Mushrooms are Having a Moment

So I took a journey into the fringes of fungal fascination — here’s what I learned

Doug Bierend
13 min readMay 28, 2021
Shanon, a voulnteer at Smugtown Mushrooms, holds a Reishi mushroom — 📷: Doug Bierend

What comes to mind when you hear or see the word ‘mushrooms’? Maybe it’s the red–and–white–speckled Amanita muscaria of Super Mario fame (seemingly the kingdom’s designated ambassador). Or maybe it’s the mental image of people with long hair, wearing tie-dye, open–toed sandals…

--

--

Doug Bierend

Wandering freelance writer and author living in upstate New York.