Can Earth Star Fungus Be Cultivated? A Detailed Guide to Its Cultivation Methods

Earth Star Fungus is a wild vegetable that many people loved eating as children, usually harvested during the rainy season. Nowadays many people want to eat it but find it hard to get, so can Earth Star Fungus be cultivated?

1. What is Earth Star Fungus?

The scientific name of Earth Star Fungus is Nostoc commune, a nitrogen-fixing blue-green alga. What is usually seen is its thallus, wrapped on the outside by a gelatinous sheath and formed on the inside by algal filaments that bend and intertwine with one another.

Earth Star Fungus has many alternative names, such as ground wood ear, Leigong shi, di ruan, di ta cai, and rain fungus. It contains a variety of nutrients, and its protein content is higher than that of eggs, wood ear, and silver ear; its total amino acid content is similar to that of fat choy and shiitake mushrooms. Therefore, Nostoc commune is an excellent source of protein for the human body.

Earth Star Fungus is a wild vegetable, terrestrial, and widely distributed around the world. It grows on rocks, gravel, sandy soil, grassland, field ridges, and near-water embankments in hills and plains. It is drought-tolerant, and when dried to the point of crumbling at a rub of the fingers, it can still grow once it gets water.

2. Can Earth Star Fungus be cultivated?

Earth Star Fungus can be cultivated, but there is currently no large-scale artificial cultivation of it, and the Earth Star Fungus on the market comes mainly from wild sources. If you want to cultivate Earth Star Fungus, you need to choose a suitable environment, provide the nutrients it needs, and water it sufficiently, because Earth Star Fungus needs a large amount of water to grow.

3. What are some ways to eat Earth Star Fungus?

1. Cold-tossed ground wood ear: Soak the Earth Star Fungus in warm water until rehydrated. Put a pot of water on the heat, and after the water boils, add the Earth Star Fungus. After it comes to a boil, scoop out the Earth Star Fungus, squeeze out the water, and then mix it with oil, salt, vinegar, and other seasonings.

2. Scrambled eggs with Earth Star Fungus: Soak the Earth Star Fungus in warm water until rehydrated and wash it clean. Add a little salt to the eggs and beat them. Put oil in a pan, and after the oil is hot, pour in the eggs and stir-fry, then add the Earth Star Fungus and stir-fry evenly. Add seasonings, and once cooked through, it is ready to serve.