Austrian BioArt turns plastic waste into edible mushrooms. Photo: labiotech.eu
Even though the realm of fungi can help us make burial suits or edible lamps, I still remain the most impressed and hopeful at the prospect of us having packaging made of mycelium instead of petroleum. The fact that we could replace the unrecyclable Styrofoam with bio-degradable material definitely is good news for the ones who become depressed at the sight the unnecessary wrapping in supermarkets. However, what do we do with the billions of tons of plastic that still float in our oceans or remain in our mounting landfills? Truth is there is still a lot of waste which is still polluting our environment and we have no idea how to get rid of it.
Luckily for us, the University of Utrecht is determined to experiment in every way possible with mushrooms and their fantastic possibilities. This time, they teamed up with Livin Studio, a collaborative design development office that gathers inventors, innovators, designers, culinary artists and scientist under the same roof. This project is called Fungi Mutarium and it aims to create a new fungi food product grown on plastic waste alongside building the apparatus to grow it.
The process starts with the plastic being UV treated in the “Activation Cylinder”, which is at the bottom of the mutarium. This step is necessary because the UV rays will sterilize the plastic and trigger the decomposition process of the material, thus making it easier for the fungus to break down. Then, the “FU”s are placed in the mutarium’s “Growth Sphere” with the help of some pincers for the work to be as sterile as possible. To explain, “FU” is the shape on which the fungus grows and it is made from agar – a seaweed based gelatin substitute. This is also mixed with starch and sugar, which both work as a nutrient base for the fungus. The fungi that they use are Schizophyllum commune and Pleurotus ostreatus that can be found anywhere in the world.
The shape of the FU was designed to hold the plastic but as well to offer enough space for the mushroom to grow. And because it is intended to be eaten by people, the Growth Sphere was made to resemble the harvesting mushrooms in the wild.
The plastic is then inserted in the FU to be digested and then the liquid nutrient solution in which there are fungi sprouts is dropped unto the FU’s to kindle the growing process. After a couple of weeks the plastic disappears and what is left is a FU which is edible due to the fact that the mushroom breaks down the plastic without storing it, like in the case of metals.
This experiment, doesn’t aim to digest all the plastic waste there is in the world, but rather to come up with a new technology to farm under extreme environmental conditions. However, it does prove that plastic can be broken down by fungi.
Another interesting fungus able to break down plastic is Pestalotiopsis microspora (found in the Amazon forest), an incredible fungus known also to break down styrofoam and plastic by-products.
Image courtesy: fineline.my.co
Even though we might usually be too busy to contemplate about it, we all know it: the world today faces a lot of problems. Whether they are environmental, political or economic or whether they arise by mistake, ignorance or culture, we have to deal with them sooner or later. When enough resources are found, researches are undergone, which increases the chances for that problem to be eventually tackled. But even though you presented facts to a person which would make you more credible than if you only talked about it, it is not certain you would produce a change of perspective – humankind can be particularly stubborn when it comes to holding on to its interests and beliefs.
In these kind of situations, art comes in handy. For centuries, it has served as a tool for artists to spread a certain message, to reflect the society or to underline perhaps a not so evident thing to people. It can be an effective way of critique towards the establishment and could bring societal change or simply raise awareness. Obviously, as any tool, it can be used in malevolent ways, just like the dictatorial states have used it for propaganda. However, it can do what sometimes incomprehensible and dusty researches cannot do – convince the people.
This is what Liora Yuklea, a MFA student at the Design for Social Innovation program at the School of Visual Arts in New York, tried to do in her first semester. The result of the semester was a piece she entitled “A Fine Line”.
The project started out from the problem of food waste: a third of the food produced is thrown away. Imagine the world’s biggest stadium full to its entire capacity – that’s how much good quality untouched food goes to waste every single day in the USA. But simply throwing food away is not the only cause for this problem; a lot of food gets wasted because it doesn’t meet the “aesthetics standards” of size, color, weight and blemish level. In Britain, 40% of the fruit and vegetable crops don’t make it to the shops because they look too “ugly”. Our obsession with appearance creates ‘a fine line’ between two types of fruits or vegetables perfectly good to consume.
