To eat this delicious mushroom, you may need to go to the desert to dig sand

Recently, there is a video that has been going viral online: a large bump has appeared on the dry sand. When the thick sand on the surface is removed, several huge mushrooms are buried inside! This makes people doubt the authenticity of the video. After all, in people's common sense, mushrooms are often associated with moisture. How can such huge mushrooms grow in dry sand? Why do the umbrella-shaped caps of these mushrooms grow underground? All this seems to be beyond our cognition.

Reed mushrooms in the sand (Photo source: Screenshot of the video "Simei Dried Fruit")

In fact, this video is real. This kind of mushroom is called "reed mushroom". Reed mushroom is a wild mushroom that is popular and well-known in Xinjiang, China .

This mushroom often lives with these plants

The name "reed mushroom" comes from the reeds related to its growing environment.

According to local people, reed mushrooms often grow on the soft, breathable and nutritious grass beds made of rotten reeds, thanks to the ideal substrate provided by the grass beds for reed mushrooms. The word "reed" not only represents the "reed" of reed, but also implies the close relationship of ecology.

In addition to symbiosis with reeds, they often live with red willow (Tamarix) in the local area, so they are also called "red willow mushrooms". Red willow is a very common shrub in the Xinjiang desert. Its new branches are slender like willow branches, and when the flowers bloom in summer, they are pink all over the field.

The reason why reed mushrooms grow together with red willow is that the water and humidity in places with red willows usually meet the growth conditions of reed mushrooms. On the other hand , red willows can create a suitable soil environment for reed mushrooms. Red willows have a special salt secretion function. They absorb salt from their roots and excrete harmful salts through their leaves through their salt-secreting glands, thereby reducing the concentration of salt and alkali in the surrounding soil. This creates a relatively habitable growth environment for reed mushrooms.

Tamarix laxa, a common tree in northern Xinjiang (Image source: eol.org)

It has a different survival strategy in the desert

In addition to relying on red willow, in order to adapt to the saline-alkali environment of the desert, the reed mushroom has also evolved unique abilities. A genomics study in March 2023 showed that the mycelium of the reed mushroom had significantly increased expression of genes related to carbon, nitrogen, fat metabolism, transmembrane transport, and fruiting body formation under alkaline conditions, which means that the reed mushroom may adapt to the alkaline environment by enhancing carbon and nitrogen utilization and improving cell membrane stability, and the alkaline environment may promote fruiting body formation.

In addition, in order to cope with severe climatic conditions, reed mushrooms have also developed unique mechanisms for reproduction.

Other common mushrooms, such as shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms, will fully expose themselves to the air after they mature, relying on the wind to spread their "offspring" (spores) farther. However, the reed mushroom is different. In order to cope with the harsh climate of the desert, they need to hide themselves under the sand. Once the spores of the reed mushroom mature, its offspring will remain in this home created by their parents. Under suitable conditions, some of the spores will develop rapidly and complete a complete life cycle, while the other spores will enter a dormant state, waiting for the next appropriate opportunity to develop and grow.

The species similar to the reed mushroom, the big fat mushroom (Agaricus bitorquis), has been cultivated artificially (Image source: Wikipedia)

It's a bit difficult to tell which species it is.

Although reed mushrooms have a long history of being eaten in my country's Xinjiang region, scientific understanding of them only began in 2015.

In 2012, Chinese researchers collected 19 specimens of the genus Agaricus around Lake Aibi in Xinjiang. All of these mushrooms would turn red to varying shades when injured, which aroused great interest among researchers.

After in-depth research, they found that the 19 specimens included four species, all of which were edible. Two of them were confirmed as new species, namely A. sinodeliciosus and A. desjardinii; another was a new record species in China, previously only reported in Italy, named A. padanus; the last known species was A. bitorquis. The research results were officially published in 2015.

A–C. New species of Desjardins mushroom, D–H. Padana mushroom, I–L. New species of Chinese delicious mushroom (Image source: Edible species of Agaricus (Agaricaceae) from Xinjiang Province (Western China))

Except for the obvious scales on the cap of the Desjardins mushroom, which are relatively easy to identify, the Chinese delicious mushroom, the big fat mushroom, the padana mushroom and the A. subperonatus discovered in subsequent studies are difficult to distinguish from the macroscopic morphology, even for professionals.

Through the index provided by the researchers, we can distinguish them by the development mode and morphological characteristics of the mushroom ring: the mushroom ring develops from bottom to top, often opens upward and presents a boot shape. If it is a double mushroom ring, then it is a big fat mushroom. If it is a single mushroom ring, then it is a Chinese delicious mushroom. The mushroom ring develops from top to bottom, often opens downward and presents a skirt shape. If the mushroom ring is thick, then it is a tropod mushroom. If the mushroom ring is thin and easily broken, then it is a padana mushroom. Of course, if the microscopic morphology is observed under a microscope, the differences between these four "reed mushroom" species will be more obvious.

Key morphological features of “Reed Mushroom”, A: Big Fat Mushroom (the mushroom ring develops from bottom to top, the opening is upward, boot-shaped), B: Atriocarpus (the mushroom ring develops from top to bottom, the opening is downward, skirt-shaped) (Image source: “Species Diversity of Wild Edible Mushroom “Reed Mushroom” and Prediction of Suitable Areas for Chinese Delicious Mushrooms”)

Therefore, what people call "reed mushroom" currently includes four kinds of mushrooms, namely, Chinese delicious mushroom, big fat mushroom, padana mushroom and attostem mushroom; the "Chinese delicious mushroom" circulating on the Internet ≈ "reed mushroom" basically does not distinguish between the above four species.

