you don't know. There are no reliable ways to tell edible from poisonous forms.
Types of mushroom poisoning. It is a real "thrill" to find and eat exotic fungi, but mushroom poison is no laughing matter. Mushroom poisoning is a difficult thing to combat once the damage is done. An antidote is known for several of the poisonous species, but people are not likely to connect the eating event with the early ailment symptoms, so that hospitalization may not come in time. There are five types of mushroom poisoning (mycetismus).
Hallucinogenic mushrooms. Some of the most interesting hallucinogenic cults have arisen in relation to sacred mushrooms. One mushroom in particular, Amanita muscaria, is perhaps the most famous of all, and its use is documented in the soma of ancient Rig-Veda lore. Researchers suspect that this was the most common hallucinogen in temperate cults of the Northern Hemisphere.
The mushroom of Amanita muscaria is distinctive. It has a red cap 3-8 inches wide with cream scales and warts. The mushroom can be eaten raw, sautéed, or dried and still retain its hallucinogenic properties. The hallucinogenic compounds are several, including ibotenic acid and muscarine. Amanita muscaria is called fly agaric because when the mushroom is broken up and placed into a saucer of water, house flies are attracted to the solution, drink it, buzz around in frenzied loops, and then die.
How natives found out about this mushroom throughout the Northern Hemisphere is somewhat of a marvel. The toadstool lives in the temperate forest belts and grows under beeches, alders, pines, firs, and other common trees. It is definitely psychoactive, and accounts of fly agaric are written into the lore of many peoples. The most famous literary account of mushroom hallucinations was presented by Oliver Goldsmith (1762) about the use of A. muscaria in northeastern Asia with the Tungus, Yakuts, Chukdles, Koryaks, and Kamchadales. One mushroom was a prize that was traded for with as many as four reindeer. A rich owner of mushrooms would have a woman chew a couple of the mushrooms into a sausage, which the male would ingest. Then when he walked outside to relieve himself later, the urine was saved by the poor in a wooden pot and reused. Apparently the active substances are even more potent in the urine than in the original material. The tradition was called "passing the pot." An entire village could remain high for a week on one to several mushrooms.
Additional stories about fly agaric abound. There is, for example, a 1291 fresco in Plaincouralt, France, which has Adam and Eve, the Serpent, and the Tree of Knowledge (apple tree) with the mushroom; Eve is clutching her stomach as a warning to potential users. Another story tells of Viking men in Scandinavia who presumably ate these mushrooms and became aggressive and unmanageable. There were called "Berserks," which is presumably the etymology of that particular word. However, many historians no longer believe this story. The mushroom is familiar to all of us through its appearance on modern posters, all types of artwork, the Smurfs, and so forth. The most interesting use of this in literature is the tale told of Alice by Lewis Carroll--the mushroom could make a person very large or very small.
In Mexico and Central America additional mushrooms have been used as hallucinogens, presumably independent from the Amanita cults. About 25 species and varieties are still used for religious ceremonies in Mexico, including species of Psilocybe, Russula, Panaeolus, Stropharia, and Boletus. In the South Pacific, the genus Heimiella is used; males and females alike develop temporary insanity from this mushroom. Accounts of Psilocybe rituals are published, and these were fictionalized in the film Altered States (William Hurt) and advertised also by the infamous Timothy Leary. Sacred mushrooms are placed on a banana leaf before personal preparations are made to ready oneself for the acceptance of the mushroom. Then the leader hands out the mushrooms in pairs, representing male and female pairs. These are eaten at one's own pace. The chemicals produce giddiness, hilarity, colored hallucinations, muscular relaxation, and serious moments of inquiry.