Plants

Introduction / परिचय

A mushroom is the reproductive structure produced by some fungi. It resembles a plant's fruit in some ways, but instead of seeds, it really generates millions of tiny spores that develop in the pores or gills found beneath the mushroom's top. The spores disperse into the wind or through other methods, like animal feeding. Spores will germinate if they touch a suitable surface, such soil or wood, and grow into a network of microscopic roots threads called mycelium that reaches their new food supply. The mycelium remains, frequently for many years, drawing nutrition and producing its annual crop of mushrooms in contrast to the mushroom, which appears and swiftly dies.

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There are no common names for all mushrooms. Others possess more than one. Although certain scientific names are modified, mushroom enthusiasts frequently still use the old names. Some of the scientific names of the different varieties of edible mushrooms are Agaricus, Amanita, Leccinum, Boletus, etc.

Depending on the type and region, wild mushrooms are typically harvested in the spring and the fall. The majority of farmed mushrooms are offered all year round.

4600 years ago, the Egyptians believed mushrooms to be plants of immortality and were the only people who could consume them since they were considered to be exceptional and of supernatural origin. Mushrooms were regarded by the Romans as a divine food.

Varieties / किस्मे

Since there are more than 10,000 different varieties of mushrooms, it would be difficult to tell you about them all here, but we can talk about some of the most popular mushroom species (specifically those found in the grocery store or farmers market).

Button Mushrooms- these are the most common type of mushrooms, similar to cremini and portabellos; the distinction is in the age. Consider buttons to be the youngsters, cremini to be the teenager, and portabellos to be the adult.

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Crimini Mushrooms:

Cremini mushrooms, commonly referred to as baby bellas, are really an older variety of the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). They are a little bit browner and stiffer due to their age.

Portabello Mushrooms:

Portabello is the oldest of the three agaricus bisporus varieties featured here.

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Maitake Mushroom:

The maitake typically grows at the base of oak trees and has been utilised for millennia in Japanese and Chinese cuisine. They are also known by the name of Sheep's head, ram's head, and hen-of-the-woods.

Hedgehog Mushroom:

The "sweet tooth," also known as the hydnum repandum, is easily recognised by its yellow or orange head, toothy underside, and fruity odour.

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Classification of Plants/ पौधों का वर्गीकरण

While many additional gilled fungi, often known as mushrooms, are found in other orders of the class Agaricomycetes, not all members of the order Agaricales produce mushroom fruit bodies, according to modern molecularly defined classifications.

The primary group of mushrooms, the Agaricales comprises of common fungi like the common fairy-ring mushroom, shiitake, enoki, oyster mushrooms, fly agarics and various Amanitas, magic mushrooms like Psilocybe species, paddy straw mushrooms, shaggy manes, etc.

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Atypical mushrooms include the cooked-lobster-hued, parasitized lobster mushroom, which is a parasitized fruitbody of a Russula or Lactarius that has been coloured and distorted by the mycoparasitic ascomycete Hypomyces lactifluorum .

The term "mushroom" is used amorphously when referring to other mushrooms because they are not gilled, making it challenging to fully describe their categories. Some of them have holes on the underside (and are typically referred to as boletes), while others, like the hedgehog mushroom and other tooth fungi, have spines.

Polypores, puffballs, jelly fungus, coral fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, and cup fungi have all been referred to as "mushrooms." As a result, rather than having a clear taxonomic meaning, the phrase is more commonly used to refer to macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies.

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History / इतिहास

Uses and Benefits / उपयोग एवं फायदे

Mushrooms have countless health benefits. The nutrients fibre, protein, and antioxidants in mushrooms are abundant and low in calories. They might also lower the chance of getting serious illnesses like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. They also are a good source of Vitamin D, thus are beneficial in improving bone strength in body.

How to Grow Plant / कैसे उगाएं

Choose the kind of mushrooms you want to grow - Oyster, white button, and shiitake are the three varieties of mushrooms that are the easiest to grow at home. While the procedure for producing each mushroom is similar, the best substrate for growth varies.

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Purchase mushroom spawn- Mushroom spawn is sawdust that has been infused with mushroom mycelia, which is essentially the fungus's root system. It is used to promote growth much like plant seedlings. High-quality mushroom spawn is available from a number of online vendors, select gardening supply shops, and speciality organic living shops.

Sterilize the growth substrate- It will be required to disinfect the straw or sawdust you're using for mushroom cultivation before inoculating it with spawn. This is done to eliminate any bacteria that might compete with the mycelia.

Heat the substrate to promote growth of mycelia- Before mushrooms begin to grow, the mycelia in your mushroom spawn must extensively cover the substrate. This growth is promoted by a warm environment.

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Put the substrate in the appropriate environment- Check the substrate to see if it has been fully colonised after two weeks; the substrate should be thoroughly covered in what appears to be white fuzz. It can take two to four weeks to complete. If the substrate has been colonised, you can relocate the pan to a dark, chilly location (about 55°F or 13°C). This normally works best in a basement, though a cabinet or drawer in an icy room would do.

When your mushrooms are fully developed, harvest them- You should start to notice tiny mushrooms growing in approximately three weeks. To promote their growth, keep the area dark, cool, and damp.

How to Take Care/ देखभाल कैसे करे

Mushrooms are found in over ten thousand varieties, and interestingly enough they all are not edible, in fact a lot of them are meant to be poisonous for human health.

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Interesting Facts / रोचक तथ्य

There is a Wild Edible Mushroom that Tastes Almost Exactly Like Fried Chicken - found in North America and Europe, mainly on oak trees but can also be found on yew, cherry and sweet chestnut trees. Laetiporus has a vivid colour, is soft and succulent, and has a fleshy centre, much like chicken.

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Each year, more than 2,000 new species of fungi are discovered - Though the term "fungi" is often associated with mushrooms, the fungi family also includes some strange and beautiful creatures. For instance, 216 species of fungi are hallucinogenic, and over 350 species are edible, including the Marmite-making variety!

White (Cremini), Portobello, and Button mushrooms are all the same - These three popular types of mushrooms are all members of the same species, Agaricus bisporus, but they are each at a different stage of development. Contrary to popular belief, there are not all that many distinct varieties of mushrooms.

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