She created a dining set (a table with two chair and two plates) halved in two different realities – one part that is industrially produced and with a perfect finish and the other part, grown organically from a mix of mushroom mycelium and wood waste. She based the naturally grown part in the principle that the fungus can digest anything that is cellulose based. In the process of growing the material, the mycelium forms a spongy matrix of a material called chitin; it can take up any space and the growth continues as long as there is something for the mushroom to feed on and as long as there is moisture. If you dry it (at around 180 F) you stop the growing process. This requires the use of mushroom spawn as inoculum for plant based substrates which may be purchased or can be made.
This principle is the same Ecovative uses when manufacturing the packaging or the bricks. Liora started experimenting by inoculating petri dishes and jars of woodchips, gypsum and wheat germ with Reishi and Oyster mycelium. However, because of lack of experience a lot of the samples were contaminated and thus unusable. This lack of experience with growing organic furniture and also the pressure of time made her contact Ecovative itself to ship her their live mycelium and wood waste mix plus some already prepared mycofoam panels as back up. In the end, she managed to have the art piece created in time for the exhibition and deliver her ingenious metaphor.
You can find the whole development of her project and get inspired at fineline-my.co.
Photo courtesy: beautifuldecay.com
Every day, we go on with our lives, with our more or less conscious routines, striving to survive or succeed in this world. And even though each member of the society is well-aware of the fact that death will eventually interfere with his or her life, we all are culturally used to dismiss the thought, doing everything in our capability to avoid thinking about death. You can see this in the mainstream obsession with looking young or the amount of money and time invested in this aim, but also in the tradition of embalming the deceased.
However, beyond cultural perception, it is high time we addressed the issue of dying as cemeteries are becoming too full for new ‘residents’. A consequence of this is the increase in cremations burials which hardly seems like a better alternative since it is extremely polluting – in the UK, 16% of the mercury pollution was caused by cremation, due to our dental fillings.
Indeed, there seems to be a new solution to this problem: green burials. This practice which started in the 1980’s as a backlash against crowded cemeteries in the UK translates into abandoning these unnatural practices such as formaldehyde-based embalming, metal caskets or concrete burial vaults. It’s basically how humans have been burying the dead for hundreds of years: letting the body be food for the soil.
Unfortunately, researches showed that even this way it’s not that environmentally good as one might hope for. Truth is that during our lifetime we store a lot of environmental toxins in our body. The most common might be bisphenol A (BPA) which is a material hardener and a synthetic estrogen that’s found in the lining of canned foods and some types of plastics. It mimics the hormones of our body and can cause neurological and reproductive problems. Studies found that BPA can be found in 93% of people aged 6 or older. But the Centers of Disease Control in the US argues that there are over 200 toxic chemicals in our body; these include tobacco residues, dry cleaning chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, flame-retardants, heavy metals, preservatives, etc. And after we die,all of them end up into the environment, through our bodies.
But artist Jae Rhim Lee came up with a solution, creating the Infinity Burial Project and what she refers to in her Ted talk as the “ninja pijamas”. With the idea in mind that the toxins in our body should not enter the ecosystem through decomposition, she created a mushroom burial suit. The costume is accompanied by a fungal strain that consumes dead human tissue, thus decontaminating the body, in a process of mycoremediation. Pleurotus ostreatus is one of those universal mushrooms that are able to colonize even flesh. This mushroom is already used in cleaning toxic sites and the lead researcher in this field is Paul Stamets. With organic toxins, fungi break down molecular bonds this way neuterlizing toxins or they break toxins down into simpler, less toxic chemicals. With heavy metals for example, the fungi bind the toxins through a process called chelation, making the chemicals harmless.
The mushrooms used are of two types: edible and mycorrhizal. The first ones are decomposers that can break down a variety of food producing enzymes while the latter type creates relationships with plant roots while also delivering nutrients to them.
By feeding dead skin, hair and nail to the mushrooms, Lee cultivated a fungal strain that would be able both to produce edible mushrooms and remediate toxins in our body. (However, the part with production of edible mushrooms is still being experimented with). In 2015, she joined with Michael Ma and founded together Coeio, a “green funeral start-up”. Their Infinity Burial Suit is a handcrafted garment, is biodegradable (of course) and was designed with the help of the zero waste designer Daniel Silverstein. As far as I know, one person already was buried in this suit and here is his story
To conclude, although the fact that even in death we can still pollute the Earth is thoroughly depressing, at least mushrooms combined with science and creativity can offer us eco-friendly funerals.
