If you find yourself in a Minecraft cave, obtaining food might prove to be quite challenging due to the sparse vegetation in those areas. The most you can hope to discover are grapevines and moss, which typically grow close to the ground without reaching significant heights. However, there is one plant that can assist you, and it happens to be the focus of this week’s discussion. So today, let’s talk about mushrooms!
Wait a minute! Did I just say mushroom – a plant? That’s not accurate! In fact, mushrooms do not belong to the plant kingdom. Every plant contains a chemical substance that allows sunlight to be converted into energy and gives them their green color. This substance is called chlorophyll. Mushrooms, however, lack this entirely. They derive their nutrients from decomposing organic matter.
So what category do mushrooms fall under? Mushrooms constitute a separate kingdom of living organisms, which also includes yeast and mold. There are actually quite a few of them; they simply grow underground or on the surface, making them easy to overlook. Interestingly, mushrooms are structurally much closer to animals than to plants. Keep this in mind the next time you’re preparing dishes with mushrooms.
Mushrooms made their debut in Minecraft Pocket Edition back in 2009, alongside the first flowers, gold blocks, and, as strange as it may sound now, inventory features. Without the addition of inventory, you wouldn’t be reading weekly item reviews, and I wouldn’t be compensated for sharing information about various items. Fortunately for both you and us, it was included. Now, back to our beloved mushrooms. Initially, their functionality was minimal, serving purely as decorative items. You could obtain them by defeating sheep or pigs, which would drop mushrooms upon death.
With the introduction of survival mode in Minecraft Bedrock, mushrooms became more useful yet dangerous at the same time. To heal two and a half hearts, you needed to find a brown mushroom. Eating a red one, however, would cost you one and a half hearts. In real life, not all mushrooms are safe either, so exercise caution, as you may encounter poisonous varieties. If you come across an unfamiliar mushroom, it’s best not to eat it; even touching it can be hazardous! Generally, any food found on the ground should be avoided. As the saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine.”
Over the years, Minecraft’s mushrooms have become significantly more intriguing. Their healing properties were removed, but they were given the ability to create mushroom stew to satisfy hunger. In version 1.0 of Minecraft, rare biomes known as mushroom islands were introduced. These locations are completely covered in mushrooms and are home to delightfully quirky creatures: hybrids of cows and mushrooms. Apparently, no effort went into naming them, hence the simple title “Mushrooms.”
You can find these items in several places. The primary location, as you might have guessed, is the islands (the ones mentioned earlier). Additionally, they can be spotted underground in the Nether, where mushrooms are visible to the naked eye. You can also cultivate your own mushroom farm. Start by gathering a few mushrooms, planting them on podzol, and covering them with bonemeal. After some time, large mushrooms will sprout, which can then be divided into smaller ones and replanted. Continue this process repeatedly, and soon you’ll be surrounded by them. Just remember to prepare a swimsuit beforehand. Personally, I’d still prefer to swim in regular water.
Image provided by FotooVanRobin
In the real world, there are no Mushroom creatures (referring to the cow-mushroom hybrid), but we do have ordinary mushrooms that play a crucial role on our planet. They are used to make bread, wine, beer, and antibiotics. However, their most important mission is far beyond that. Without them, forests and other vital parts of nature would cease to exist, as mushrooms decompose dead organisms, returning essential nutrients to the soil for plants.
The next time you set out to forage for mushrooms, please remember the benefits they provide to all of us. If they didn’t exist, everything would be different. Would it even be? Afterwards, you can cook them up and enjoy a delicious stew. Yum!
