30+ Interesting Mushroom Facts

A mushroom is actually a fungi body carrying its spore. Mostly known as toadstools many varients of mushroom are edible. Many species of mushroom is toxic and can be fatal. Edible mushrooms are nutritious and carry good food value. Mushrooms grow almost all over the world. The literature of many languages has mentions mushroom as toadstools for centuries.

Mushrooms are consumed as food and used as medicine for years. In the last couple of decades, we have come to know more and more about mushrooms. Mushrooms are now considered a superfood. Many mushroom facts can fascinate your mind. Let's check out some of them.

Most mushrooms grow overnight. That's why there is a common expression "to pop up like a mushroom".

Most people classify mushrooms as a vegetable but a mushroom is not a plant or vegetable. It's actually a fungus.

Though all mushrooms are fungi not all fungi are mushrooms.

There are approximately 14,000 species of mushrooms are identified.

Super Mario mushrooms are real. There is a species of mushroom called Amanita Muscaria which has physical properties like the super Mario mushroom.

IKEA and Dell has started to use packing materials made from mushrooms and these materials are biodegrading.

China is the largest mushroom producer in the word. It alone produces almost half of all edible mushrooms.

In China, over 1 billion people consume at least 5 pounds of mushroom every year.

Only 25-30 species are grown commercially worldwide.

Edible mushroom is the richest source of potassium. One cup of mushrooms carries around 221 milligrams of potassium.

Amanita phalloides is the deadliest mushroom and responsible for most mushroom poisoning.

Hokuto Corporation of Japan grew a mushroom that reached a length of 1 foot and 11.22 inches. It is the largest edible mushroom.

The largest living organism of the word is a honey mushroom. It is covering a whooping 3.7 square miles. This honey mushroom is found in Oregon and it is around 2,000-8,600-year-old.

Don't take mushroom poisoning in light. Mushroom poisoning has killed a wife of a Russian Tsar, Pope, Roman Emperor, and most famously Buddha.

Almost as many as 80 species of mush is bioluminescent. These types of mushrooms glow in the dark.

Mushroom spores can repel more than 200,000 species of insects, which makes it the most powerful natural pesticide.

People are using Psilocybin mushrooms for thousands of years. The oldest traces of using these types of mushrooms can go back to 9,000 bc.

Umami is called the fifth flavor. Only mushrooms have this flavor in nature.

Only mushrooms contain vitamin D out of all food in the produce section.

There are mentions of mushroom in Egyptian hieroglyphics. And it was considered as the plant of immortality.

Jae Rhim Lee, an artist, and TED Fellow created a mushroom spore costume for the burial of humans that with use the body as a mushroom growing bed.

There are 113 species of toxic mushrooms.

Hymenoscyphus fructigenus is the smallest mushroom measuring 4 mm at maximum.

The most expensive mushroom is The rare European white truffle. With a price tag that can exceed 2,200 euros per pound its truly a delicacy.

Portabello mushrooms, button mushrooms, and white mushrooms are all the same mushrooms at different levels of maturity.

It's believed that what made Viking “Berserkers” so aggressive and powerful was hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The Stoned Ape Theory suggests that mushrooms played an important role in separating the Homo Erectus from the less evolved ape.

Reindeers sometimes used Psilocybin mushrooms for recreational purposes only.

Mushroom as a living thing is more connected to humans than plants. Mushroom DNA has more similarity to human DNA than plant DNA.

Studies have shown that animals and fungi have evolved from the same ancestors.

Around 350 millions year ago the tallest thing in the dry land was the mushroom. These giant mushrooms are called Prototaxites.

Mushrooms can create its own airflow to help spread their spores.

Mushroom breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

Laetiporus sulphureus is a species of edible mushroom that tastes like fried chicken.

Mushrooms are here on the surface of the Earth for millions of years. Many mushroom species are toxic. And some are considered narcotics. Be careful to choose the mushroom you eat. Below it is a fascinating video on mushrooms.