Paul's Mother Mycelium Handbook

The majority of the Fungi organism is growing under the ground. Mushrooms are the fruitbodies of the mycelium, above the ground. They come in every shape, colour and size imaginable. Some are poisonous, some delicious, some can heal you, or the planet, and some make your mind travel. Discover a selection of Paul Stamets favourites.

A red-capped mushroom with white spots and a white stem, isolated on a white background.

Name: Amanita muscaria

Found: “Cosmopolitan” grows easily everywhere

AKA: “Fly Agaric”

Notes: One of the most encountered in popular culture, this toadstool mushroom is poisonous, but rarely deadly. In some northern cultures it was used as a drug in religious and spiritual contexts.

Maitake mushroom cluster on a white background.

Name: Grifola frondosa

Found: Native to China, Europe, and the USA

AKA: “Hen-of-the-woods”

Notes: In Asian supermarkets you will find this mushroom under its Japanese name “maitake” which translates to “dancing mushroom”. It is one of the most popular asian culinary mushrooms. It grows in clusters and can grow up to 150cm large.

Name: Ganoderma lucidum

Found: “Cosmopolitan species, colonises hardwoods”

AKA: “Reishi”

Notes: Reishi is also known as the mushroom of immortality and is widely used in Chinese medicine. Its use has been recorded for more than 2,000 years. It is typically extracted in hot water for teas, syrups and soups or made into a powder.

A cluster of turkey tail mushrooms with concentric rings of grey, blue, brown, and green.

Name: Trametes versicolor

Found: “Cosmopolitan” grows easily everywhere

AKA: “Turkey Tail”

Notes: Besides Turkey Tail’s medicinal properties, enzymes secreted by its mycelium are powerful toxin destroyers. Turkey Tail offers tools for healing both people and the planet, and lucky for us that it is one of the most common in the world.

Name: Pleurotus ostreatus

Found: “Cosmopolitan” grows easily everywhere

AKA: “Blue Oyster Mushroom”

Notes: Out of all cultivated mushrooms, this one is the easiest to grow. Its mycelium can digest 5 pounds of wood in just a few months. The byproducts of this decomposition benefit other organisms; it can also recycle and fight pollution.

Two morel mushrooms with textured brown caps and white stems, still rooted with some dirt and grass, on a white background.

Name: Morchella angusticeps

Found: Distributed throughout temperate regions

AKA: “Morels”

Notes: Morels are some of the first organisms to appear after a fire, primarily in the first year after burning. Best picked as ridges darken, these mushrooms need to be thoroughly cooked to be eaten. They are delicious with cream and butter.