One of the mushrooms that my group and I found was called the Blue Cheese Polypore. It's scientific name is the Cyanosporus causius or the Postia. The Blue Cheese Polypore can be found it both Europe and North American, although in different spots depending on the continent. The North American Blue Cheese Polypore can be found on standing or fallen trunks or decaying branches of trees. This fungi is not edible and has a fragrant odor. These mushrooms don't have really any explicit function for humans, they mostly function in order to decompose dead trees and branches. The Blue Cheese Polymore is lightly blue or white colored and was discovered for the first time in 1794.
Trametes versicolor or turkey tail is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Trametes versicolor obtain nutrients from decomposing matter; they break down the deadwood of trees for nutrients, but this process helps clean their environment for new growth showing, that these fungi are involved in symbiotic relationships. Also, Trametes versicolor contains polysaccharides. Research has suggested, their polysaccharides can be utilized in immune therapy as secondary prevention strategies. Trametes versicolor fungi have been studied in three phases of clinical trials in patients with stomach, colorectal, esophageal, and breast cancer. The results from these trials support the hypothesis that immunomodulation can influence the clinical course in breast cancer.
References
Standish, L. J., Wenner, C. A., Sweet, E. S., Bridge, C., Nelson, A., Martzen, M., Novack, J., & Torkelson, C. (2008). Trametes versicolor mushroom immune therapy in breast cancer. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology