mushrooms

Generalities and classification

Mushrooms have no leaves, flowers or chlorophyll and are not autotrophic but heterotrophic, therefore (although it seems obvious) they belong to a realm called the "kingdom of fungi" and not to that of higher plants.

The kingdom of mushrooms is divided into:

Myxomycota or mucilaginous fungi: molds and the like
Eumycota : real mushrooms with sizes ranging from A SINGLE CELL to those of a very common "champignon".

The life of the fungi is not autonomous but subordinated to the cohabitation with other organisms, to the settlement in organic substrates (alive or dead), or to the symbiosis with some plants. Based on their survival system, mushrooms can be classified into:

Parasites (subject to the presence of other organisms)
Saprophytes (whose presence is attributable to the presence of living or dead organic substrates)
Simbioti (if in symbiosis, with mutual favorable exchange, with some plants)

NB . Compared to the entire kingdom of mushrooms, those defined as macromycetes (from the Greek, large mushrooms) are of greater interest.

Fungal anatomy

The entire body of fungi (or vegetative body ) is made up of a dense weave of filaments (called hyphae ) that intersect to form a real tissue (the mycelium ).

Under certain temporal, climatic, lunar conditions, etc., the mycelium evolves and grows forming the fruiting body or carpophore, which constitutes the structure normally associated with the image of the "real mushroom".

The fruiting body is responsible for the dissemination of fungal spores and performs the same function as the propagation of seeds enclosed in the fruit for higher plants.

The most representative family of mushrooms is that of the Agaricini, which have a carpophore structured as follows:

A stem or jamb, full or empty, with a basal volva attached and a ring (which supports the hat)
An expanded portion called a hat.

NB . When the fungus is young, the cap takes on a closed, therefore spherical, shape; on the contrary, when the fungus is mature the cap is more pigmented and takes on an open shape called an umbrella.

On the lower side of the hat (the one that looks at the ground) there are lamellae pervaded by a thick mesh of hyphae, a structure better called hymenium ; the latter is responsible for the development of basidia, cells useful for the production, development, maturation and propagation of spores.

NB . The shape of the carpophore, of the hymenium and of the spores are essential elements for the classification of families, genera and species of mushrooms.

Collect the mushrooms ... beware of the risk of poisoning!

As in all areas, even in the collection of mushrooms the greatest danger lies in the presumption of the uninitiated that they can independently carry out the work of an expert, in this case of a mycologist .

Collecting mushrooms independently, based on simple criteria of an empirical nature and without the right knowledge in this regard, can be extremely dangerous and in some cases even lethal; remember that ALL mushrooms are toxic, but the potential for food poisoning depends above all on the species, the habitat of the fungus, the cooking method, the dose and the subjectivity of the consumer.

In this regard, the uninitiated have developed some methods for assessing the toxicity of fungi which, if on the one hand have proved useful, on the other hand have contributed to considerably increasing the chances of encountering a harmful species that does NOT adhere to that precise analysis criterion (analysis, so to speak ...).

Some popular examples of analytical methods NOT reliable in mushroom toxicity prediction are:

The yellowing of parsley leaves on contact with coil mushrooms
The blackening of the coin or of the silver or tin spoon when in contact with the mushrooms
The blackening of the onions or of the garlic cloves or of the bread crumbs in contact with the mushrooms
Coagulation of milk or egg white on contact with mushrooms.

It is opportune to specify that these techniques possess a certain reliability ONLY on the conservation / alteration status of the fungi (therefore they can distinguish some toxic fungi), but they are not valid in any way for the recognition of the deadly nature (albeit in the freshness state) of many other species.

Furthermore, it is SCONSIGLIABILE to believe that fungi eaten by worms and snails can be edible rather than totally immaculate ones, as many animals (contrary to humans) possess enzymes specific to the metabolism of toxins.

Pork chops stuffed with mushrooms and cheese on a bed of apples

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