The Economic Imperialism of a Possible Pizza Topping, or the Lack Thereof (Day Five)

Today's featured article on Wikipedia fails to capture my palate; nonetheless, this post comes with a warning: My Economist will be Showing.

Suillus pungens, "commonly known as the pungent slippery jack or the pungent suillus, is a species of fungus in the genus Suillus." It was "first described scientifically by American mycologists Harry D. Thiers and Alexander H. Smith in their 1964 monograph on North American Suillus species."

Efficiency vs. Colonization

The fruit bodies of the fungus have slimy convex caps up to 14 cm (5.5 in) wide. The mushroom is characterized by the very distinct color changes that occur in the cap throughout development. Typically, the young cap is whitish, later becoming grayish-olive to reddish-brown or a mottled combination of these colors. The mushroom has a dotted stem up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long, and 2 cm (0.8 in) thick....

Although the species produces more fruit bodies than other competing ectomycorrhizal fungi in the same location, it is not a dominant root colonizer, and occupies only a small percentage of ectomycorrhizal root tips. The fungus's propensity to fruit prolifically despite minimal root colonization is a result of its ability to efficiently transfer nutrients from its host for its own use. (Emphasis mine.)

As an economist, his last sentence draws my attention most acutely. As humankind has liberalized trade and the costs of transportation and transacting have been reduced across the board--that is, by making trade more efficient, more symbiotic--we have found little need to colonize our neighbors just to have a direct line to their natural resources and production factors.  

So, as far as pizza toppings?

The mushroom is considered edible, but not choice. Its taste is harsh, nauseating, and weakly acidic; the odor is strong and ranges from pleasant, resembling bananas, to pungent. When collecting for the table, young specimens are preferred, as older ones "literally seethe with fat, agitated maggots and sag with so much excess moisture that they practically demand to be wrung out like a sponge!" Michael Kuo's 100 Edible Mushrooms (2007) rates the mushroom's edibility as "bad" and warns that dishes cooked with the mushroom will assume an unpleasant taste.