MUSHROOM AND ITS APPLICATION
蕈菌及其应用

A mushroom is defined as a macrofungus with a distinctive frui- ting body which can either be epigeous or hypogeous.The macrofungi have fruiting bodies large enough to be seen with the naked eyes and to be picked up by hand. Thus,macrofungi need not be Basidiomycetes,nor fleshy.They can be Ascomycetes, and their texture may be leathery,corky or woody.Over the past three years,mush- room production has increased by 72.5%,with an annual increase of 24.5%.In 1989/90,world production of edible mushrooms totalled 3,760,000 metric tons which were valued at about US 7.5 billion dollars.Due to their unique taste and flavour and as medicinal tonics,the cultivation of mushrooms will not only be continued as a means of increasing food production but will also emphasize their importance to medical research and in the development of beverages,pharmaceuticals and even cos- metics.