Fungi are a superfood, and one of the most health-promoting foods on the planet. They survive in the most extreme places and can adapt to any environmental conditions.
1. There are over one and a half million species of fungi, but less than one hundred thousand have been classified today.
2. The scientifically confirmed fact of the existence of fungi 400 million years ago. They have successfully survived the dinosaurs, adapted, changed and reached the present day. Fungi are one of the oldest inhabitants on the planet.
3. Fungi can also be found growing in extreme conditions. Certain species subjected to pressure in eight atmospheres and may develop on the surface of sulfuric acid. Fungi even growing on the Walls of Chernobyl’s Ruined Nuclear Reactor.
4. A mushroom is a fruiting body, and it is needed only for reproduction, the main body of the mycelium remains hidden from human view until it develops one or more fruiting bodies.
5. Some species of honey mushrooms that live on the trunk of a tree can live for more than eighty years, the record holder is a fungus in Swiss National Park in the Engadine, which is about a thousand years old and grows in an area of over 35 hectares.
6. The most expensive mushrooms in the world are truffles, often their value exceeds two thousand dollars per kilogram.
7. Many species of fungi are parasites. They can sprout even inside living things. Humans are also vulnerable, fungi may cause many unpleasant diseases. However, there are real predators among them, that can hunt small worms or insect larvae. The victim sticks to the fungus and is slowly digested.
8. The ancient Romans revered mushrooms and called them “the food of the gods”.
9. A unique feature of mushrooms is that they can sunbathe as we do. The mushroom under the sun produces vitamin D. The color of the hat depends on this.
10. One mushroom of the death cap can contain enough poison to kill four average-sized adults.
11. Some mushrooms glow in the dark pale green. This is why mushrooms have caused many scary stories about witches, spirits, and foresters.
