A trendy species of mushroom could be a new threat to Michigan’s forests.
The golden oyster mushroom is native to Asia. But people here have been growing them for some time as they’ve become increasingly popular in recipes.
It's possible some spores escaped into the wild.
New research involving the U.S. Forest Service shows the golden oyster mushrooms could threaten biodiversity as they spread.
University of Wisconsin Ph.D. student Aishwarya Veerabahu co-led the study.
She said the disappearance of some of those native mushroom species is an issue since they’ve been around for a very long time but haven’t been very deeply researched.
“The main thing that invasive fungi threaten is destroying or taking out fungal biodiversity before we even get a chance to study it and possibly find incredibly important things like therapeutic chemicals and compounds and medicines,” Veerabahu said.
The research noted sightings of the golden oyster mushroom growing in Michigan woods, especially in the mid- and southeastern parts of the state.
Joanne Foreman is invasive species communications coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. She said the spread is concerning because it’s hard to tackle.
“There really isn’t an easy way just to go target and get rid of that particular species because the kind of chemical or pesticide treatments that you would use would likely harm whole fungal communities and insects,” Foreman said.
Foreman said this is a newer issue brought to the state’s attention through the recent study. While it figures out a fuller response, the DNR is encouraging people to log where they spot golden oyster mushrooms in the wild on the online platform iNaturalist.
Foreman also encourages people to be careful with their mushroom growing, whether it be for business or hobby.
“We need to learn that these species also, just like animals and plants can get loose into the environment and we don’t know if they’re going to cause a problem. So, if that’s something that you’re interested in cultivating, take every precaution that you can,” she said.
