It may be hard to believe mushrooms can grow in diesel-soaked soil, but in one experiment, they did exactly that. In the late 1990’s, researchers ran a field test using oyster mushroom mycelium, and within weeks, oyster mushrooms were coming up straight out of the blackened dirt. That trial helped spark interest in using fungi to clean up pollution, even though its actual results were mixed.

many wood-decaying fungi have the right chemical tools to break down pollutants. They work because a lot of industrial pollutants have a chemical structure similar to plant fibers, and fungi are experts at breaking down these fibers.