THE NAME EXTRATERRESTRIAL FUNGI WAS BORN FROM THE THEORY THAT MUSHROOMS MAY HAVE ORIGINATED FROM SOMEWHERE DEEP IN OUTER SPACE. WHILE IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT FUNGAL SPORES CAN SURVIVE INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL, OBSERVATIONS MADE ON MUSHROOMS GROWN IN SPACE SHOW THAT FUNGI MAY FLOURISH IN THE ABSENCE OF GRAVITY REINFORCING THE IDEA THAT OUR FUNGAL FRIENDS ARRIVED FROM A FAR AWAY LAND.
FUNGI, WHICH OBTAIN FOOD BY ABSORBING DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATERIAL, HAVE A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH PLANTS, ANIMALS AND OTHER FUNGI. FUNGI DON’T JUST FEED PLANTS, THEY PROTECT THEM FROM DISEASE, THEY HOLD THE SOIL TOGETHER AND ARE CONDUITS FOR DISTRIBUTING CARBON, OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND PHOSPHORUS PRODUCING MORE FERTILE SOIL. FUNGI’S UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES SUCH AS “BREATHING” OXYGEN AND “EXHALING” CARBON DIOXIDE MUCH LIKE WE DO, HAS ALLOWED THEM TO INHABIT THEIR OWN KINGDOM ENTIRELY.
FUNGI ARE OUR INSPIRATION TO CULTIVATE A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OURSELVES, OUR COMMUNITY, AND OUR PLANET’S ECOSYSTEM. WE BELIEVE THAT FUNGI WILL PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN OUR UNDERSTANDING AND REPAIR OF PLANET EARTH, WHILE GUIDING OUR EXPANSE INTO THE COSMOS.
