A perspective on Indian edible mushrooms with traditional knowledge

Abstract

Wild edible mushrooms hold a unique position in the traditions of ethnic, indigenous, and other tribal cultures in India and other parts of the world. The most popular mushrooms, including button, oyster, shiitake, wood ear, straw, enoki, white jelly, nameko, shimeji, hen of the woods, bolete, conks, saffron milk caps, lion mane, shaggy ink cap, bamboo, and almond portobello mushrooms, are used by various communities around the world for food, trade, and even medicine. The diverse landscape of the Indian subcontinent is a haven for the vibrant emergences of both flora and fauna especially mushroom diversity. There is both unrecorded and documented evidence of the sizeable amount that personal collections consume. In this, treatise an effort has been made to gather reliable data on the edibleness and therapeutic value of the mushrooms utilised by various groups around the nation. As a result of these efforts, more than 100 edible mushrooms that are utilised by diverse populations around the nation have been found. This document includes a list of 55 mushrooms as well as a description of their diagnostic characteristics. Additionally, a list of mushrooms broken down by different states has been supplied, along with their technical and common names and uses. For the sole goal of making this document user-friendly for students, researchers, scientists, and mushroom fans, a section of the most often used mushrooms has also been assembled in this book, together with its ethno-mycological data and images.