The viral ‘apple fungus’ that’s intriguing the Chinese internet – and scientists
- Medicinal mushroom typically does not grow on acidic fruit, leading researchers to track down sample and study the unlikely pairing
A photo of an apple sprouting a mushroom-like growth has taken the Chinese internet by storm, leading researchers to investigate the unlikely pairing and what it could mean for fruit cultivation and breeding better strains of a fungus valued for its medicinal properties.
A social media user with the handle “Peirong” on the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu discovered the white fungal growth on an apple she had bought a month earlier. Her family convinced her to post a photo online, which soon attracted thousands of likes.
Among those who saw the unusual apple was Xu Rongju, a doctoral student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Kunming Institute of Botany and Mae Fah Luang University in Thailand.
Xu identified the growth as Schizophyllum, also known as the splitgill mushroom – a type of fungus with fan-shaped caps.
Schizophyllum is found around the world and consumed as food and medicine in Asian countries. Although it is generally harmless, it can cause infections in human lungs if it is inhaled.
The fungus typically grows on things with a relatively neutral pH level, including rotten wood. However, apples are moderately acidic.
