Emily Johnson
Mushrooms are the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting bodies of fungi, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. They have been a source of nutrition for humans for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence of spiritual mushroom use dating back to 10,000 BCE. The first mushrooms are believed to have evolved between 715 and 810 million years ago, and fossilized evidence of fungi has been discovered in rocks dating back to the Cambrian period, around 500 million years ago. The cultivation of mushrooms for food may have begun in China as early as the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE), and shiitake mushrooms were likely cultivated in China and Japan as early as 600 CE. In the mid-1800s, Agaricus bisporus mushrooms, now the most commonly cultivated edible mushroom globally, were grown on horse manure in caves in France, marking the beginning of mushroom cultivation in the US.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| History of Domestication | Humans have been consuming mushrooms for thousands of years, but the history of domestication is not well understood. |
| Earliest Evidence | Archaeological evidence suggests that mushrooms were used "spiritually" as early as 10,000 BCE, and there is documentation of use in ancient cultures such as the Greeks, Mayans, and Vikings. |
| Domestication Process | Domestication of mushrooms involves selective cultivation of desired traits, often associated with inbreeding or selfing, leading to a decrease in heterozygosity. |
| Examples of Domesticated Mushrooms | Agaricus bisporus, the most widely cultivated edible mushroom, has a known history of cultivation for around three hundred years. Psilocybe cubensis is another example of a domesticated hallucinogenic mushroom. |
| Cultural Significance | Mushrooms have played a role in various cultural contexts, including rituals and spiritual practices, such as the Aztec "flesh of the gods." |
| Modern Usage | Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, especially in Chinese, Korean, European, and Japanese cuisines. They are also used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers, as well as in biological remediation techniques and filtration technologies. |
| Health Benefits | Research has shown that magic mushrooms can be used medicinally to treat conditions like PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, exposing mushrooms to ultraviolet (UV) light increases their vitamin D content. |
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What You'll Learn
- Hallucinogenic mushrooms have been used by humans for thousands of years
- The Agaricus bisporus mushroom has been cultivated for around 300 years
- Mushrooms were used to dye wool and other natural fibres before synthetic dyes
- The term 'mushroom' may be derived from the French word 'mousseron'
- The domestication of mushrooms may have been caused by intron loss
Hallucinogenic mushrooms have been used by humans for thousands of years
Hallucinogenic mushrooms, or "magic mushrooms", have indeed been used by humans for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of their use dates back to around 10,000 BCE, with archaeological findings suggesting they were used for spiritual purposes. Some historians also suggest that North African and European cave paintings from 9,000 BCE may allude to the use of magic mushrooms.
Indigenous people in Central America used hallucinogenic mushrooms in healing and spiritual rituals as far back as 3000 BCE. The Aztecs, for example, included a hallucinogenic substance called "flesh of the gods" in their rituals, which may have been magic mushrooms. The Ancient Greeks, Mayans, and Vikings also used hallucinogenic mushrooms, and they are depicted in pre-Columbian sculptures and glyphs throughout the Americas.
In the 20th century, magic mushrooms arrived in the United States, brought back by an executive at J.P. Morgan Bank after trying them on vacation. In 1957, R. Gordon Wasson, a successful banker and enthusiast of magic mushrooms, travelled to Mexico to learn more about them. There, he participated in a Mazatec ceremony conducted by a shaman, featuring 'shrooms. Swiss scientist Albert Hoffman, known as the "father" of LSD, extracted psilocybin from the mushrooms Wasson brought back from Oaxaca. Hoffman identified psilocybin as the chemical causing the hallucinogenic effects of 'shrooms.
In 1960, Timothy Leary, an icon of counterculture and psychedelia, read an article on magic mushrooms and decided to try them himself in Mexico. He claimed that he was permanently changed by the experience, having learned more about his brain and self during his five-hour trip than he did in 15 years of school. Upon returning to Harvard University, Leary started the Harvard Psilocybin Project to conduct experiments based on psychedelic drugs and prove his theory that drugs can lead to a higher state of consciousness.
