'The Last of Us,' an HBO Max hit, adds hype to real mushroom kingdom
With the popularity of HBO Max's new zombie drama "The Last of Us," fungus is once again growing on pop culture, and it leads back to tiny Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
"The Last of Us," based on the video game series of the same name, is centered on a cordyceps fungus outbreak that transforms humans into mushroom-looking zombies.
Kennett Square is the mushroom capital of the country, accounting for more than 60% of the country's shroom production, according to the American Mushroom Institute in Avondale, Pennsylvania, which is about 11 minutes away from Kennett.
Mushrooms in pop culture & research
AMI spokesperson Lori Harrison said there's been a lot of positive research and creative ways that shrooms have been impacting the arts community, pop culture and beyond.
That's mainly because shrooms are sustainable. They produce a low carbon footprint and use little water, she said.
Some companies are using mycelium from mushrooms to create lampshades. Others are using mycelium to create packaging material as a substitute for plastic.
In 2021, Adidas revealed a sneaker concept for the Stan Smith Mylo, which the company claimed is "the first shoe to be made using Mylo: a new mushroom-based material innovation that looks and feels like leather," according to their website.
Harrison pointed out that a Google search will reveal lots of other cool ways people are using shrooms to create décor, clothing and more.
She said the popularity of "The Last of Us" adds only more excitement to the mushroom mania.
"We're not just having a moment; we're having a movement," Harrison said.
Kennett Square biz owner' talks ‘The Last of Us'
Sandra Morris is all about mushrooms. She and her husband, Brett Hulbert, run the restaurant Portabellos of Kennett Square.
Their menu features lots of shrooms, including steak portobello, stroganoff, shrimp and mushroom risotto. (The restaurant takes its name from the Italian spelling.)
Portobellos are particularly enjoyed by those who either avoid or want to cut back on meat because they're an alternative to steak.
With all of the mushroom madness that "The Last of Us" has been causing, Morris wants to hitch a ride on the hype train.
But she’s a patient train hopper who isn’t pressed to catch new weekly episodes when they drop on Sundays.
“One of our bartenders was like, ‘You’re not watching it?!’” Morris explained.
"I'm one of those people that doesn't like to watch shows once, and then you have to wait until next week for the next one. So I'm just gonna binge it."
What are cordyceps from 'The Last of Us?'
David Geiser, professor of mycology at Penn State University, described cordyceps as microscopic fungi that mainly infect insects and other arthropods.
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They consume their entire insides and "emerge from the corpse with a fruiting body structure they use to release their spores, so they can find another victim," Geiser said.
While this might sound freaky, cordyceps also produce chemical compounds, some of which are used for medicines, he added.
Can cordyceps turn humans into zombies?
"No. One should worry about cordyceps no more than they should worry about catching Dutch elm disease. The fungus has no idea what to do with a human host. Or any mammal," Geiser said.
However, climate change does have scientists paying more attention to how rising temperatures will affect our relationship with nature, fungi included.
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Should we be afraid of mushrooms?
Some real-life fungi are already gruesome, including one that turns ants into zombies. Could it soon jump to humans, an evolution fueled by a warming world? After all, that's the plot of "The Last of Us."
While scientists aren't worried about that particular scenario, they say climate change could usher in a new wave of fungal infections in humans.
"Maybe it becomes easier for them to adapt to even higher temperatures and become pathogens in humans," said Dr. Thomas Chiller, chief of the Mycotic Disease Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And there is no reason to avoid mushrooms grown for human consumption.
"Mushrooms are a delicious and healthy food. One can see them as creepy, but they are also beautiful, and the fungi they represent perform essential services that are important to the planet," Geiser explained.
"One should only be afraid of eating poisonous forms, which do occur and must be avoided," he added.
This means you shouldn't go foraging to pick and eat wild shrooms unless you know the difference between the edible and poisonous ones with certainty, Geiser said.
Mushroom madness is growing
At the end of the day, Harrison thinks it's a positive thing for the mushroom community that "The Last of Us" is gaining so much traction, even though the show is fictional.
"Having [mushrooms] star or be a character in a zombie show is just another way people are [exposed] to mushrooms."
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. For more entertainment stories, consider signing up for our weekly newsletter, DO Delaware at delawareonline.com/newsletters.
Elizabeth Weise, USA Today reporter, contributed to this report.