Monday, February 15, 2010

Picture Blog #10 : The Amazing Mushrooms


There is a certain unexplainable appeal about mushroom, somehow.

It is hard to describe mushrooms without sounding too scientific but I will try.

According to Wikipedia, "A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source."

To most people, mushrooms are just food. Some even mistaken them to be vegetables. I hope it is obvious to all that not all mushrooms are edible. In fact, some are so poisonous that they kill. The Death Cap Mushroom (Amanita Phalloides) is said to be one of the most poisonous mushrooms, responsible for most of the fatal mushroom poisoning.


To the people in the East, mushrooms can be precious medicine. Reishi (灵芝) is one such sought after medicinal mushroom (above). Reishi has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years and regarded as the 'divine herb'. It is believed that the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) even called it the "Herb of Deathlessness".

Mushrooms are also known as toadstools. Do not be fooled by this juvenile-sounding alternative name - it is often used to describe inedible or poisonous mushrooms.


To the MapleStory enthusiasts, mushrooms are monsters to be killed (above). The maker of this popular online game has gone against the norm by making adorable mushroom characters villains.

To the linguists, "to mushroom" means to expand in a big way or to appear out of no where.

In this picture blog, we will see what 'mushroom' means in the eyes of photographers. Here are 24 stunning examples.

[link]



















A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into."
~Ansel Adams~

Stumble Upon Toolbar

2 comments:

potenta said...

what a pitty..they all look so tasty :D

Reishi Mushroom Spore Oil said...

While it is true that most all mushrooms are poisonous as you stated the Reishi Mushroom (Japan) or Lingzhi (China) does have benefits. It has been know to help the immune system and improve one's over all life.