In 1970, magic mushrooms were made illegal in the United States, but their use continued. In 1976, writer and ethnobotanist Terence McKenna released a book called "Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide", which detailed the relatively simple process of growing 'shrooms and contributed to their enduring popularity.
In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the potential therapeutic benefits of psilocybin, with researchers investigating its possible use in treating conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, pain, and neurodegenerative disorders. Microdosing, or consuming very small amounts of psilocybin mushrooms, has also gained popularity as a way to potentially improve mental state and productivity without experiencing intense hallucinogenic effects.
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The Agaricus bisporus mushroom has been cultivated for around 300 years
The Agaricus bisporus mushroom, also known as the cultivated mushroom, is the most widely cultivated edible mushroom in the world. It is cultivated in more than 70 countries and is one of the most commonly and widely consumed mushrooms globally. It has a known history of cultivation of around 300 years, making it an ideal organism for studying its natural evolutionary history and early domestication.
The earliest scientific description of the commercial cultivation of A. bisporus was made by French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in 1707. French agriculturist Olivier de Serres also noted that transplanting mushroom mycelia would lead to the propagation of more mushrooms. However, early cultivation methods were unreliable, and crops were often infected or failed to grow due to pathogens in the spawn.
The development of sterilized, pure culture spawn by the Pasteur Institute in Paris in 1893 improved cultivation methods. The discovery of the white mushroom in 1925 and the recognition of Agaricus bisporus as a distinct species by Danish mycologist Jakob Emanuel Lange in 1926 further contributed to its domestication.
Agaricus bisporus has two color states while immature – white and brown, with additional names for the mature state, such as chestnut, portobello, portabellini, button, and champignon de Paris. It is native to grasslands in Eurasia and North America and has a complicated taxonomic history. Its specific epithet, "bisporus," refers to its two spores on each basidium, distinguishing it from other Agaricus species with four-spored basidia.
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Mushrooms were used to dye wool and other natural fibres before synthetic dyes
Mushrooms have been used for dyeing wool and other natural fibres for centuries, dating back to at least the 15th century. Dominique Cardon, in her book "Natural Dyes, Sources, Tradition, Technology and Science", traces the use of mushrooms as dyes back to this period. Today, the practice of using mushrooms as dyes is often associated with Miriam Rice, who extensively experimented with, documented, and promoted the use of fungi for dyeing fibres and paper.
The use of mushrooms as a natural dye offers a wide range of colours, with different mushrooms and mordants creating distinct shades. For example, the shingled hedgehog mushroom and related species contain blue-green pigments, while the fruiting body of Hydnellum peckii can produce shades of beige, blue, or green, depending on the mordant used. Phaeolus schweinitzii is another versatile mushroom, yielding colours ranging from green to yellow, gold, or brown.
When dyeing with mushrooms, it is essential to prepare the fibres properly. This includes mordanting the fibres, which helps the mushroom dye bind to the material. Different mordants, such as aluminium potassium sulfate, aluminium acetate, iron, and copper, can be used depending on the type of fibre being dyed. The choice of mordant not only affects the colour but also the brightness and clarity of the final shade.
The process of dyeing with mushrooms involves extracting the colour from the mushrooms and then soaking the fibres in the dye bath. One common technique is to grind dried mushrooms into a fine powder, hydrate it in warm water, and then add the fibres to the dye bath, allowing the colour to absorb evenly. The temperature of the water is crucial, as fibres should not be subjected to extreme temperature changes.
Mushrooms have been a part of human history for millennia, with archaeological evidence suggesting their use as early as 10,000 BCE. While the focus here is on their use as dyes, mushrooms have also been cultivated for food and used in spiritual and cultural rituals by various ancient civilisations, including the Ancient Greeks, the Mayans, and the Vikings.
