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The Paris mushroom

 
 

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The Paris mushroom

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The Paris mushroom The famous mushrooms of Paris After Versailles, the mushrooms of Paris invaded the Parisian Catacombs, before settling in Saumur. © Riou / age fotostock

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The agaricus bisporus (or button mushroom, known in French as the champignon de Paris or ?Paris mushroom') first appeared in the days of Louis XIV and is believed to have originated in Versailles. It was later found in abundance in the catacombs of Paris, under the rule of Napoleon I. This location is not at all surprising given that this mushroom requires very specific conditions to grow, namely a cool temperature (around 15° C) and a constant and relatively high level of humidity. This, of course, makes the underground tunnels of Paris the ideal spot. However, due to the construction of the Parisian metro system, the button mushrooms of Paris migrated to Saumur (49) where they also found the ideal conditions to enable them to flourish.

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