Source & photo courtesy: neffa.nl
After all these reports I’ve been writing, I bet every reader has understood by now how wondrous fungi are. Moreover, as researches are exploring new possibilities, I think it’s very clear what an environmentally sustainable alternative the kingdom of fungi offers to already existing mundane things such as packaging, bricks or even paper.
So why would the fashion industry be the exception to this rule? Even though inspiration might come from past trends, designers are up to experimenting with different things in their humane quest to innovate the craft. Nowadays, probably the most inspiring tool is provided by technology which offers a new and limitless playground. Also, this technology is used for testing ideas for products with smaller impact on the environment, a subject that keeps on expanding as the concern regarding the future of our planet is growing. Thus, it seems more than logical that the second most polluting industry on Earth should look for ecological alternatives.
One such initiative comes to life through Neffa company. Their name means in Dutch “wanting to do things just that bit differently” and their self-described mission is “to create textiles that act like living organisms and with which we live in symbiosis”. They aim to create materials using biotechnology that would resemble the skin and its dynamic. They are researching several organisms, for example algae and mycelium, but what I’ll be talking about is how the company uses mycelium to create a sort of textile, which they called mycoTex. This fungus material resulted from growing the mushroom in Petri plates on agar based media witch requires knowledge in Spawn Lab Training and clean room techniques and may be learned by anyone interested to create fungal innovations.
The soul of the company is Aniela Hoitink, a textile designer. In the beginning she was interested in creating a textile out of a living product, which will eventually end up in a wearable piece of clothing. That is how she began experimenting with mycelium that is the vegetative part of a fungus. What encouraged her in using the mycelium were the insulating and moisture-absorbing proprieties of it, which a lot of textiles miss. However, she was not alone in her endeavor: the University of Utrecht and Maurizio Montalti were helping with the technical part. What they tried to experiment with was: growing mycelium onto natural fibers, growing it with polymer spacer fabrics and growing it in a 3D star shaped petri-dish.
Some of the initial findings of these experiments were that mycelium does not grow on a tight knitted or woven fabric and that mycelium does not use the textile as a food source.
Eventually, Aniela developed the composite product named MycoTex and then decided to build a textile out of modules and shaped these circular pieces around a body form, thus creating the Neffa dress. This creation is groundbreaking because it can be built whilst being made, fitting the customer’s wishes, because it eliminates the possible leftovers made during the process and it can be composted when it’s no longer desired.
Another such invention came to life by the hands of Danish product designer Jonas Edward, who created a material called MYX, which is grown from mushroom spores and plant fibers. His idea combines natural plant fibers (agricultural waste) and oyster mycelium. During the production of the material which takes about two weeks, the mycelium spreads through the textile matt (hemp and linen fibers), behaving like a glue between the fibers. The mycelium who continues to collect energy from the plant material, breaks down the cellulose into sugar, in this way producing mushrooms ready to be eaten! (If the material is dried, there will be no “offsprings”). In the end, the creation of this material, from which the designer made a lamp with, produces no waste – something that the creator aimed for and which is also a great achievement in today’s manufacturing.
Photo courtesy: Dorothy Smullen
Source: namyco.org
Throughout my life I’ve wasted a lot of time in bookstores, glancing at colored notebooks or tiny agendas, with their thicker or thinner covers alluring you to buy them or offer them as a gift. I didn’t even think that there might exist an alternative to this cellulose empire.
Luckily, the fungi kingdom doesn’t fail to make itself useful this time either: yes, you can make paper out of mushrooms. (Technically, paper can be properly called “paper” only if processed from materials which contain lignin, but to simplify this, I will refer to it as paper).
The fundamental ingredient in plant based paper is cellulose fibers which have been used since the first century C.E. The invention was preceded by clay tablets, papyrus or animal skin, all which were means of communication. Fiber paper spread in the 6th century in China and Japan, reaching Europe only in the 10th century. Since then, the process has been heavily mechanized and instilled in our everyday life.
