Ethno mycological study of wild edible mushrooms of Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

The state of Jammu and Kashmir has the largest concentration of forest dwellers, comprising of about one-fourth of the population of the state. Several tribes and villagers subsist largely on non-traditional and wild food sources especially wild edible mushrooms. Limited information, however, is known about ethno mycology of macrofungi in India, in general, and Jammu and Kashmir, in particular. Therefore, ethnomycological survey was carried out in various locations of Jammu and Kashmir state in order to develop a database on mushroom diversity and their traditional uses. In this study, forty four wild mushrooms which are actually consumed in the state and are distributed in twenty genera have been recorded to have various potentialities. These include Agaricus spp., Boletus spp., Clavaria sp., Clavulina spp., Coprinus spp., Geopora spp., Gyromitra spp., Helvella spp., Macrolepiota sp., Morchella spp., Otidea leporina, Peziza spp., Pleurotus spp., Ramaria spp., Rhizopogon spp., Russula sp., Sepultaria spp., Sparassis spp., Termitomyces spp. and Verpa sp.. Their descriptive vocabulary and folk taxonomy, edibility status, traditional drying and preservation, culinary potential, common beliefs and traditions etc. have been highlighted in this paper. Overall, richness of ethno-mycological information gathered indicates that the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir represents a mycophilic region where edible mushrooms play an important role in the socio-economic activities of the local populace.