There’s a lot to know about mushroom fungi strains and the different types of fungi mushrooms, especially if you’re an amateur microscopist interested in studying the spores of North American species of mushrooms colloquially known as shrooms.
- Why documenting mushroom strains is one of the most challenging taxonomical tasks and how mycologists are tackling the problem
- What are the known North American spore species?
- Mushroom strains every amateur microscopist needs to be aware of for taxonomical or mycological research
Let’s begin with some of the most interesting mycology-related news to come out this year – how mushrooms are being tracked around the world, and how this resulted in a map of mushrooms in the United States to be developed:
Mycologists Worldwide Have Developed a Mushrooms Strains List
In our must-read blog post about the recently developed map of mushroom foraging and biodiversity in the United States, a team of researchers developed an app that allowed for people everywhere to submit mushroom findings from around the world, including thousands of submissions from the United States.
In learning about mushroom strains, you might find this biodiversity observations study from INaturalist, interesting and also may be the most comprehensive of its kind ever created, many, many different kinds of mushrooms and types of biodiversity were discovered, including those mushroom strains.
North American Species – How Many Are There?
Mushroom Species Strains
According to the findings of the study mentioned previously, there are over 20 different species in the United States alone. Over 50 are found in Mexico.
Here in the United States, the most common species has a variety of strains. A majority of these mushrooms grow in the wild on the west coast, particularly the pacific northwest—areas like Northern California, Oregon, and Washington are rife with mushrooms, especially in the forested areas near the ocean.
This is because that area of the country has many of the environmental conditions mushrooms love: a lot of shade provided by the canopy of the forest, very humid weather, and cooler temperatures during the warm months of the year.
Some of the North American species are listed in our shop. However, beginner microscopists may want to start with some of the more well known special spores on the mushrooms strains list:
Must-Know Strains of Most Popular Mushrooms Types
Cubensis Strains That Are Popular, Researched, and Documented
Some of the strains that every amateur microscopist should first become familiar with are Golden Teacher, Penis Envy, and b+ (or the b plus strain). This is because these three cubensis strains are extremely well researched and documented, which makes learning about their spores and working with them in the lab a much easier task.
The Golden Teacher spore syringe can yield heavily cultivated spore strains and is widely recognized due to its golden appearance. Golden Teachers is a strain worthy to examine due its famous notability for mushroom content. In the wild, this mushroom has been described as being – you guessed it – gold in color. It has a mild mushroom content, and psychonauts have described the effects as being introspective and calm. It’s a spiritual mushroom strain as described by many. It may not be the largest cubensis strain, but it is perhaps the most famous.
Penis Envy mushroom spores are included in a cubensis spore strain absolutely worth studying for both its value as an interesting strain of the species as well as for its historical and cultural value. The strain was discovered by Terence McKenna, a renowned author, speaker, and special advocate. This strain was originally discovered when he was on a trip to the Amazon rainforest.
Finally, B+ mushroom spores come from another excellent beginner mushroom strain. This is another spiritual mushroom strain, as described by psychonauts living in jurisdictions where mushrooms are legal. The strain has a recognizable cap and stem and under the microscope the spores are dark and visible, which is a big plus for beginners compared to other strains, which may have transparent spores that can be difficult to observe.
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