But in the 1970, people became interested in other sources of fiber for paper production. Through experimentation, it was concluded that such could be extracted from shells of shrimp. In these, one could find a substance called chitin, similar to the one found in fungi. This information inspired Miriam C. Rice (whom we’ve already spoken about and alongside with her mushroom-dying experiments) to experiment making paper from different kind of fungi, primarily from polypores.
Before delving into the actual process of making paper into your home, let us mention some of the species of fungi most suitable for this task. Even though fleshy mushrooms can still be used, the best are the hard, woody, tree-dwelling and conks or other fibrous fungi. Some varieties good to be used include: Trametes versicolor, Piptoporus betulinus, Ganoderma lucidum (also known as Reishi or Ling Chi) or Fomitopis species. Some ways of getting wood conks are purchasing, foraging or cultivating them.
After collecting fresh or dried fungi, they should be soaked at least overnight. (They can be soaked for weeks if the water is changed every 2-3 days). One may add recycled papers, colored threads or strips. Tip: if you add newspaper, you will get gray overtones. Generally, the shades will vary from pale, almost white to deep ecru, even brown.
In the preparation of the process you should order a thick stack of newspapers over which there should be other absorbent materials. You should also have your deckle and your mould prepared, whether you make it yourself or buy it.
After soaking the mushrooms, chop and then grind them with water in a blender until you obtain a puree. Dump the stock you got into the tray with plenty of water and stir until the materials are well distributed. Then, with your hands, move from side to side under the surface of the water to line up the fibers. Afterwards, with your deckle and mould, submerge it under the surface and quickly lift up. Quickly, move it in both directions to ensure a good coverage. Let the paper drip back, until most of the water has run off. Now that your “piece of paper” is done you have to transfer it on another surface. You have to rapidly flip it onto a sheeting or a toweling. Cover the sheet with a screen and soak up excess water with a sponge. Afterwards you have to be careful with how you take off the screen off the paper – it shouldn’t become too dry.
The last step is drying the paper: for this, one should continue to replace the newspapers and the covering cloths. (Ironing over a cover cloth might speed up the process). When fully dried, hang or, in case you wish for a very flat paper, put the paper under weights while also changing the cloths frequently.
And here you have it: your own piece of paper with fungus!
Photo courtesy: Mushroom dyes with Alissa Allen
As I am researching these topics to write small reports later, I am simply astonished by how many uses fungi can have. Moreover, as I’m telling all of these incredible facts to my friends I realize that I’m not the only one who didn’t have a clue regarding this vast topic. So, I’m asking you now: did you know that you can make dye out of mushrooms?
The North American Mycological Association reckons that it all started with artist Miriam C. Rice. It was after a spontaneous experiment that she figured out she could use mushrooms for creating dyes. This was happening in the 1970’s and over the years people, interesting in her experiments helped her, providing with different mushroom specimens. Gradually, she was able to build a collection and expand her knowledge as she was dyeing wool, silk or cotton. Encouraged by textile artists, Miriam wrote a book, published in 1975, which was named “Let’s try Mushrooms for Color”. It was the first book on this topic, spreading the new ideas internationally, just like mushrooms spread spores.
The process of dyeing with mushrooms is the same as for all natural dyes. Chopped up or mashed, the fungi are added to simmering water in a non-reactive pot (enamel/ stainless steel). The proportion of mushrooms and fiber is usually 1:1. The materials are added to the pot and left simmering for 30 to 60 minutes, or else, until the desired color is obtained in the fiber. Wool, silk, mohair, angora or other protein fibers effortlessly accept dyes. However, similar successful results can be achieved also with hemp, cotton, linen or synthetic fibers.
For it to be used for dyeing, the mushroom must contain in itself a water soluble pigment that will make it sun and wash resistant. The majority of mushrooms already contain pigments that will make a good lightfast and colorfast without the use of a mordant. However, pre-using a mordant (metallic salt which while simmered, binds the fiber with the color) might improve these proprieties. Miriam also used several mordant types in her experiments (potassium aluminum sulfate, potassium dichromate, stannous chloride, copper sulfate, iron sulfate, etc) until she figured the “safest” are alum and iron.
During the first experiments with color, the dyes that Miriam obtained were yellow, gold, orange, burnt sienna, brown and every similar shade. Then came rose, red and burgundy hues, later achieving other kinds of colors.
