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Shfitake mushrooms-which grow out of trees and require two years to mature-had never been cultivated in America, and were only available here in dehydrated form at a whopping $10 per pound!

" Fresh Shiitake is a totally different experience from the dried product," Dr. Mee asserts. "The meat is white and tastes like a combination of finest abalone and filet mignon."

Henry carried out his Shiitake experiments on a shoestring basis by using the family garage as a greenhouse and germinating the mushroom's spores in his shower stall. By the end of 1975, Dr. Mee had finally achieved success: Not only did he find a way to grow the legendary Shiitake mushroom indoors ... but he had also reduced the mushroom's maturation time from two years to less than three months!

Dr. Mee's years of persistent research yielded yet another first: home-growing mushroom kits. To market these kits, the mycologist founded The Kinoko Company, P.O. Box 6425, Oakland, California 94621 ... which now offers four varieties of Mushroom-Mate packages: Velvet Stem, Oyster, Wood Ear, and one for growing the common button mushroom. (Each kit sells for $7.49 postpaid.)

Henry claims that "the world of fungi—which includes mushrooms-is the least understood of all the plant kingdom." It looks, however, as though Dr. Mee—in his own quiet way—has begun to change that situation.— Toya Morgan.

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