[JoeProBono]

Shiitake mushrooms grow on a log exposed to lightning-like electricity.

[nickcarraway]

What makes them do calculus?

[cripplecreek]

I’ll stick with the morels thanks.

[Mister Da]

I’m gonna guess Washington, DC gets a lot of lightning.

[fatnotlazy]

I don’t suppose this applies to the ordinary mushrooms that grow in caves.

I love ‘shrooms.

[Randy Larsen]

Lightening supplies the area around with Nitrogen which causes increased growth.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Some mushrooms will only colonize dead wood, others form a symbiotic relationship with tree roots. Lighting strikes may kill wood or roots, and disrupt cell walls of the wood. This would make it easier for dead wood mushrooms to colonize a dead tree. We cook food to break down cell walls and make nutrients more available. A lighting strike on a tree means colonizing mushrooms spend less time producing enzymes to break down cellulose, more time just harvesting the nutrients

[Dan B Cooper]

Grow my own

[exDemMom]

It would be interesting to go beyond the speculation and determine the mechanism that makes this happen.

[Natural Born 54]

Interesting article - thanks for posting it. I’m known around where we live as “the mushroom lady” because I have been known to ask people if I can pick the mushrooms growing in their yard. I always ask if I could bring them half of what I pick and they always always say “no”. Some even say “oh, no, I buy mine at the store.” Hiding my smile, I say thank you very much and go get my haul.

I pick them in yards, farm fields and deep woods whenever I get the chance.

We have chanterelles (5 kinds), morels, meadow mushrooms, horse mushrooms, salmon waxy caps, chicken mushrooms, king boletes and other edible boletes, puffballs, shaggy manes, oyster mushrooms, hen of the woods, blewits and more here some of which grow in great profusion. My favorites to eat are chanterelles, meadow, horse, puffballs and shaggy manes by themselves, in stews and in soups.

I love mushrooms and have learned enough not to kill myself or my family with them!

[StilettoRaksha]

I love mushrooms. They contain Vitamin D and selenium and are loaded with antioxidants! I prefer them raw (more nutrients that way).

[Diggity]

Maybe its the Nitrogen that Lighting puts out.

[stormer]