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An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

bbc.com

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Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#41

Post by pixl97 »

claytongulick wrote: post #39

I tried to read TFA to learn about what's going on. It's an article about an invasive species of mushroom, right? I'd like to be informed. The first sentence is: "The razor blade of the newly unpacked surgical scalpel glints in the late Autumn light." So I just immediately stopped reading. This style of writing is exhausting and too common. It's an article about mushrooms, not a spy action thriller. It feels like the…

> and I'm not sure what's caused it

Why aren't you?

The vast majority of writers at the end of the day write these stories to sell them. The old venues that sold advertising to places where you would read the stories you are talking about are long dead. Google, et al, have sucked up all that money making them a trillion dollars. Now anyone that wants to sell a story is left fighting for pennies on clickbait.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#42

Post by s5300 »

3yr-i-frew-up wrote: post #27
Pine_Mushroom wrote: post #8

I had a mushroom farm in Northern Michigan some years ago and we grew Golden Oysters, among other species. I think our winters are too cold for them to really establish themselves, but I was hearing reports of them 'going native' in Southern Michigan as long ago as 15 years. Like the farmer in the article, I also wondered about the apparent lack of effort in growing native species. My area has a wonderful native oyst…

I've been thinking about farming in Michigan. If global warming takes off, we should have a nice environment and plenty of water to grow... I just can't imagine doing agriculture in 2026. I have a masters in Mechanical Engineering and 2 decades of experience. It just seems like something for uneducated people.

[dead]

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#43

Post by whicks »

HelloMcFly wrote: post #31
voidUpdate wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with Kudzu, and apparently that's an unstoppable plant too

Kudzu's threat has been long overstated. It thrives especially near forest edgelands which are always visible on highways, so concern of prevalence was partially based on individual sampling error. In reality, its presence in southern forests is higher than desired but still not disastrous (~0.1% of southern forestland), which is a fraction of worse invasives: Japanese honeysuckle (4.4%) and Asian privet (1.4%).

Genuinely curious, source for this?

> ~0.1% of southern forestland), which is a fraction of worse invasives: Japanese honeysuckle (4.4%) and Asian privet (1.4%).

Sample size of 1 here (I know), but I've spent a meaningful portion of my life outdoors in the south and I have _never_ seen swaths of the landscape covered with Japanese Honeysuckle or Asian Privet like I have Kudzu. It absolutely dominates _everything_ in areas where it's present here (not surprising when it can grow up to a 1 foot (0.3 m) a day.)

Not trying to say you're incorrect, just trying to get a better handle on this. The thought that there are more destructive invasive plants in the US south than Kudzu is kind of blowing my mind.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#45

Post by [deleted] »

eps wrote: post #24
zikduruqe wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm going out to search for morels this weekend I don't have any addictions in my life, but one. That's when morel season is in swing, I am in full hunt mode.

A friend of mine went to a local mushroom picking course and among things they mentioned that morels are difficult to cook from fresh, because of the gastro problems. Apparently, the advice was to dry them before using in recipes. What's up with that?

[deleted]

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#47

Post by hardwaregeek »

abcd_f wrote: post #4

The good news is that's edible and apparently tastes good.

I’ve proposed that someone open a restaurant of invasive species. You could make some decent dishes with lionfish, blackberries, golden oyster mushrooms, venison, etc

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#48

Post by rkomorn »

ux266478 wrote: post #35
u8080 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they became unstoppable, we'll need unstoppable humans! Wait~~

We must continue this chain until we reach unstoppable sapient topological "aberrations" in space-time with reversed arrows of time.

Christopher Nolan, is that you?

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#49

Post by eszed »

eps wrote: post #24
zikduruqe wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm going out to search for morels this weekend I don't have any addictions in my life, but one. That's when morel season is in swing, I am in full hunt mode.

A friend of mine went to a local mushroom picking course and among things they mentioned that morels are difficult to cook from fresh, because of the gastro problems. Apparently, the advice was to dry them before using in recipes. What's up with that?

Morels contain several volatile compounds which cause gastric distress. (Forgive me for not looking it up at the moment, but one of them is/was a compenent of rocket fuel, which teenage me loved.) They have to be thoroughly cooked to burn those off. Or else dried.

Specifically for soup - which is, arguably, their best use - most people won't saute morels long enough before adding liquid, so it's always best to use dried for that. Otherwise, standard, boring, dry-sautéed + butter until tender works great, and has never given me a hint of upset.

The instructor of your friend's mushroom course may have been giving maximally-cautious advice, rather than trying to communicate nuance to the general public. That's often a wise choice. :-)

PS. If you're at all interested in foraging mushrooms, buy a copy of All the Rain Promises and More, by David Aurora. (If you're elsewhere than North America, buy a local guide, too, but still get ARPM.) Aside from the mushroom content it's wonderfully entertaining.

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