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The term 'mushroom' may be derived from the French word 'mousseron'
The term "mushroom" may be derived from the French word "mousseron", which means a fungus. The French word "champignon" is derived from the Latin root indicating "countryside" or "rural" and also means mushroom. Interestingly, the English word for mushroom evolved from the French "mousseron", but the word in French later changed to "champignon". This is not an uncommon occurrence; for example, many Urdu words come from Arabic loanwords that are no longer commonly used in Arabic but were loaned when they were more prevalent among Arabic speakers and are thus retained in Urdu.
The term "mushroom" refers to hundreds of species of fungi consumed today, which have probably been foraged since prehistoric times. Mushrooms have played a significant role in various ancient cultures, including the Ancient Greeks, the Mayans, and the Vikings. Archaeological evidence suggests that mushrooms were used spiritually as early as 10,000 BCE, and some historians suggest that North African and European cave paintings from 9,000 BCE may allude to magic mushrooms.
The domestication and cultivation of mushrooms have a long history as well. Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes), for example, were likely cultivated in China and Japan as early as 600 CE. More recently, in the 20th century, magic mushrooms made their way to the United States, and in 1957, R. Gordon Wasson, a successful banker and enthusiast, travelled to Mexico to learn more about them. He participated in a Mazatec ceremony involving magic mushrooms, led by a shaman. Albert Hoffman, a Swiss scientist, was the first person to extract psilocybin from the mushrooms Wasson brought back to the United States. Hoffman identified psilocybin as the chemical compound responsible for the hallucinogenic effects of magic mushrooms.
In the following years, magic mushrooms gained popularity in the United States, particularly among counterculture and psychedelia icons such as Timothy Leary, who started the Harvard Psilocybin Project to study the effects of psychedelic drugs. Despite their illegality in the United States as of 1970, magic mushrooms continued to be of interest, with the release of the "Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide" in 1976. More recently, in 2018, researchers at Johns Hopkins University confirmed the medicinal benefits of magic mushrooms in treating mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
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The domestication of mushrooms may have been caused by intron loss
Mushrooms have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, with evidence of their use in ancient cultures such as the Ancient Greeks, the Mayans, and the Vikings. The most widely cultivated edible mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, has only around three hundred years of known cultivation history.
The domestication of mushrooms is a complex process that involves selective cultivation of desired traits, such as in the case of the hallucinogenic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis, which was domesticated for the production of psilocybin. The artificial selection of superior traits in cultivated mushrooms can lead to intron loss, which may have contributed to their domestication.
A study on the evolutionary and domesticated history of Agaricus bisporus found that the A. bisporus population contains 30 intron distribution patterns (IDPs), while all cultivars contain only two IDPs, exhibiting intron loss compared to the others. This intron loss could have occurred before or after domestication, facilitating their adaptation to the cultivated environment. The artificial culture environment for mushroom growing is relatively stable, nutrient-rich, and homogeneous, which may have selected for the loss of introns in some genes.
Further analysis of the IDPs revealed that IDP5 has one fewer intron (intron 25) than IDP6, and IDP3 has one fewer intron (intron 19) than IDP5. This evolutionary pathway is consistent with historical records, showing that A. bisporus was originally grown in France and then spread to the United States, where the "white" lineage (IDP3) was discovered by American mushroom farmer Lewis Downing in 1926.
In summary, the domestication of mushrooms may have been influenced by intron loss, as the artificial selection of superior traits and the stable cultivation environment may have favored the loss of introns in certain genes, contributing to the adaptation of mushrooms to the cultivated environment.
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Frequently asked questions
Mushrooms have been foraged since prehistoric times, but the most widely cultivated edible mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, has only around 300 years of known cultivation history.
Magic mushrooms have been used by ancient cultures for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence of spiritual use dating back to 10,000 BCE. They were introduced to the United States in the 20th century and gained popularity in the 1960s counterculture movement.
Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) were likely cultivated in China and Japan as early as 600 CE.
Mushrooms are domesticated through selective cultivation of desired traits. Artificial selection is used to eliminate inferior traits and retain superior ones.