A couple of the best mushrooms for color
Phaeolus schweintzii, nicknamed “the dyer’s polypore”, can be best picked and dried when the outer growing edge. It is native to North America and Eurasia but there are some specimens in New Zeeland, Australia and South Africa. Depending on the mordant used and material dyed, it can produce green, yellow, gold, or brown tones.
Hapalopilus nidulans or the tender nesting polypore, purple dye polypore, or the cinnamon bracket, it can be found on any continent. It is a small, annual wood rotting polypore on deciduous twigs and branched of birch and oak. It is used in mushroom dyeing for producing the color purple.
Inonotus hispidus, commonly known as shaggy bracket is a large annual polypore, found on species of oak in eastern North America. At mid-age, when the fruiting body goes from yellow orange to deep burnt orange, it’s best to pick. It cuts like hard cheese and, depending on the age of the fruiting body, on the quantity and on the mordants used, the color range will be yellow, dark orange, khaki or brown.
First thing to do if you consider to start such an interesting project is to look into the identification process of these mushrooms. Foraging For Wild Mushrooms is fun and rewarding to all of those that want to start a wonderful passion.
Source: ecovativedesign.com
As far as I know, every person who has Internet connection is well aware of the continuous stream of news about the pollution of our planet and how the future on planet Earth doesn’t look too bright. Even though some people might continue disbelieving or may not want to accept it, we are facing a lot of environmental problems. And one of them is plastic and our dependence on it.
Plastic has been around for less than a century, but still, it has permeated every aspect of our life. In our society, it is extremely hard, almost impossible to live a plastic free life – even the vegetables you buy from the supermarket are uselessly wrapped in plastic. And this overuse and the reckless disposal of it has led the scientists to predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than marine life. Sure, it may be hard to believe. Most of us are not aware what happens to our waste after we throw it away. But for scientists or for people who live near beaches, who are seeing how trash washes on their shore every day, it is an obvious fact.
So, after hearing at breakfast about the huge pile of trash in the Pacific, three times the size of France, it seems very important for people to think about alternatives to plastic, which we discard so easily.
One solution came from the company I’ve already written about –Ecovative. They have successfully created “fungi packaging”, this way replacing the Styrofoam packaging, the generally known polystyrene. The latter uses oil, a limited resource in an energy-consuming process. It is hard to recycle and usually ends its life cycle in our oceans, taking too much time to degrade.
After two years of trial and error they managed to create this awesome alternative to Styrofoam. This is how fungi packaging comes to life: first, the company buys agricultural byproducts such as corn husks from local farms and cleans it. Then, the mycelium is added and is left for a few days. As it reaches out to digest the agricultural waste, the mycelium grows fibers. Afterwards, the mixture is broken into loose particles which are left in a shaped mould for a couple of days. Just like Styrofoam, the mycelium takes the shape of the mould and forms a solid shape. The shape is removed from the mould and dried to prevent the mushroom to grow and spread spores.
This process requires one to have knowledge in clean room techniques and Spawn Lab Training
Even though small, Ecovative has evidently managed to draw attention to itself; it won Dutch Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, a global $750,000 sustainable business prize. In 2011, the World Economic Forum named it a “technology pioneer”. It also won grants by the US EPA, the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture.
Ecovative also signed to license its packaging technology to Sealed Air, a packaging and material company that makes for example Bubble Wrap. Sealed Air will help Ecovative advertise and sell the “fungi packaging” – the customers include Dell, Steelcase and Crate & Barrel. In addition, Ikea plans to replace its packaging with mushroom packaging.
However, Ecovative are not the only ones who are looking hopefully into the future. University of Utrecht is currently experimenting with fungi, trying to emulate different types of plastic, more elastic or harder ones, enabling more than one type of plastic being replaced with an organic alternative.
Hopefully, the future is fungi.
Another day means another opportunity to write about how awesome mushrooms are. The reasons why they are so great are numerous and in the current context, in which the degradation of our planet urgently calls for more sustainable solutions, they prove themselves to be a too-good-to-be-true alternative. In today’s report I will talk about and try to shed a light on the building properties of mycelium.
Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus or any similar fungus bacterial colony. They grow beneath the ground and consist in frost looking and thread like hyphae. It is through this part that the fungi absorb the nutrients from the environment. Mycelium is indispensable in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems because it breaking down dead organic matter, thus being nature’s recyclers. Also, for the ones who don’t know already, the mushrooms that we use in cuisine are the fruiting bodies of this mycelium. Funnily enough, apparently, humans share more than half of their DNA with fungi.
An authority in the domain of the building properties of mycelium is artist and fungo-enthusiast Phillip Ross, In the beginning he saw mycelium just as an art material and that idea pushed him to make furniture or using it in art installations. He also made mycelium bricks and built an arch that could be the promoter of some of the ideas of using fungus as building material.
Knowledge in Spawn Lab Training is necessary for anyone wanting to get creative with mushroom bricks or composites.
Another similar company is Ecovative, which aims to develop multiple uses for mycelium, like packaging or construction bricks. Into making this material they combine agricultural byproducts such as corn stalks, rice hulls or chopped up plant stalks, with fungal mycelium, which works as a “self-assembling binder”. Basically, the fungus makes a hard polymer that’s like plastic, binding everything together. Thus, in 2013, they built a little house, their first structure grown entirely out of using their fungus material. The chopped substrate is placed between two pine boards and then colonized by the fungus –this serves as insulation, and the structure of the little building.. Over the course of a month it dries naturally and becomes dormant. The only way it can fruit is due to improper construction, through gaps, but can be easily trimmed off before it produces fruitbodies. The house was built on top of a trailer, for mobility, it is equipped with acoustic panels to reduce the noise inside and is very fire resistant.
In 2014, the architecture firm called “The Living” created, for MoMA PS1’s Young Architect Program, a completely organic and compostable building which they named Hi-fi, referencing the hyphae. They manufactured bricks with the same principles as Ecovative, taking the idea from them. After researching and testing, they came to the conclusion it will be safe to build a 40-feet into the air construction with 10,000 bricks. Moreover, durability tests on the bricks proved them to be very resistant.
In conclusion, this new technology, even though in need of further research, proves itself to be very promising, especially when the main source is a natural one, with little carbon footprint. Until it becomes main-stream, we can only hope that the way we think architecture will be revolutionized with these innovations.
Photo courtesy: youthareawesome.com
For centuries the masterfully crafted Stradivarius violins have been enchanting the world of musicians with their distinctively finer sounds. The instruments, around 650 of them in the world, have been revered and passed on for generations or sold for millions of dollars.
But you might be asking what a Stradivarius violin, viola or cello might have to do with fungi? Let me explain.
In the quest to decipher what exactly made the renowned instruments so special, scientists have several theories. One modern hypothesis is implying that the wood which Stradivari used to make the instruments grew during a period of global cold temperature, the “Little Ice Age”. This period, cca between 1645 to 1750, called Mander Minimum, is associated with unusually low solar activity, thus cooler temperatures throughout Europe. This is thought to have stunted and slowed down tree growth, making the wood less dense and more elastic. The conclusions of their study was published in the journal called “Dendrochronologia”.
Commonly, the wood used to make instruments is treated with substances such as varnishes, primers or minerals to stiffen it. This process increases the density and the vibrating mass, which reduces the speed of sound and the resonance frequencies. Other chemical treatments increase the dynamic modulus of elasticity and decrease the damping factor, but in the end, because the crystallinity of the cell wall is increased, it is considered to be disadvantageous for the wood processing.
So, in order to manufacture instruments that could compete in quality with the reputed Stradivarius, scientists Francis Schwarze and Mark Schubert had an idea which involves the fungus, namely Physisporinus vitraeus. What they want to achieve is superior “mycowood” (wood with fungal treatment) that would provide manufacturers with materials for better-sounding yet cheaper instruments.
Physisporinus vitraeus is a basidiomycete (Polyporales, Meripilaceae) – It can be distinguished by its characteristic decay, a clearly visible white rot. The fungus forms on angiosperms, and seldom on gymnosperms. It can be found in North America, Puerto Rico, Europe and New Zeeland. In addition, studies have shown that isolates of Physisporinus vitraeus have the ability to induce significant permeability changes in the heartwood without losing impact bending strength.
