There’s a fungus among us...

Nature alone is antique and the oldest art a mushroom." Thomas Carlyle

There’s a fungus among us. We love ‘em, inexcusably so. And have since before the pharaoh’s declared that commoners were unfit to consume them. Hunting for and eating wild mushrooms is not unlike playing Russian Roulette: of the more than 2000 known species and cultivars, fewer than 5% are safe to consume, many are lethal to the touch.
They are neither plant nor animal, they are fungi, the root word has commonality with function – to perform. And perform they do. Many forms explode from nothingness to somethingness overnight. They host on other living or formerly living entities to decompose them by digesting their food externally and absorbing the nutrients through their cells. They are the subjects of mythology and lore: they impart superhuman powers and immortality to Mario and Luigi, are aphrodisiacs, home to Smurfs and are enjoyed by hobbits and humans alike. Among the most popular are the Agaricus, or button shaped, criminis, which grow into portabellas, shitakes, oysters, enokis, chanterelles, lobsters, morels, cepes or porcinis or boletus, depending on where you reside are but a few. The National Park Service makes some interesting distinctions: shelf fungi sprout from tree bark, mushrooms sprout up from the ground, and truffles bear fruit underground. Wherever they come from, it won’t kill you to try a new one, uh after some one else tries it first.

I’m just some lunatic macaroni mushroom, is that it? Tommy DeVito


Festivals:
The Mushroom Festival Chester Co. Pa. http://www.mushroomfestival.org/
Texas Mushroom Festival Madisonville, Tx. http://www.texasmushroomfestival.com/
Morel Festival Boyne City, Mi. http://www.morelfest.com/