The Emporia Gazette

May 28, 2012

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For some long time I have had several items about relations between fungi and people. Some are good relations; some are bad. Recently, publicity about the Irish stimulated me to think I ought to write about the subject. I would tell you about some of these fungal-people relations, if I had my way.

First, the story about the Irish. Many Irish are leaving for other places. Many are going to Canada, New Zealand and Australia. They are leaving because of the very poor economy in Ireland. They are leaving to find jobs and a better life. That has nothing to do with fungi, but it reminds me of another Irish exodus which did.

After the potato was taken to Europe, it became very important to the Irish. It even became known as the Irish potato. It was the basis of the Irish diet. In the mid-1800’s, a fungal disease wrecked potato production. It was known as potato blight. Potatoes were gone and a huge famine resulted. This caused the Irish to leave for other places. Many came to the United States. So, you see, that was a bad fungal-people relationship.

A letter from John Randolph, which came to me back in August, was in my pile. John, you may recall, lived in Emporia for many years. He headed our regional mental health facility. Upon retirement, they moved way north to Minocqua, Wis. Northern Wisconsin is often mushroom country.

John told me about his interests in mushrooms. He has joined the Northstate Mushroom Club. Did you know that there are mushroom clubs across the country? They are groups of people who go out together to hunt mushrooms. Some of them they eat, but others they just study and keep records of. There is such a club in Lawrence. I belonged to it some years ago. Now, you must admit, that mushroom clubs are a fungal-people relationship.

John said he enjoyed learning about the rich array of mushrooms around there. He has found some which they enjoyed eating. He has seen an abundance of Amanita muscaria, a hallucinogenic mushroom, and saw a deer eating them. He was told that deer and other animals are not affected by that mushroom. People are.

Since John mentioned Amanita muscaria, I must tell you about it. It is commonly called the “fly mushroom.” That is because if juice is squeezed from it into a small dish of water it attracts flies. They drink it and flop over dead. If one looks at them later, however, they get up and stagger away. They have hallucinated.

Now to that fungus and people. The fly mushroom grows heavily across northern Europe. It has long been used by people for hallucinogenic experiences. Swedes and other groups have used it at parties. It is said that the Vikings collected it, dried it, and took it with them when going off to battle. Before fighting they ate the dried mushrooms and felt they were nine feet tall and invincible. (I have seen their battle apparel, in Swedish museums and they were barely six feet tall.)

Other mushrooms are also hallucinogenic. A tribal group in far-southern Mexico has been known to long use one which grows down there. They use it in religious ceremonies. A good fungal-people relationship, apparently.

A fungus commonly known as “truffle” is certainly the most costly of fungal-people relations. It is obviously a good relation. Truffles are related to mushrooms, but they are underground. It takes specially trained dogs to find them and dig them out. The best ones, known as “white truffles,” are found in northern Italy, but truffles are also found in other places.

Obviously, truffles are the most delectable foods. They are so delectable, I read recently in a Times article, that one ounce of white truffle sells for $195. One and a quarter pounds will sell for $3,500. The record price for a giant white truffle has been $330,000. Wow! You must admit that there has to be a positive fungal-people relation going on here.

Fungi are important for us to grow plants. Those in the roots of 90 percent of our plants produce mycorhizae. That means “fungus root.” I just read in Scientific American that it is being discovered that fungi are important in plant leaves and stems, too.

So, there you have a bit of the subject. Fungi and people will certainly be related, if I have my way. Of course, I am very biased.