For their study, Schwarze and Schubert chose wood specimens of Norway spruce and sycamore, studying them microscopically, mechanically and physically, before and after incubation.
Incubation of Norway spruce wood with Physisporinus vitraeus caused density loss and cell wall thinning; this means that the partly degraded wood resembled superior resonance wood grown under cold climate conditions. By assessing the specimens, the scientists found alterations in the wood structure which now had lower density and little change in the speed of sound. After 20 weeks incubation, the wood had reduced in density by more than 10% and it was noticed an increase in sound radiation, without any weakening of the structure.
In conclusion, the study proved that treating wood with fungus, making it into “mycowood”, improves considerably the quality of the wood and makes it usable for instruments resembling the Stradivarius ones. This technology is very important in a time when, because of the global warming, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find naturally grown, superior-quality resonance wood.
Products made of tinders. a Hat. b Fridge magnets. c Brush-holder. d Bag. e–f Tablecloths. Photo courtesy: Papp et al. (2015)
Apart from being a delicious and nutritively diverse source of food, fungi has been holding a significant place in the beer industry, agriculture and medicine. Nowadays, people are finding new ways of playing with this natural resource making up sustainable packaging and even furniture.
However, in a specific place in the heart of Transylvania, in the Harghitacounty,in Corund, there is an older, traditional handcraft which works with tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius)to create hats and other ornamental accessories.
Fomes fomentarius is a species of fungus plant pathogen which can be found in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Some of the common names are tinder fungus, hoof fungus (because of its appearance) or ice man fungus. The last name is attributed to the discovery of a 5,000 old mummy preserved in ice, which among its objects had this type of fungus as part of its “fire-making attire”, hence its use in helping starting a fire.
One of the most important aspects about this fungus is its ecologic role, as a natural recycler of damaged, unusable trees, thus cleaning the forest floor. In addition to this, it is also softening the bark for other forest creatures such as birds and squirrels to nest in the trees.
Ethnomedicinally, the fungus has been used to cauterize wounds, treat frostbite and has been made into teas or cataplasms to treat infections and arthritis.
Going back to the Transylvanian region of Corund, we learn that the craft of making hats and other things out of tinder fungus is carried on by a handful of “taplász, toplász” families(their number continuously declining).
The fungus usually grows on old beech and birch trees. They must have grown at a minimum 1,500 m altitude and be 2-3 years old.The process, which is carried out by the man and is completed with ornamentation by the woman, starts with the collection of the fungi. The selected fruit bodies are cut off when they are 3-4 meters on the trunk. Then, they are cut on the edge to see if they are damaged by flies or worms.
Before the trimming part, which is of great importance, the fungi must be soaked in hot water to moisten and be easier to cut. This process is carried out with a sickle or a knife on the protected knee of the man. He must ensure not to cut cross two layers. If the layer is cut well and of a good thickness, the man will be able to start stretching it in his hands. After that, it is flattened with a hammer and pulled onto a mould made of wood of a certain dimension, according to the desired head size. Then, the brim of the hat is formed after it is left 30 minutes in the sun to dry, the hat is ready.
However, the hat is not the only object created by the crafty families. Following a similar process, long stripes of fungus are cut into various sizes and shapes. The most common ornaments besides the hat are tablecloths, bags, brush-holders and scarves. Usually, they are decorated with leaves or flowers motives carved onto a wooden negative, on which the stripe is ironed to retain its shape. For them to have a darker hue, the iron stays longer on the fungus.
In the end, these handcrafted products are sold in the markets in Transylvania, Hungary or Germany.
Although being the resource for a unique and disappearing practice, Fomes fomentarius is not the only fungus from which objects can be moulded. Another such fungus is the birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus).
The use of fungus as building material is already known and several companies are currently playing around with this idea. The result is various shapes with a wide range of application (you name it). Practically fungus mycelium maybe be turned into almost anything from fabric to bricks, furniture, containers, art objects, or building boards. It’s a very practical aproach, involves a simple procedure, and follows an eco-friendly path. Of course there’s still things to look into like what fungus has better binding properties, texture, elasticity, resistance and so on but this is rather a comparison matter that mostly depends on the product to be designed.