Can you tell the difference between the four types of "reed mushrooms"? A: Reed mushrooms that grow buried in the soil; B: Big fat mushrooms; C: Chinese delicious mushrooms; D: Atriocarpus; E: Padana mushrooms (Photo source: "Species diversity of wild edible fungi "reed mushrooms" and prediction of suitable habitats for Chinese delicious mushrooms")

Can you eat this kind of mushroom without going to the desert?

The scientific name of the Chinese delicious mushroom, sinodeliciosus, can be broken down into sino-, which means China or China, and -deliciosus, which means delicious. There are actually many mushrooms named after "delicious", such as the delicious red mushroom (Russula delica), the delicious fan mushroom (Panellus edulis), the delicious milk mushroom (Lactarius deliciosus) and the famous delicious boletus (Boletus edulis).

Mushrooms grown in the TV series "Mountains and Seas" - Agaricus bisporus (Photo source: Wikipedia)

Since the discovery of the Chinese delicious mushroom, the artificial domestication of it has been in full swing. Fortunately, the Chinese delicious mushroom is a variety with great potential. It can even produce mushrooms without the need for soil covering cultivation like the Agaricus bisporus (trade name "Omotesando"). The mushrooms grown in the TV series "Mountains and Seas" are actually Agaricus bisporus. Friends who have watched the show should know that the cultivation process is quite demanding, and it is necessary to cover the soil to create a good environment for mushroom growth, but the Chinese delicious mushroom can save this step.

The cultivated reed mushrooms are white, tender and nutritious (Photo source: "Cultivation of China's delicious mushroom 'Shenmei No. 1'")

However, although the Chinese delicious mushroom has shown good feasibility in artificial cultivation, its cultivation prospects do not seem optimistic. Compared with its "cousin" Agaricus bisporus, the latter has a cultivation history of hundreds of years and has always ranked first in the world in terms of production among all commercial mushrooms; and its "brother" Big Fat Agaricus is considered to have stronger adaptability than Agaricus bisporus and can also achieve mushroom production without covering the soil. Although it was cultivated artificially in China as early as 2000, it has not yet entered the table of ordinary people.

Non-soil cultivation of Chinese delicious mushroom (Photo source: Breeding of Chinese delicious mushroom 'Shenmei No. 1')

If Chinese mushrooms want to stand out in the market, they must face two important questions: First, can they be as affordable as Agaricus bisporus? Second, how different can the taste and texture of Chinese mushrooms be compared to Agaricus bisporus? Overall, Chinese mushrooms still need to go through a long and arduous development process to achieve commercialization.

If you want to taste this kind of mushroom now and experience the fun of "chasing the dry sea" on the Gobi Desert, go to Xinjiang. You will find that the bulges are not only seafood after the tide goes out, but also delicious mushrooms "lying on the sand"!

References:

[1]Ling, Z.-L., Cao, B., Hu, S.-N., Geng, J.-N., Liu, F., Liu, D.-M., Zhao, R.-L., 2023. Insights into the genomic evolution and the alkali tolerance mechanisms of Agaricus sinodeliciosus by comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses. Microbial Genomics 9, 000928. https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000928 [2]Wang, Z.-R., Parra, LA, Callac, P., Zhou, J.-L., Fu, W.-J., Dui, S.-H., Hyde, KD, Zhao, R.-L., 2015. Edible species of Agaricus (Agaricaceae) from Xinjiang Province (Western) China). Phytotaxa 202, 185. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.202.3.2

[3] Jiao Mingfu, Xiang Yang, Wang Bin, 2007. Discussion on the current status and comprehensive management of mine environment in Altay region of Xinjiang. Xinjiang Nonferrous Metals, 2–4. https://doi.org/10.16206/j.cnki.65-1136/tg.2007.01.001

[4] Cao Bin, Lin Rukai, Liu Dongmei, Zhao Ruilin. 2022. Species diversity of wild edible mushroom “Reed mushroom” and prediction of suitable habitats for Chinese delicious mushrooms. Journal of Mycology, 41, 190–203. https://doi.org/10.13346/j.mycosystema.210233

[5] Mao Xiaolan, 2000. Chinese macrofungi. Henan Science and Technology Press.

[6] Research on biological characteristics and high-yield cultivation technology of wild giant mushroom in Qaidam - China Knowledge Network

[7] XU Zhen, ZM-Y., nd. Breeding of Chinese delicious mushroom 'Shenmei No. 1'. Journal of Mycology 40, 2505–2507. https://doi.org/10.13346/j.mycosystema.210148

[8]https://tv.cctv.com/2015/07/06/VIDE1436181971803739.shtml

[9] https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/54107342

[10]https://www.cas.cn/kxcb/kpwz/201202/t20120228_3446630.shtml

[11]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/DUAFP70fPfAPji2SIIUoIg

[12]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ZeKMb0uZ9X4D34PoWyvmyA

Author: Rao Gu (Mushroom Chronicles)

Author's unit: School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University

This article is from the "Science Academy" public account. Please indicate the source of the public account when reprinting.