Nothing says more like a fall foray than finding our beloved honey mushroom. The abundance of the season is in great display, as honey mushrooms fruit prolifically upon decaying stumps and hardwood throughout forests worldwide. Many of you may be surprised to learn that the largest living organism on earth is nothing but a colony of this mushroom in the Pacific Northwest USA. The mycelium of this mushroom also displays a bioluminescence known as foxfire, and was used to light up the compasses of some of the first submarines in existence. These days we use honey mushrooms for food and medicine. Read more about both below!

Fruiting season: Fall

Medicinal Studies 

", A. mellea showed the notable free radical-scavenging activities, inhibition of lipid peroxidation and DNA damage protecting activities in vitro. Therefore, A. mellea might be very useful for the development of functional food and raw materials of medicine for antioxidants preventing oxidative stress-related diseases."

"Due to the observed bioactive properties and compounds of the honey mushroom and its well-balanced nutrients, this mushroom emerges as an interesting functional food and a source of nutraceuticals with applications in different diseases based on antioxidant and antimicrobial effects."