Fungi, their diversity, structures, and biological processes. Culinary uses belong in Ingredients; their ecosystem relationships belong in Ecology.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
How do fungi in the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis complex usually enter an ant's body?
A spore sticks to the ant's surface and sprouts threads that pierce the shell before growing inside.
Young brown button mushrooms are commonly sold under which name?
Cremini are often sold as "baby bellas" because they are the young form of portobello mushrooms.
How do shiitake growers often trigger a new crop of mushrooms from logs already colonized by the fungus?
The soaking imitates heavy rain, which can signal the fungus to produce mushrooms.
Which mushroom has the classic red cap with white spots seen in fairy-tale art?
Rain can wash away the fly agaric's white spots, leaving a cap that looks quite different from the storybook image.
Which environmental problem often makes sensitive lichens disappear from city trees?
Lichens absorb water and nutrients across their bodies, so airborne chemicals can enter and damage them.
In The Last of Us, the fictional Cordyceps infection comes from which type of organism?
Fungi that infect insects inspired the story, but the series' human Cordyceps pandemic is fictional.
Which pair of conditions best encourages Rhizopus bread mold growth?
A plastic bag traps moisture, which can favor mold even while it keeps bread from drying out.
Which insects do fungi in the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis complex turn into "zombies"?
Before dying, an infected ant grips vegetation with its jaws, anchoring the body as the fungus grows.
Traditional Indonesian tempeh is mainly made by fermenting which ingredient with Rhizopus mold?
The mold binds cooked soybeans into a firm cake with a network of white filaments.
Oyster mushroom fungi break down lignin in wood, causing which type of decay?
Removing lignin leaves wood pale and fibrous, while brown rot leaves darker wood that crumbles into chunks.