Amanita

Amanite, Boleet, Chanterelle... all members of the fungi alphabet 

Who doesn't know the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) with its red hat with white dots? But did you also know that the 'first' antibiotic penicillin is produced by a fungus (Penicillium notatum)? And that mycorrhizal fungi form an underground thread network that lives in symbiosis with plants? Plant and fungus keep each other alive. 

Fungi are very important for the life cycle in nature and in our economy. Meise Botanic Garden has a long tradition of research. The herbarium contains about 160,000 fungi, with a strong focus on Central Africa and the Benelux countries. 

Research into the relationship between fungi and plants sometimes yields surprising results. In the Miombo forests in Central Africa, the local ectomycorrhiza produce a lot of edible mushrooms during the rainy season (up to 240kg/ha/year). These forests, mainly containing trees from the legume family, are rapidly disappearing for charcoal production and to make way for arable land for the growing population. As the trees are uprooted, the symbiotic relationship is ended, the fungus dies and mushroom production stops. Both mushrooms and charcoal are important for the local economy. A sustainable strategy, involving the whole community, managing woodland for reliable supplies of both charcoal and edible mushrooms, would conserve ecosystem services and support development.