 murieleileen says: I became interested in fungi last year after being infected with ringworm from my darling cat. Quite an ordeal. By the time I realized it it was on almost every part of my body. When is a worm not a worm? from http://www.astdhpphe.org/ infect/ ringworm.html When it's ringworm. Ringworm is a contagious fungus infection that can affect the scalp, the body, the feet (athlete's foot), or the nails. People can get ringworm from: 1) direct skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or pet, 2) indirect contact with an object or surface that an infected person or pet has touched, or 3) rarely, by contact with soil. Mushrooms are quite capable of forcing their way up through asphalt and lifting paving stones. People have been using fungi for purposes other than food for thousands of years. Tinder material prepared from the bracket fungus, Fomes fomentarius, and pieces of the polypore, Piptoporus betulinus, were found with the frozen remains of a Neolithic man discovered in an alpine glacier in 1991. The remains have been dated to between 3350 and 3100 BC (Mycological Research, 1998, 102: 1153 - 1162). Ants first started to cultivate fungi in underground gardens around 50 million years ago. Today, leafcutter ants remove more of the vegetation in a tropical American rainforest than any other group of ani... Beautiful images of the fungi and news images of the ceremony are available.I haven't been able to find these beautiful images. If anyone else is interested and can find them it would be lovely. Strange 'facts' about fungi • gathered by Michael McBain, Fungimap Webmaster, Australia • http://calcite.apana.org.au/fungimap/strange.html Reindeer go crazy, literally crazy, for fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), which the Lapp people traditionally used for its hallucinogenic effects. Lapp shamans used to eat the mushroom during the midwinter pagan ceremonies of Annual Renewal. The first effect of eating it was a deep coma-like slumber. When the shamans awoke the drug stimulated their muscular systems, so that a small effort produced spectacular results - the intoxicated person perhaps making a gigantic leap to clear the smallest obstacle. The effect on animals was generally the same, and a mushroom-maddened super-reindeer traditionally guarded each shaman. When missionaries first reached Santa's native Lapland, they found a thriving pagan myth of reindeer flight. Rather than oppose it, they shrewdly assimilated the stories into the folklore of Christmas and Saint Nicholas. This then, is the true origin of the legend of Santa's flying sleigh. The colour scheme of his outfit is taken from the unmistakable red and white cap of the fungus. Lapps still scatter the mushroom in the snow to round up reindeer. (Ed. note: Amanita muscaria scattered in the snow? Flying reindeer? Isn't mushroom lore fun!) Caterpillar fungus • from http://www.go-symmetry.com/ cordyceps.htm • from http://www.herb.lsa.umich.edu/ kidpage/Caterpillar.htm Caterpillar Fungus is also known as: Cordyceps sinensis, Cordyceps fungus, Dong Chong, Xia Cao Tochukas, Deer Fungus. In Chinese medicine Cordyceps fungus is described as a very effective herb for treating circulatory, respiratory, immune, sexual dysfunction, as well as a host of other health problems. It was also classified as a general health tonic because of Cordyceps capability to improve energy, stamina, appetite, endurance, and sleeping patterns. In tradition Chinese medicine Cordyceps is used for the kidney and lungs meridians. Chinese athletes who used Cordyceps in their athletic training program surprised everyone including sports authorities when they broke the 10,000-meter World track record in 1993. In the old days, Chinese people thought that the caterpillar fungi were worms. However, after years of study, it was found that it really is a fruiting body produced by the fungus, Cordyceps sinensis, on dead caterpillars of the moth Hepilus fabricius. Spores of Cordyceps sinensis grow inside the caterpillars, filling the caterpillar with filaments (hyphae). When the caterpillar dies the fungus produces a stalked fruiting body that produces spores. The spores are spread in the wind to the next generation of caterp... |
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