MUSHROOMS AND TRUFFLES Mushrooms and belong to the , which implies they cannot be included in the Plant Kingdom, as they ‘breathe in’ oxygen and give out CO2, lack chlorophyll, do not need sunlight to reproduce, and rely on other organisms for food. truffles Fungi Kingdom 1 MORE Till 1969, scientists had considered fungi to be members of the Plant Kingdom because of obvious similarities with plants, such as being immobile, having cell walls, and growing in soil. 1 Mushrooms are edible fungi with various scientific names. They vary greatly in colour, texture, shape, and properties, but they are essentially saprophytes, i.e. they feed by absorbing nutrients from the organic material in which they live, in particular from dead or plants and animal matter. The visible part of the fungus is only the “fruit” of the organism. Its living body is a made of filaments called The mycelium is usually hidden in the soil, in wood, or other material the mushroom is growing from. They are low in calories and rich in vitamins and minerals. Approximately 300 mushroom species have known medicinal properties, and another 1,800 with potential medicinal properties have been identified. Four important mushroom species are grown commercially: Mushrooms 1 decaying mycelium hyphae. 2 2 the ( ), Shiitake mushroom Lentinula edodes the ( ), oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus the ( ), paddy-straw mushroom Volvariella volvaceae the ( ), which is the most important species with the greatest estimated global production. common cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus DO Do you know the common name given to poisonous or inedible mushrooms? 1 MORE Their major health benefits include from high cholesterol levels, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and diabetes. They also help in weight loss and increase the strength of the immune system. 2 relief DO Mushrooms can also have some side effects. Do you know what they are? 2 Truffles are edible subterranean fungi. They prefer argillaceous or calcareous soils and grow in harmony with a host tree, which provides sugars to the fungus through photosynthesis. In return, the fungus provides the plant with minerals, water, and other nutrients from the soil that the tree would not be able to get by itself. This symbiotic relationship is established with the roots of several tree species, including beech, poplar, oak, hornbeam, hazel, and pine. Unlike mushrooms above ground, truffles rely entirely on animals to eat them as a means of spore dispersal: as they mature, they develop odours and gases and pheromones that attract wildlife. There are many species of truffles, but only a few are of culinary value: the most widely known truffles, because of their taste and commercial importance, are the White Truffle, the Black Truffle and the Black Summer Truffle. Truffles birch, send off