Last fall I wrote about mycelium for the first time when I uncovered a large amount growing in a mulch pile I had. Since then I have learned much more about one of the base products needed for a great garden or flowerbed. Mycelium, is an underground network of fungal threads, that hold many benefits for us and recently studies are being conducted to study how mycelium allow plants to communicate with each other. Sounds far fetched but it is true, it has even been nicknamed the “Wood Wide Web”. Plants use chemical signaling that is shared with other plants on the mycelium network. When a plant is attacked by pests or pathogens it releases chemicals that travel along the mycelium network to warn neighboring plants, prompting them to activate defense mechanisms. Plants can also share resources like carbon, nitrogen and water to neighbors via the mycelium network. While not communicating in the traditional sense of the word, it is communication none the less. You may have heard of Lion’s Mane mushrooms and how they can enhance brain function. I myself hadn’t heard of Lion’s Mane mushrooms until seeing a show on TV and then having to do some research. And research has shown that Lion’s Mane, which by the way is mycelium, may help Alzheimer patients with cognitive recall. There are so many things we still don’t know about just how beneficial mycelium can be, but here are a few uses of mycelium right now. Food production as mushrooms are the reproductive parts of mycelium. Mycelium is used to grow the mushrooms we like to eat like oyster, shiitake and lion’s mane, providing nutritious, protein rich food. Bioremediation, mycelium break down pollutants such as oil spills, pesticides, and heavy metals cleaning contaminated soils and making the environment safer. Environmentally sustainable materials as mycelium can be processed into eco-friendly alternatives, like packaging, textiles and bio-degradable building materials, reducing the need for plastics and other non-renewable products. Mycelium is medicine with fungi derived compounds, like penicillin and other antibiotics, which come from mycelium research. Further research also shows potential in developing antiviral and anticancer drugs. In Japan, a mycelium compound called PSK, is an approved therapy for multiple types of cancer, but unfortunately because mycelium isn’t produced by big pharma, mass testing is not likely to happen and therapies and protocols won’t be approved. Of course mycelium is important in agriculture. Mycelium form symbiotic relationships with plant roots, mycorrhiza, enhancing nutrient and water uptake, improving crop yields and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Here is a big one, carbon sequestration, something even I didn’t know about. Mycelium absorb and store carbon back into the soil thereby reducing potential climate change due to carbon emissions. And lastly, waste decomposition which is where I found my mycelium. Mycelium accelerates the breakdown of organic waste from food scraps to farm manure. My pile of mulch had been laying there for a year and a half and the mycelium started to break down the mulch eventually turning it back into soil. Mycelium is truly a magic.