#mycology

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1. Enhances Brain Function

Maybe the most thoroughly researched feature of lion’s mane mushroom is its impact on brain cells and related functions. This incredible fungus may have revolutionary impact on neurodegenerative diseases.

One method by which lion’s mane affects brain function is by enhancing “neurite outgrowth” in the brain and related organs, according to research published in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. (3,4) Neurite outgrowth refers to the growth of axons and dendrites from neurons (anybody’s high school biology classes coming back?).

That’s a big deal in brain health research. By increasing this growth, it could potentially be possible to slow or reverse cell degeneration in the brain — the main characteristic of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

A 2012 study conducted in Malaysia found that consuming lion’s mane mushroom could actually regenerate damaged cells from peripheral nerve injury, an injury affecting the delicate tissue between your brain and spinal cord. (5)

When studying how brain diseases might be affected by particular medications or treatments, scientists often use what is known as the PC12 cell line for testing. Extracts and various forms of lion’s mane mushroom seem to have a major impact on PC12 cells, protecting them from damage and delaying their cell death significantly. This finding may prove to be extremely relevant for prevention or treatment of brain conditions. (6,7,8)

In animal research published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, lion’s mane mushroom stimulates cognitive function and helps improve memory in rats, both with and without an Alzheimer’s model. (9) Multiple studies have found an inverse correlation between lion’s mane and Alzheimer’s-related symptoms, meaning that after consuming the mushroom extract, the rats’ symptoms improved. (10,11)

An improvement of mild cognitive impairment in humans was also found in research published in Phytotherapy Research after eight to 16 weeks of lion’s mane supplementation, although this improvement did not last after subjects stopped taking this supplement. (12)

The danger of ischemic injury (damage caused by a lack of blood flow) to neurons is also of significance when you’re talking about brain damage and disease. In laboratory tests conducted in Taiwan, lion’s mane mushroom has been shown to help prevent this type of injury. (13)

Taking supplements of lion’s mane has also been found to have potentially protective effects on the spread of Parkinson’s disease, another neurodegenerative disorder, according to research published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. (14)

While this research is still in its infancy and has not progressed to large-scale human trials in most cases, the consistent effect lion’s mane mushroom has been found to have on brain cells should not be ignored.

2. May Protect Against Cancer

Lion’s mane may also be significant in treating cancer, according to a host of research. (15) In varying degrees, compounds from or supplementation with lion’s mane mushroom has been found to potentially slow the progression or reverse the spread of: leukemia cells in a Korean study. (16) Further Korean research conducted by the Department of Molecular Science and Technology at Ajou University found that thanks to the phytochemicals in lion’s mane mushroom, it has “therapeutic potential against human leukemia.” (17)

As far as gastric cancer is concerned, a study published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules found that lion’s mane caused cell death and cell cycle arrest with gastric cancer. The researchers concluded, “our study provides in vitro evidence that HEG-5 may be taken as a potential candidate for treating gastric cancer.” (18)

Studies published in the Journal of Natural Products and Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences unearth the ability of lion’s mane mushroom to treat lung cancer. (19,20) Meanwhile, according the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology and the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, lion’s mane exhibits anticancer activity against colon, breast and other cancers as well. (21,22)

Some studies actually suggest the use of lion’s mane mushroom supplements to treat cancer, although long-term and large-scale studies haven’t been conducted to prove that as a viable option.

Another interesting finding involved the metastasis (cancer spreading) from the colon to the lung. When a cancer spreads to more than the original organ in which it was found, a patient is considered to have stage IV cancer. In a study conducted on rats out of Korea, rats were given either hot water lion’s mane extract or microwaved ethanol extracts of lion’s mane mushroom. By consuming lion’s mane extract, the rats studied showed inhibited metastasis of cancer cells to the lungs by 66 percent and 69 percent, respectively. (23)

