Mushrooms are familiar and consumed as food. Yet little is known about certain fungal varieties that could play a pivotal role in environmental clean-ups and medical applications in the near future. For example, Pleurotus ostreatus can absorb oil, Laccaria bicolor promotes the growth of trees in arid areas, Fomitopsis officinalis may be used in the treatment of incurable diseases, and Physarum polycephalum can find the shortest way out of a labyrinth, thanks to a primitive, yet brilliant, sort of intelligence.
