Edible choice medicinal mushrooms are some of the most revered and well-respected foods of the herbal tonic world, with a rich history going back thousands of years in both Eastern and Western medicine. Backed by human studies, these magnificent tonics are universally considered the “great equalizers” for their ability to profoundly nourish and deeply support a healthy, balanced immune system response. But these tonics do so much more. Many possess adaptogen-like qualities, possibly supporting a healthy nervous system, nourishing organs and glands, supporting the growth of wisdom, and calming the spirit. In part one of this series, I will discuss the three primary parts of a mushroom.

What are the three main parts of a mushroom?

In order to answer this question correctly, it is vital to define what a mushroom is and its relationship to a fungus. A mushroom is a fungal organism’s fruiting body (with three distinct parts that develop through its life cycle) or, in simpler terms, the fruit of a more extensive fungal network that grows underground. Fungus is a more general term describing any member of the fungi kingdom (yeast, mold, mildew, mushroom) and can be unicellular or multicellular. The term fungus defines a singular species, while fungi describe multiple species within a family. Imperfect fungi represent mold and yeast; much about how they reproduce is still unclear. Perfect fungi are considered the primary decomposers that grow off of organic material; they are the creators and producers of mushrooms. There are two primary types of fungi. Saprophytes grow on dead or decaying organic matter (reishi are an example). Parasitic fungi infect a living host like plants or insects (cordyceps are an example). They have the same life cycle, but it comes down to what they choose as a food source.

A mushroom’s life cycle will vary depending on the mushroom itself and its growing environment; it can be as short as a day or last for a month.

• Spores (released from the gills of a mushroom cap) are in the surrounding air that, under favorable conditions, will land on a substrate they can use as a food source. Once they begin germination, they start growing filament branches called hyphae (their primary mission is to find spores of the opposite sex to bond with). When hyphae continue to grow, a fusing process occurs to create mycelium.
• Mycelium is an underground network that expands and feeds off organic plant matter and produces enzymes that break down the plant material to recycle it into beneficial compounds that return to the soil. This portion of the life phase is also known as the vegetative body of the organism and the mushroom’s immune system. In nature, mycelium forms large networks of fungal matter by breaking down wood, logs, and other plant matter (also known as substrate), becoming intertwined and creating an inseparable mass. Mycelial networks can live for thousands of years, spreading across massive distances. In eastern Oregon, there is a 2000-year-old mycelial mat of honey mushrooms that is 2200 acres in size.
• Mushroom, aka fruiting body: If the environmental conditions are appropriate, the mycelium will produce a mushroom, aka fruiting body, which is the organism’s reproductive structure. At its fully mature stage, it produces spores that redistribute across plant matter, creating a new mycelium network and allowing the fungus to spread. This is the last point of the life and reproductive cycles.

What is the top portion of the mushroom called?

The above-ground portion of what is known as a mushroom is called the fruiting body. In simple terms, the fruiting bodies are like an orange to an orange tree. As stated above, this is the end stage of the life cycle, and the reproductive process occurs by releasing spores back into the environment and restarting the cycle. Fruiting bodies often exist for a few days before disappearing and represent about 5% of the entire process. Because fruiting bodies have been the primary focus of research worldwide, they are believed to be the primary powerhouse portion of the fungi where all the nourishing compounds are found (each mushroom varying compounds). For example, cordyceps contain a treasure trove of bioactive compounds like Nucleosides, Polysaccharides, Sterols, Amino Acids, Polypeptides, and Cordycepin. Lions Mane has Polysaccharides, Polypeptides, Beta-glucans, Prebiotic fiber, Hericenones, and Erinacines. In a review discussing mushroom compounds as immunomodulators, it was concluded that their broad spectrum potential for supporting a healthy immune system response qualifies them as candidates for immune modulation and immunotherapy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29849725/

What is the bottom portion of the mushroom called?

The underground portion of the fungi is called mycelium. In simple terms, mycelium is biomass. Just as mushrooms are not mycelium, mycelium is not mushrooms. In this area of research, it is believed that all of the compounds found in a high concentration of the fruiting body (like  polysaccharides) are not the only driving force behind what makes mushrooms such powerful tonic foods. The working hypothesis behind mycelium research is that by consuming mycelium, you are ingesting the energy force or precursor for what creates the fruit itself. Mycelium is the primary plant portion of the mushroom and the longest-living part of the organism (95% of the life cycle).

But don’t think mycelium doesn’t have any value because it is the foundation of our ecosystem and nature’s (land-based) underground food web. It is responsible for who we are and how everything in nature is created. It is the underground communication system. As more science  merges, we are learning about novel compounds in mycelium that may have the ability to change the face of modern medicine in unique ways. This area of mushroom science is fascinating for its unlimited potential. In a study discussing the potent immune-activating properties of turkey tail mycelium, the results demonstrated that “the immune-activating  bioactivity of a mycelial-based medicinal mushroom preparation is a combination of the mycelium itself (including insoluble beta-glucans, and also water-soluble components), and the highly bioactive, metabolically fermented substrate, not present in the initial substrate.”

https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-019-2681-7

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article.

Michael Stuchiner is a Master Herbalist and proud graduate of The School of Natural Healing and has worked in different areas of this field for over 25 years. He is a retired elite-level powerlifter who competed for 27 years. As an avid international traveler, he is passionate about the use of medicinal and tonic herbs and local markets in the 35 countries he has visited. Michael makes his mark in herbal medicine through the hundreds of articles he has written and his YouTube channel (A Master Herbalist Perspective). He is considered a true educator in this field.