3. Supports Heart and Circulatory System Health

Lion’s mane mushroom might also help you in preventing heart disease. Research has found that extracts of lion’s mane can prevent the increase of LDL cholesterol (sometimes referred to as “bad” cholesterol), increase HDL, or “good,” cholesterol and lower triglycerides in the bloodstream, an early indicator of heart disease. (24,25)

Stroke, a lack of blood supply to the brain from the heart, is sometimes caused by blood clots. It’s also related to atherosclerosis, a serious heart condition. An extract of lion’s mane mushroom may be able to prevent blood clots and help to reduce the risk of stroke, according to a study by from the Department of Cellular Signaling, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Tohoku University in Japan. (26)

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4. Might Improve Digestive Health

Due in part to its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, lion’s mane mushroom might improve the function of your stomach and digestive system.

In multiple studies, lion’s mane mushroom has been shown to protect from or shrink gastric ulcers. For instance, according a study conducted on rats by the Mushroom Research Centre at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, researchers concluded the bioactive compounds in lion’s mane extract may be responsible for the gastroprotective activity exhibited on the rats. (27) Research from China published in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms confirms this, noting that “results indicate that the polysaccharide fraction is the active component of the H. erinaceus mycelium culture, which protects against gastric ulcers.” (28)

Lion’s mane may also significantly improve symptoms of two major inflammatory disorders of the digestive system, gastritisandinflammatory bowel disease. (29,30)

5. Reduces Inflammation

Although it’s a relatively different way of looking at health, research on natural ways to reduce inflammation is a major way natural health practitioners help prevent disease.

A 2015 study out of Japan found that lion’s mane mushroom was able to reduce inflammation in fatty tissue. This is important because fatty tissue inflammation is a factor in the formation of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. (31)

Lion’s mane also has antibacterial effects against h. Pylori, often considered “the most successful pathogen in human history.” Many people never have symptoms of carrying the bacteria, but for some people it causes severe gastric conditions, like ulcers in the stomach and/or intestines.

6. Acts as a Powerful Antioxidant

Fighting free radical damage has a number of health benefits, including the prevention of disease. The molecules in lion’s mane mushroom have antioxidant abilities and help prevent and relieve the oxidative stress caused by poor nutrition and exposure to chemicals in the environment. (34,35)

One specific way these antioxidants may be useful is in the healing of wounds. A study at the University of Malaya found that a liquid extract of lion’s mane sped up wound healing significantly compared to natural healing in rats. (36)

7. Improve Mental Health and Overall Well-Being

A lion’s mane mushroom supplement may also help you to feel better by improving sleep and reducing the effects of mental health issues.

The powerful polysaccharides extracted from lion’s mane have been shown to fight fatigue in mice trials. (40) They also might have the ability to adjust circadian rhythms back to normal, as they did on mice in a study conducted at the Department of Agro-environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture at Kyushu University, which is particularly significant for people who are at risk for dementia. (41)

Consuming lion’s mane mushroom may also be a natural remedy for depressionandanxiety. Thirty women were given either a placebo or lion’s mane for four weeks. Researchers concluded, “Our results show that HE intake has the possibility to reduce depression and anxiety and these results suggest a different mechanism from NGF-enhancing action of H. erinaceus.” (42) This seems to be related, in part, to the inflammation factor related to depression, as shown in mice studies. (43)

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8. Improves Immune Function

It’s important to know how to boost your immune system so your body can fight infection well. Lion’s mane seems to have the ability to enhance immune system function in a manner also related to the polysaccharide content in the fungus, according to research performed on mice. (44)

9. Might Be Useful for Managing Diabetes

A 2013 animal study showed marked improvement in blood glucose levels, insulin sensitivity and various other diabetes symptoms when an extract of lion’s mane mushroom was given to them. (45)

Possibly because of the antioxidant activity of lion’s mane, administering it to animals also seems to relieve pain caused by diabetic neuropathy.

