MAGICAL Mushroom

PLANT DIVERSITY IN YUNNAN PROVINCE

Yunnan is located in the southwest of China, with a unique dry warm winter and wet cool summer in the low latitude plateau monsoon climate. It is one of the hotspots of biodiversity in China and even in the world, and is the richest biodiversity region in the world at the same latitude. The plant species account for more than half of the plant species in China.

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ABUNDANT FUNGUS (MUSHROOM)

In fact, fungi do not belong to plants. However, fungi are also seen as plants traditionally. (By fungi, we mean fungi that are visible to the naked eye and can be picked with bare hands. )

The optimum temperature of wild mushroom growth is 24-26 ℃ (75.2- 78.8F), too high and too low mycelium growth slowed down.

In addition, wild mushrooms need a moist environment to grow. Therefore, from June to October, when it is warm and humid, wild mushrooms grow in abundance.

Whenever the rainy season comes, the farmers' markets in Kunming (Capital of Yunnan Province) have a large number of wild edible mushrooms on the market, and there are a lot of restaurants with wild mushrooms as the main dish.

This is the reason why wild mushrooms flourish so much in Yunnan Province.

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EDIBLE MUSHROOM

Wild mushrooms are not only delicious, but also rich in vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron and other trace elements, as well as a variety of amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the human body.

On the left are the most common wild mushrooms in the market, among which are also truffles, which are sold very expensive in other countries. But in Yunnan, the prices are much cheaper.

Different wild mushrooms can be eaten in different ways, some are good for soup, some for stir-fry, some for making dries vegetables, and some for hot pot. However, there are some delicious wild mushrooms that are poisonous when they are not fully cooked, and there are also some similar-looking poisonous wild mushrooms that people can eat by mistake.

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MUSHROOM POISONING IS EVERYWHERE

Wild mushroom poisoning incidents occur from time to time throughout the country, but the highest rates occur in southwest and central China. Poisoning incidents are distinctly seasonal, with the high incidence season ranging from summer to autumn each year.

In Yunnan Province, everyone is surrounded by relatives or friends who have been poisoned by wild mushrooms.

People have developed an awareness of going to the hospital for poisoning, so more and more cases of poisoning have been reported since 2014. But at the same time, people are still not aware enough about wild mushrooms.

In most cases, people who are poisoned experience hallucinations and see many unusual things.

_{Image Source: Zhihu, Yunnan}