Repurpose Your Grow Kit, A Rediscovery, and Genetic Islands

IN TODAY’S EDITION

1️⃣ A fungus find 36 years in the making 2️⃣ Genetic islands 3️⃣ Repurpose your grow kit

Hi Shroomer. This week’s stories remind me that when we band together—citizen scientists, local communities, and organizations alike—we unearth wonders.

Shannon Ratliff, Co-Founder

ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION

Rediscovering the big puma fungus

Elusive fungus found 🔍 The big puma fungus (Austroomphaliaster nahuelbutensis) was first documented in Chile in 1988. As the only species in its genus, the big puma fungus is special — and incredibly rare, with its gray-brown colors a natural camouflage in the forest foliage. Thanks to Re:wild’s Search for Lost Species, the “world’s most wanted” lost fungi was rediscovered in May 2023.

• Documenting mycology: In the early 1980s, Chilean mycologist Norberto Garrido documented over 200 fungi species in the mountainous forests of southern Chile. Named for the Nahuelbuta mountain range — “big puma range” in the local Mapudungun language — the big puma mushroom was not seen again for 36 years.

• Retracing steps: In 2023, a team led by the Fungi Foundation and Fundación Nahuelbuta retraced Norberto Garrido’s steps through the Nahuelbuta mountains at the exact same time of year. On the last day of their week-long expedition, two local participants located the big puma mushroom blending in among the leaves. DNA analysis by Fungi Foundation’s fungarium later confirmed the mushroom’s identity.

• Community collaboration: Cooperation between scientists and local communities is vital to protecting fungal diversity. Rediscovering the big puma mushroom was a group effort of multiple organizations, mycologists, and local search parties all working in the right place at the right time. Considering that only 10% of the world’s fungal species are documented, how many more can we discover before they’re gone? 👉 Read more.

ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION

Fragmented habitats threaten forests and fungi

What is habitat fragmentation? 🌎 For hundreds of millions of years, fungi and plants enjoyed vast, open landscapes across which their genes could spread. Human development has sliced this environment into smaller, isolated habitats — creating genetic islands ripe for inbreeding and extinction.

• Essential fungi: Fungi are vital to ecosystem health, thanks to their ability to break down organic matter. Many plants and trees rely on fungal mycelium to obtain nutrients and water. When human development splits apart these “mycorrhizal associations”, it isn’t just the fungi and plants that suffer but every reliant species in the ecosystem.

• Japanese Douglas-firs: Researchers recently studied the relationship between the endangered Rhizopogon togasawarius fungus and the Japanese Douglas-fir. Habit fragmentation limited the genetic diversity of the isolated R. togasawarius fungi populations, which led to less efficient nutrient uptake for the Japanese Douglas-firs. Only 2,000 adult Japanese Douglas-firs exist worldwide, and declining fungal diversity could spell the death of these remaining scattered tree populations.

• Genetic diversity = survival: Genetic diversity decreases when species are isolated to one location. Without outside populations to mingle with, the isolated group risks extinction due to inbreeding. While modern conservation efforts mainly focus on larger, more visible species, the genetic diversity of our fungal networks is crucial to keeping ecosystems balanced and healthy. 👉 Learn more here.

CULTIVATION

How to repurpose a mushroom grow kit

Keep on growin’ ♻️ Mushroom grow kits have definitely had their moment and jump-started thousands of new at-home cultivators. If you’re looking at your old grow kit and wondering if it will ever again show signs of life, these tips can help you repurpose a grow kit into a potentially endless supply of gourmet mushrooms.

• The bucket technique: Most mushroom grow kits can be rehydrated and coaxed through multiple flushes … but once the substrate is depleted of nutrients, the mycelium starts to die. Luckily, making your own substrate is straightforward and relatively cost-efficient. Simply drill ¼” holes into a bucket. Then, soak aspen wood chips in hot water for an hour to pasteurize, then drain and let the chips cool. After sterilizing your surroundings, wear gloves to break up your old mycelium into the bucket, creating alternating layers with the woodchips.

• Make more kits: If you don’t feel like making your own substrate, no worries — pre-sterilized grain substrate blocks are easily available online, but the convenience is often more costly. Once you have your substrate, sanitize your surroundings, glove up, and mix pieces of your old mycelium into the new substrate. Close it with a heat sealer or twist tie, and you’ll have a new mushroom grow kit in minutes.

• Plant it! Where does mushroom substrate go when it’s spent? Into the garden, of course! Burying your mushroom grow kit in a shaded spot could possibly yield additional mushrooms if the climate and soil in your area are right. Just remember to remove any plastic from the kit first!

👉 Even more ways to repurpose a mushroom grow kit.

FORAGED FINDS

👀 What to follow up on

The workers’ push for unionization at Paul Stamets’ company, Fungi Perfect. Mary Carreón, Senior Editor of Double Blind, reported on documents that note issues like low pay and inconsistent healthcare, but surprisingly, the workers are facing resistance from a union avoidance consulting firm.

📸 What to watch

This dreamy half-hour visual feast for the eyes from Planet Fungi ad Stephen Axford. Every time I watch it, something new sprouts. We all have that one mushroom 🥰 .

🥪 What to make

This Deep-Fried Oyster Mushroom Sandwich with Red Cabbage Coleslaw and Confit Garlic Mayo from Sensational Sandwiches. Enough said.

FEATURED EVENT

Will you join the Game of Shrooms?

Mushroom art worldwide: This Saturday, June 8, a global scavenger hunt will begin….

The Game of Shrooms is a collaborative art event where artists leave their mushroom-inspired art in public places for fans to find and keep. Linking creators to their communities around the world, look forward to social media clues like breadcrumbs leading you to artistic myco-masterpieces. 👉️ Read more here.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

If you made it this far, we’d love to know how hands-on you are with mushrooms.

SPREAD THE SPORES

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