OSU Student Establishes HQ & Fun Facts about Fungi

(Dublin, OH) Mushrooms International, LLC opened its doors in Dublin, Ohio and specializes in the import of wild, exotic, and domestic mushrooms from around the world. They service white table cloth restaurants and offer seminars for waitstaff, providing information they need to explain their mycological delights.

“Her owner (Diana Yamamoto) knowledge has been helpful,” said Dave Dovell, chief of M, a Cameron Mitchell restaurant. “Before we opened, she held a workshop for our staff, all about mushrooms 101. She has high quality products and competitive pricing. She has sources all over.”

Founder and CEO Diana Yamamoto is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, with an emphasis on nonvascular plants. She is currently a PhD candidate in Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University (OSU). Her mycology (fungi) studies include travel in thirteen countries to learn about the 2000 edible mushrooms worldwide. Areas of concentration at OSU are gene insertion for prevention of crop diseases and sustainable farming.

“I was raised on a large soybean farm in Illinois,” said Diana Yamamoto, “and my interests in food crops of all varieties are innate.”

Yamamoto recently went to the Kennet Square area of Pennsylvania to acquire a better understanding of the agaricus product line; white buttons, criminis and portabellas. The farming of these delights is entirely different from the exotics. They are grown in the dark; exotics are grown in light.

Mushrooms International offers free samples and a free newsletter called, “Fun Facts about Fungi.” Subscribers unearth neat tidbits like mushroom terminologies. For example, Maitake is a very large mushroom, usually the size of a basketball when grown in the wild. Famous for its taste and renowned health benefits, Maitake is also known as the “Dancing Mushroom.” Legend has it that those who found the rare mushrooms began dancing with joy. Others attribute the name to the way the fruit bodies overlap each other giving the appearance of dancing butterflies. Clinical studies have shown significant activity against the HIV virus and strong antitumor activity against cancer. This mushroom contains a significant amount of nutrition and is a great source of protein (27% dry weight) for vegetarians.

Or contact Mushrooms International, LLC, 6527 Selsdon Drive, Dublin, Ohio 43017. Phone (614) 766-6775, fax (614) 766-6785. Email Diana Yamamoto at dy@mushroomsint.com .