It’s very strange, but I realized only a minute before starting this article that this will probably be the last of Leafy Thoughts as we know it. Over the years it’s bounced around from being news-y to rant-y to, unfortunately, Buzzfeed-y (those were dark times). I never be-leaf-ed that it would have continued for this long, and it’s almost over-elm-ing thinking about it. While I thought I’d grown tired of it, it’s kind of bittersweet actually writing the last article. I’m ending off with a topic that I’ve been pine-ing after a long time, but never quite found the appropriate time to do so (it’s not entirely environmental, nor is it a poplar topic).
I’m going to finally write about mushrooms. I love mushrooms. I love mushrooms about as much as hobbits love mushrooms. “A Shortcut to Mushrooms” is one of my favourite chapters in Fellowship of the Rings, mostly because of the basketful of mushrooms Farmer Maggot gifts to Frodo at the end. Mushrooms are aesthetically interesting, oftentimes tasty, and an important part of the natural world.
Mushrooms are a great source for all the essential amino acids—the building blocks of protein and arguably of life as we know it. They also include vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, calcium, and folic acid. Like most fungi, many varieties are also valuable in a medicinal sense.
Mushrooms and other fungi are responsible for getting rid of dead animal and plant matter, recycling them into organic, nutrient-rich soils that can then be used to grow new life. While bacteria and other organisms can also conduct a similar conversion, the absence of fungi would cause us to be buried in metres worth of the dead matter. They are amongst the sometimes-overlooked organisms that form the base of most ecosystems and are vastly important for promoting life and biodiversity.
They are also so cool because there are so many varieties of them that vary in size, shape, and colour. Button mushrooms are edible, adorable, and delicious. Gyromitra esculenta look like a twisted mass of brains and, when eaten raw, can be fatal due to the amatoxins it contains. However, with proper preparation (through parbroiling) you’re good to eat it in an omelette or a soup. If you suffer from trypophobia, it’s best that you avoid the Bleeding tooth fungus (Hydnellum pecki), which oozes a bright red, semi-transparent substance from multiple pores across its cap. There are even several bioluminscent varieties that glow green in the dark, such as the Mycena chlorophos in Asia. Some are bright blue and some are as tall as trees. Puff balls can be super fun to watch as they spew they’re spores into the air. There is even the “Giant puffball”, a mushroom of up to 70 cm in diameter.
I could go on for a while about how cool mushrooms are but I also must move on with my life. For whoever’s been reading these over the year – I thank yew all. I hope my writing hasn’t made y’all sycamore.
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