Synopses & Reviews
Mycelium Running is a manual for the mycological rescue of the planet. That’s right: growing more
mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text from mushroom expert Paul Stamets, you’ll find out how.
The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called "mycelium" — the fruit of which are mushrooms — recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening).
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll find chapters detailing each of these four exciting branches of what Stamets has coined "mycorestoration," as well as chapters on the medicinal and nutritional properties of mushrooms, inoculation methods, log and stump culture, and species selection for various environmental purposes. Heavily referenced and beautifully illustrated, this book is destined to be a classic reference for bemushroomed generations to come.
Review
"This visionary and practical book should be an instant classic in the emerging science of how to use nature’s wisdom and fecundity to rescue the earth and ourselves from the unwelcome consequences of human cleverness." — Amory B. Lovins, chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Institute
Review
"In his respectful and casual way, Paul brings depth and clarity to the complexity of fungi and its place in the natural order, all the while engaging us in fungi knowledge for healing our planet." — Guujaaw, president of the Haida Council, Haida Nation
Review
"This is the kind of book I love: highly factual and practical and mixed with the spiritual content that sets the great writers apart from all the rest." — John Norris, former deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and founder of the Bioterrorism Institute
Review
"Stamets is a visionary emissary from the fungus kingdom to our world, and the message he’s brought back in this book, about the possibilities fungi hold for healing the environment, will fill you with wonder and hope." – Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire
About the Author
Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti (www.fungi.com), has been a dedicated mycologist for more than thirty years. He is the 1998 recipient of the Collective Heritage Institute’s Bioneers Award and the 1999 recipient of the Founder of a New Northwest Award from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. Stamets has written five books on mushroom cultivation, use, and identification and numerous articles and scholarly papers on medicinal, culinary, and psycho-active mushrooms. His books Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms and The Mushroom Cultivator (co-author) have long been hailed as the definitive texts on mushroom cultivation.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword . . . . . viii
Preface . . . . . x
Acknowledgments . . . . . xi
PART I THE MYCELIAL MIND . . . . . 1
1 Mycelium as Nature’s Internet . . . . . 2
2 The Mushroom Life Cycle . . . . . 12
3 Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats . . . . . 19
4 The Medicinal Mushroom Forest . . . . . 35
PART II MYCORESTORATION . . . . . 55
5 Mycofiltration . . . . . 58
6 Mycoforestry . . . . . 69
7 Mycoremediation . . . . . 86
8 Mycopesticides . . . . . 114
PART III GROWING MYCELIA AND MUSHROOMS . . . . . 125
9 Inoculation Methods: Spores, Spawn, and Stem Butts . . . . . 126
10 Cultivating Mushrooms on Straw and Leached Cow Manure . . . . . 161
11 Cultivating Mushrooms on Logs and Stumps . . . . . 172
12 Gardening with Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms . . . . . 187
13 Nutritional Properties of Mushrooms . . . . . 201
14 Magnificent Mushrooms: The Cast of Species . . . . . 210
Glossary . . . . . 305
Resources . . . . . 309
Bibliography . . . . . 311
Photography and Artwork Credits . . . . . 329
Index . . . . . 330