Diversity of wild mushrooms and ethnomycological studies in Mizoram

Abstract

Mizoram is a hotspot for wild mushrooms and its diversity, serving as an important source of food and income for rural inhabitants. However, extensive exploration, proper identification, documentation of wild mushrooms and ethnomycological studies are still lacking. An attempt has been made for the mass collection of wild mushrooms from 2018 to 2022 in Mizoram, which has yielded 450 specimens, of which 81 species were identified, consisting mainly of Polyporaceae (20.99%), followed by Agaricaceae (9.88%) and Lyophyllaceae (7.41%). The collected mushrooms include 23.56% edible, 48.44% non-edible and the remaining medicinal, poisonous, and other categories. They originate from various habitats, predominantly wood (67.11%) and soil (29.56%). An interview with 609 respondents from the ‘Lusei’ and ‘Chakma’ tribes identified three medicinal species (Auricularia auricula-judae, A. delicata and Phallus indusiatus) and nineteen species for food purpose. The nomenclature of mushrooms depends on the appearance, odour, shape, colour, size, texture and nature of habitat among the tribes and found no well-defined vernacular names at the species level. Consumption of mushroom species is also higher among the Chakma tribe than the Lusei tribe. Mushrooms are collected mostly during monsoon season among the tribes. Price of mushrooms varies depending on species among the tribes. Over 75% of respondents found wild mushrooms declining while 17.24% of respondents did not find a change in wild mushroom populations.