BANGKOK, Sept 24 (The Nation/ANN): A villager clearing forest in Petchabun province has uncovered what is believed to be one of the world’s rarest mushrooms, the Earthstar (Geastrum mirabile Mont).
Jaroon Kiew-oon was tending his land near Wang Cha-om village on Thursday (Sept 23) when he spotted strange, star-shaped objects budding from the soil.
The flower-like blooms were brownish-grey and measured about 3-5 centimetres in diameter.
Jaroon assumed at first they were flowers from a golden Spanish cherry tree, but then realised these trees were not found in the area.
When he plucked one of the “flowers” out of the ground, he discovered it had spores and roots. Jaroon showed his find to his brother, who identified it as an earthstar – which is ranked as one of the world’s 10 rarest mushroom species.
Earthstars have been found in only three other provinces in Thailand, namely Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Phanom and Phichit.
Residents of Wang Cha-om village told reporters that they had lived in the area for over 40 years but never seen this species of mushroom before.
Earthstars are classified as inedible but said to cause intoxication similar to drunkenness when consumed. - The Nation/ANN
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