Page 27 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 11 December 2024

THE BIG PICTURE
NATURE

Stay away from the
Death Cap mushroom,
left, and the Copper
Trumpet, below

MIND YOUR AS FUNGI, MUSHROOMS ARE BIOLOGICALLY

MUSHROOMS! HAVE A UNIQUE NUTRIENT PROFILE. THEY MAKE
DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER FOOD GROUP AND

DELICIOUS ADDITIONS TO MEALS, ADD MAGIC TO

THE GARDEN AND HAVE GOOD HEALING PROPERTIES.

ince their first controlled *Field mushrooms are also tasty, with
cultivation in 1707, many a white cap and sometimes fine scales.
varieties - ranging from edible The stem grows 3-10 cm tall, is white and
Sto poisonous to medicinal – bears a single, thin ring. Be careful if it
have emerged around the world. Here begins to show signs of yellow bruising, which occurs throughout South Africa.
are some of the most important fungi as this can cause it to become toxic and Ingesting it is dangerous and it accounts
families: inedible; for 90% of all fatal mushroom poisonings,
with its toxins attacking the liver and
*Starting with edible varieties, there are *The soft, corky and flat Reishi kidneys. Look out for a pale yellow to light
many to choose from to add flavour to mushrooms are one of the oldest known olive coloured cap, which grows from 5
food. The White Button mushroom is the medicinal varieties. The cap looks like it to 15 cm in diameter. The gills and spore
one most commonly grown around the has been red-varnished and it features print are white.
world. It has a cap spanning 3-16 cm and an underside of white pores containing
a stem of 2-8 cm long. Although white in fine brown spores. They grow at the The Copper Trumpet, commonly known
colour, it often has brownish bruising; base of stumps of deciduous trees, have as the Jack-o-Lantern mushroom, is
herbal healing powers and are easy to orange to yellow in colour and very
*The Oyster mushroom is another grow; poisonous. Although enchanting with its
popular edible variety. It has decurrent large, funnel shape and gills that glow
gills which are attached to, and run *Shiitake mushrooms are an edible in the dark, this mushroom is filled with
directly down the stem. They are white favourite with health benefits. They start a compound called luciferin. Rather just
to light brown in colour and often grow out with dark brown to black caps, which observe its beauty and don’t have it for
in a shelf-like formation with overlapping become lighter brown and more convex lunch!
clusters; with age. The undersides have white gills
that do not attach to the stem, which is The False Parasol mushroom has a
*Porcini mushrooms are a well-known smooth, fibrous, light brown and with no convex cap at full maturity, and grows
addition to Italian dishes due to their ring. It has many medicinal properties from 5 to 40cm in diameter. The gills
strong, nutty flavour. As they mature, the such as supporting the immune system are white when young and turn green
cap can grow up to 30cm in diameter and and assisting with heart health. with age. If bruised, the mushroom
then flatten out. Its reddish-brown colour turns a dingy red colour. It is highly
darkens with age and fades to white AVOID THESE POISONOUS poisonous and causes severe gastro-
along the cap margin. The stem is club- MUSHROOMS intestinal symptoms of vomiting and
shaped or bulging in the middle; Stay away from the Death Cap mushroom diarrhoea.

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