It’s estimated that there are around 14,000 varieties of mushrooms, with many more yet to be discovered. While most of them are inedible, around 2,000 have been found to be suited for human consumption.

The part of a mushroom that we eat is actually the fruiting body of the organism called a “sporophre.” Below the ground is its mycelium, which is a threadlike network of connected strands that often extends much farther and wider than the fruiting body suggests. The mycelia itself can live for a very long time, so long as it has appropriate moisture in the soil around it and nutrients.

Mushrooms have long enchanted humans as medicine. Hippocrates, known as the father of Western medicine, found around 450 B.C that the amadou mushroom was helpful in reducing inflammation and cauterizing wounds. Some Indigenous nations have a history of using puffball mushrooms to heal wounds.

Today, there are businesses that take knowledge about mushrooms and put it into products you can find at Seward Co-op.