What is a chestnut mushroom?

also known as Pioppino or black poplar sponge, chestnut fungus or Agrocybe aegerity is sought after in culinary and herbal circles. We start white, then slowly brown, this species grows in clusters on living trees, fallen protocols or stumps, mostly subtropical areas of the world. Wild mushroom hunters and gourmet fungi growers give him high signs for taste, texture and easy growing. Chinese biotechnologists have also discovered strong metabolites in this fungus with alleged antibacterial, antioxidant and anti -cancer properties.

wild fungi with caps that are clarified on their underside are members of the order agaricales class agaricaceae . Perhaps the most ubiquitous members of this ranking are slightly from the gillet buttons called Agaricus bisporus and wide from a guild meadow or field mushrooms known as Agaricus Capestris . The mushroom of chestnuts that have tried alternatively classifoVat as Agrocybe cylindracea is considered to have a more nut and slightly sweeter taste than these others and can grow to a diameter of up to 4 inches (about 10 cm).

Chestnut fungus and many other Agrocybe can be valued for spicy taste and fleshy texture; Similarly, however, they resemble others who are either poisonous, hallucinogenic or both. For example, the Japanese Agrocybe Farinacea contains recreational hallucinogen psilocybin. African variety in the order of Agrocybe Putaminum can also cause hallucinogenic effects - just before killing those who eat it.

Science is slowly catching up with folklore knowledge of chestnut mushrooms like strong homeopathic drugs. Although further research seems to be needed in 2011, the components of this fungus seem to have antiseptic, antifungal and antioxidant forces. Perhaps the most striking is the ability of a chestnut fungus to kill cancer cells, according to the book Biotechnologists in China I: From Bioseparration and Biosis , the common company of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Dalian University of Technology.

Because many Agrocybe is edible and others are toxic - even under a cursory microscopic review - many mushrooms recommend newcomers to avoid wild . It is a safer alternative to cultivate them on fallen protocols, stumps or even chips or sawdust. This often requires the purchase of fungal culture, a growing medium such as pearlite or rice flour, and moderate temperatures between 50 and 70 ° F (from 10 to 21 ° C). This process will also require a humid environment in which the fungus is most able to create naturally.