The process is simple and involves the use of a clean air flow hood witch may be purchased or built with low investment
I had the chance to meet artist Phil Ross -the creator of the chairs displayed in the picture above. He has a studio in San Francisco and works with mycelium, he is also the cofounder of MycoWorks company focused on mycelium derived products. Some of these products like furniture has been set for a sales price of up to $3000.
Chair and armchair fungus mycelium furniture by Phil Ross
The mycelium structure is well compacted, hard as a rock and presents fungus fruitbody primordias (visible on the armchair) that actually would massage your butt if you’ll sit on it. The fungus used is Reishi (Ganoderma sp.) which is a fast substrate colonizer and bind and cover the whole material with a hard crusty chitinous layer of mycelium.
In Phil’s workshop I saw also a bunch of bricks sitting on top of eachother. He also built a wall type structure using such bricks that surely could be used to build even a house; however, this surely would need lots of improvements. He showed us compacted boards made of mycelium but hardly distinguishable from wood which made me think of rigips walls and other materials used in construction.
What’s important to highlight here is that these materials are eco-friendly: they are made of agricultural or wood wastes via fungus power which has an enormous ability to follow any shape you give it and the final result is harder than a brick and also fire resistant, all of which makes a valuable and reliable material with amazing potential for application in many fields of the industry.
Now back to furniture, fungus mycelium could be used for building customizable furniture with a more natural look and a design that’s different than what we actually see on the market today.
Fungus mycelium lamps. Photo: inhabitat.com
This is a very cool and creative approach that anyone who n-joyes cooking and building would find lots of satisfaction when playing around with this. Cooking? yes! because making spawn and playing around with fungus mycelium is just like cooking: follow the recipe or get creative with the ingredients you have and give birth to amazing art works.
If you’re interested in this you’ll need spawn. Purchase it from local spawn suppliers or make it yourself. Mostly Reishi (Ganoderma sp.), Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) or Mesima (Phellinus sp.) are used because of their superior binding properties but feel free to try some other mushroom kinds. Explore and experiment with it, take notes and see what’s the outcome.
Steps to follow
- Get some hardwood sawdust, corn cobs, or agricultural waste
- Mix it up with 2% hydrated lime and 2% gypsum
- Add water to it to regulate moisture content
- Place that in a container or a filter bag (at this step you may use the desired shape container)
- Fold the bag and heat disinfect that for 1 hour (pasteurize or sterilize it)
- Let it cool
Next mix it up with fungus mycelim (5%) - Place it into the desired shape (make sure to clean that with 70% alcohol or other disinfectant) and cover that to avoid contamination
- Allow time for full colonization
If possible use a press to make the whole colonized material dense (otherwise it might shrink and loose it’s shape) - Dry it up or let it dry
The steps described above it’s just the standard method but feel free to create your own methodology. Best is to sterilize the substrate but this requires knowledge on fungus tissue transfer and clean room techniques -part of the Spawn Lab Training Program. Of course you ‘ll also need mushroom spawn for this that you may purchase or make yourself. Also try different fungi and see which one works best. Think about letters, animal shapes, boxes, or anything that comes in mind, get creative let your mind flow ??Don’t forget that in fresh state your mycelium shape will be well defined and robust pretty much how it should be but if not dried right away with time it will shrink and alter it’s form. What you see in the image above it’s the altered form of a once well defined shape.
The hardest thing of the whole process is to ensure a mold free substrate. Some lab substrate preparation and inoculation techniques will help you avoid running into such issues but always a good habit is to use fast colonizing fungi able to colonize your substrate at a fast rate and prevent mold formation. Use any material from coarsely ground corn cobs to ground straw or deciduous wood sawdust. You can try doing this at home (without lab conditions) by purchasing spawn, heat pasteurizing sawdust and than inoculating that in open air but this could turn somewhat tricky due to high mold formation risk. If you think of setting up a lab for this you’ll need a flowhood, an autoclave/pressure cooker or a low-pressure steam disinfection device (diy) and some lab consumables -this will significantly reduce contamination risk.
Mushrooms love moisture, but you’ll need to find a balance between what’s too moist and what looks like a moisture lacking substrate. Grab a handful of substrate when squeezed you shouldn’t see water dripping (1-3 water drops will be fine though).