Sclerotium

In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until favorable growth conditions return.

Sclerotia are important in the understanding of the life cycle and reproduction of fungi, as a food source, as medicine (for example, ergotamine), and in agricultural blight management.

Examples of fungi that form sclerotia are ergot (Claviceps purpurea), Polyporus tuberaster, Psilocybe mexicana, Agroathelia delphinii and many species in Sclerotiniaceae.

In favorable conditions, sclerotia germinate to form fruiting bodies (basidiomycetes) or mycelium with conidia (in imperfect fungi).

[4] In the Middle Ages Claviceps purpurea sclerotia contaminated rye grain used in bread led to ergot poisoning by way of which thousands of people were killed and mutilated.

[4] Pleurotus tuber-regium, which forms edible sclerotia up to 30 cm wide, has a history of economic importance in Africa as food and as a medicinal mushroom.

[5][6] For example, Claviceps purpurea sclerotia form and begin regrowth in the spring, infecting grass and rye plants by way of releasing their ascospores from perithecia.

When the fungus reaches the bottom of the ovary, it leaves the pollen tube path and enters the vascular tissues where it branches its hypha.

[5] Over billions of years of Earth's history, organisms have acquired the ability to produce secondary metabolites – chemical compounds that afford protection from pathogens and ultraviolet light damage.

Due to their exposure to a wide variety of environments, fungi have the ability to produce numerous such chemicals of potential value in traditional medicine.

Despite side effects of the drug such as paranoia, loss of judgment and flashbacks, psychotherapists and psychiatrists used it to treat patients with neuroses, sexual dysfunctions and anxiety.

These sclerotia can be bought at smartshops under different trade names such as "Philosopher's stone" or "truffles" and have the same hallucinogenic effect as magic mushrooms.