A History of Mushrooms (continued

A History of Mushrooms (continued

Mushrooms come in many colors, shapes, and sizes. As a matter of fact, there are 38,000 different varieties. Some mushrooms are poisonous. Never eat mushrooms that have been picked outside of a store. The most common mushroom that is raised for eating is the white button mushroom (Agaricus). Shitake, enoki, and oyster mushrooms are also raised for eating.

Mushroom farming first started in America in 1896 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. This city grows about 50 percent of the mushrooms raised in the United States. Kennett Square is called the “mushroom capital of the world!”

The first mushroom farm in the United States was started by two florists named Mr. Hicks and Mr. Swayne. Florists are people who raise flowers to sell. Mr. Hicks and Mr. Swayne wanted to make use of empty space under the shelves upon which they grew their flowers. Of course, flowers need sunlight to grow. It was very dark and damp under the shelves. They knew they couldn’t grow flowers in the dark, but they could grow mushrooms! Mushrooms don’t need sunlight to grow. They survive by eating decaying matter, so Mr. Hicks and Mr. Swayne started growing mushrooms under their flower shelves and that became the first mushroom farm in America.

In those days, mushrooms were planted in the fall and harvested in the spring. You couldn’t get mushrooms to eat in the summer. Today, thanks to improvements in technology, such as air conditioning, you can buy edible (can be eaten)

mushrooms all year round.

Remember, pick your mushrooms in the store!

The American Mushroom Institute

http://www.oyster.com.eg

http://www.mushroom.com.eg