Out of thousands of mushroom species that are found in Cyprus, by 2009 about 500 have been identified. Only a few species are shown on our website, which we hope to increase to a few tens of (typical) species in the coming months.
Mushrooms are in fact the 'fruit' of the (in many cases huge) underground fungi organism. They are very important for ecosystems as many species live symbiotically with plant species. Cypriots have traditionally looked at wild mushrooms as a delicacy. Extreme care must be taken in selecting wild mushrooms for food, as it is very difficult to identify edible from poisonous ones.
Mycorrhizae constitute the symbiosis between fungi and plant roots and improve dramatically the roots' ability to absorb nutrients. Not much research has been carried out on this in Cyprus.