>>>Always buy only products that contain more than 30% polysaccharides, preferably up to 50%.<<<

Oh, and btw there´s a guy who plays synths with mushrooms:

meganhodde:magical little pine cone world #mycology #mushrooms #cupfungus #nature #fungi #wa #pnw

meganhodde:

magical little pine cone world #mycology #mushrooms #cupfungus #nature #fungi #wa #pnw #upperleftusa #microcosmos #teenytiny (at Bridle Trails, Kirkland)


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Maronea polyphaea

Um … anyone else having trouble uploading/editing multiple-picture-posts? Is this a my dumb internet thing? Or a new post-version thing? Ugh, annoying. I will try not to let it get me down and color my opinion of today’s lichen, M. polyphaea. This crustose lichen has a thin, wrinkled, gray-green thallus with black-disked apothecia. The surface is often coated in a thin layer of powdery pruina. M. polyphaea grows closely attached to smooth tree bark in the SW U.S. Pretty sure. There are records of it growing elsewhere, but the description I am reading is pretty specific about that range. IDK, a lot of things aren’t making sense to me today. But you know what does make sense? Falling in love with little dudes like this.

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Nodobryoria abbreviata

Tufted foxtail lichen

I have been really thinking I need a haircut lately. I can’t pull off the long-haired, brunette look like N. abbreviata. This brittle, fruticose lichen grows on conifers in chaparral and coast-adjacent woodland. It has a reddish-brown, fruticose thallus, and flat, concolorous apothecia surrounded in a ciliate margin. Nododobryoria was only recognized as a sperate genus from Bryoria lichens in 1995 due to a difference in chemical composition and cellular structure. Goes to show you shouldn’t judge a lichen by its thallus–it’s what’s on the inside that counts!

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Xanthoria aureola

ok, before I get a bunch of messages and reblogs like “Oh! I’ve seen this! It’s all over my neighborhood!” I am gonna kill your hopes and dreams right now by saying what you are most likely seeing is Xanthoria parietina, which is super common pretty much everywhere and grows on just about everything. But, if your neighborhood happens to be a wind-swept, rocky, coastal habitat in Europe or northern Africa, this might actually be your guy! X. aureola is has a thick, golden-yellow to orange, foliose thallus made up of narrow, strap-shaped, overlapping lobes. It rarely produces apothecia, which are flat, round, and concolorous with the upper surface. It grows on nutrient-rich or siliceous rocks and cliffs along the seashore, and occasionally on walls and old wood.

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Platismatia herrei

Herre’s ragged lichen, tattered rag lichen

Can you believe people have the gall to describe P. herrei as “ragged?” When it is probably the most stunning thing I have seen today? The nerve, honestly. This foliose lichen has long, thin lobes that grow straight-up or drooping over. The lobe edges are covered in a thick layer of isidia (clonal propagules containing both algal and fungal components). The upper surface is typically a pale gray or green, sometimes turning brown after prolonged sun exposure. The lower surface is patchy white, gray, and brown with few rhizines. P. herrei grows on conifers in the Pacific NW of North America. And is beautiful and perfect and not ragged even a little bit.

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Diplotomma venustum

Venerating celebrities is out, venerating lichens is IN! Public figures will let you down and devastate you emotionally but you know who would never do that to you? D. venustum. They’re your unproblematic fave now. Deal with it.

This crustose lichen grows in thick, white rosettes dotted with black or chalky gray apothecia. It colonizes calcium-rich rocks and human-made surfaces in open areas of northern Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Greenland.

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Montanelia disjuncta

Dark lichens are easily overlooked compared to their flashier cousins, but when you get up close and personal, you can see how stunning they truly are! This strongly lobed, foliose lichen grows in rounded rosettes closely attached to vertical, siliceous rock. It has a dark olive to brown to black upper surface, and a dark, rhizinate lower surface. It produces dark brown to black soredia, and only rarely, sorediate-encircled apothecia. M. disjuncta grows in boreal and montane habitats in North America, Europe, northern Asia, and central Africa.

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Arthonia trilocularis

Can you believe this little little gray spot is a lichen? It’s true. A. trolocularis is a foliicolous lichen, meaning it grows on the surface of long-lasting leaves.

