6 Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish. I'm Neil

and I'm Beth. Do the names Lion's Maine or Turkey tail mean anything to you, Neil?

Lion's Maine and Turkey tail sounds like things you might find in the zoo.

Good guess, but they are actually the names of mushrooms. Lion's Maine is a white

hairy mushroom found across Asia, and Turkey tail is a brown fan-shaped fungus,

which looks a bit like, well, a turkey's tail. But if you haven't already heard these names,

you probably will soon, because these mushrooms are becoming popular as medicine.

Throughout history, our ancestors used mushrooms as food, but also as medicine for physical

problems and mental illnesses like depression. In the 21st century, this medicine is being

rediscovered and marketed. Today, mushrooms are big business. In 2021, the global medicinal

mushroom market was valued at $26 billion and growing. But how real are the supposed

health benefits of mushrooms? In this programme, we'll be finding out, along with some useful

new vocabulary. But first, I have a question for you, Beth. Neither plant nor animal, mushrooms

are mysterious and amazing things, but which of the following statements about mushrooms is

actually true? A. Most mushrooms are poisonous. B. Some mushrooms can fly, or see some mushrooms

glow in the dark. I think some mushrooms glow in the dark. Okay, Beth, we'll find out if that's

true at the end of the programme. Scientific researcher, Dr Emily Leaming, has been studying the

medicinal properties of mushrooms for King's College London. She shared her discoveries with

Sheila Dillon, presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme, The Food Chain. So I think these mushrooms

are very much having a moment right now. They're kind of labelled as sort of superbrained

rugs. So things are going to potentially help with lessening anxiety, improving potentially

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