There are thousands of regularly harvested edible mushrooms in the world, in addition to literally hundreds of thousands of other potentially edible species. Some species are highly prized because they are not or cannot be cultivated and must be harvested from natural settings. Check safety rules under mushroom hunting, however, before assuming any wild mushroom is edible. Even if a mushroom is edible, it doesn't mean it will taste good. Some non-poisonous mushrooms, like bitter bolete, have extremely foul taste.

History of mushroom use

Mushrooms were so flavoursome for the pharaohs of Egypt that they decreed mushrooms could only be eaten by royalty and that no commoner could even touch them, thus giving the royal family the entire available supply. In some parts of Eurasia, especially in Russia and Nordic countries, mushrooms form a remarkable part of diet. Several mushrooms are especially tasty and many are rich on nutrients. Mushrooms can be also easily conserved, and they have provided additional nutrition for winter. Mushrooms are also cultivated: remarkable "tamed" mushrooms include champignon, shiitake and oyster mushroom. Finns also cultivate false morel - this mushroom is deadly poisonous if raw, but when correctly prepared, delicious. Mushrooms are especially good for people who are on diet: they contain almost no fat or carbohydrates, and are rich on proteins.

Many prehistoric and a few modern cultures around the world used psychedelic mushrooms for ritualistic purposes. Before 10,000 BCE while people were still hunting and gathering as a part of every day life, women did the gathering. Women were said to be blessed with the ability to see in the dim light so they were successful in foraging for mushrooms and fungi amongst other things . Mushroom cultivation reached the United States in the late 1800s with imported spores from Mexico. Unfortunately, several mushrooms, like death cap, are extremely poisonous, and have been deliberately used as instruments of assassination.

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@emrezng Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi.
GabrielPeri (Gabriel Péri) Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:09:56 -0000
@emrezng Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi.
@bt http://twitpic.com/rgoo9 - Actually many fungi that grow on trees are edible, but you have to be sure.
shannon_ross (shannon_ross) Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:52:50 -0000
@bt http://twitpic.com/rgoo9 - Actually many fungi that grow on trees are edible, but you have to be sure.

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oyster mushroom time lapse video Spores101 mushroom spores can be used to grow beautiful edible mushrooms as shown in this short time lapse video. You can see this sample of phoenix oyster edible mushroom growing fast and strong. (more)