A little inside peak into Lichenaday HQ–when I search for images of a lichen, a lot of times I get pictures like this:

This is a picture from a botanical collection (The New York Botanical Garden in this one) of a lichen specimen. And a lot of times, these pictures are not that great. Like in this picture, it is hard to know what you are supposed to be looking at because there’s a big, dry, dead leaf with a bunch of splotches on it. And believe it or not, this is one of the better ones I’ve seen! Because A. trilocularis, the subject hear, is kinda just a splotch on a leaf, and this was the only picture of it I could find that actually like, shows *the leaf.* For a lot of other lichens, once they are dried and aged, they don’t look like the living specimen at all, and the pictures are often from such a distance that you can’t tell what the F you are looking at. But those are the only pictures I find for lots of species. I avoid posting them because they are usually not great to look at and not super helpful for field ID purposes, but I thought I’d share this one so you get an idea of the substrate for this little splotchy fella.

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Candelariella coralliza

Naming a kid anytime soon? Have you considered the name Coralliza? And they can go by Liza, and people will be like, “oh, like Liza Minnelli?” and they can be like “No, like the lichen.” This crustose lichen is described as coralloid, or coral-like in growth form. It grows in 2 mm thick patches of cracked, grainy, bright yellow thallus. It has flat-disked, yellow apothecia, often with a gray or black tint. C. coralliza is ornithocoprophilic, meaning it likes to grow where there is lots of bird poop! So you can often find it near coasts or high in the mountains, growing on rocks and roofs frequented by perching birds. Maybe not what you want to name your kid after, but maybe it would be a reminder that even beautiful things can some out of shitty situations.

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Cora timucua

I’ll be honest with you–not a big fan of April Fool’s day. Maybe because I am gullible, or not clever enough to think of my own pranks. So instead, I am sharing what I *hope* is an elaborate prank lichens are pulling on us–The Timucua Heart Lichen Project.

The Timucua Heart Lichen (Cora timucua) is a species of lichen endemic to Florida and the only species in the genus Cora to have inhabited the United States. It is named after the Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central portions of what is now Florida. While historically its range included large areas of Florida, the only areas where the lichen has been reported in the second half of the 20th century are the Ocala National Forest and the O’Leno State Park. Despite its showy appearance, the species has not been collected or observed since 1985, so it is at least critically endangered or possibly even extinct. The main goal of the proposed project is to conduct an extensive and cooperative search for the species throughout its historical range and areas where the species could potentially grow, to investigate if it still exists in the wild and if so, to propose actions for its conservation. The search will engage a diverse group of people, including scientific experts, lichen enthusiasts, land managers, and the general public. Cora timucua grew primarily on shrubs in the endangered Florida sand pine scrub ecoregion, of which only 10-15% is estimated to remain intact. Thus, the majority of the search effort will be conducted in that ecoregion.

I hope dearly that this gorgeous pal is just hiding somewhere out there, and we will find it alive and well in due time.

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Mount Tamborine, Queensland, AustraliaJAN-2017

Mount Tamborine, Queensland, Australia

JAN-2017


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Cedar Creek, Queensland, AustraliaJAN-2017

Cedar Creek, Queensland, Australia

JAN-2017


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monsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many monmonsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many monmonsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many monmonsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many monmonsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many monmonsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many monmonsternium:monsternium: BIG UPDATE! I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many mon

monsternium:

monsternium:

BIG UPDATE!

I’ve finally finished my biological patches set! After many months of designing, editing, and trial and error, I’m proud to post up photos of the final products!

They are woven with bright, beautiful colors that will endure many washes and adventures to come. They’re only $8 in my store:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Monsternium



Here are the first five patches in my biological patch set. Once all ten are made, the rainbow of studies will be complete! Each one is illustrated, digitized, and embroidered by me. Stay tuned for more! Next up is herpetology ;)

Reblogging this post for the update!

Reblogging again for yet another update! Newly added: Arachnology.

All the designs have been redrawn, new creatures picked. Super happy with these!

Available now in my shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Monsternium


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