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Home / Agriculture / The Fascinating World of Mushrooms in Coffee Forestsby Dr. Anand Titus and Geeta N. Pereira Page 1 | Page 2 MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS Mushrooms have been used for hundreds of years in traditional medicine. Mushrooms are known to cure certain oral cancers and some are anti cancer, anti viral and stop migraine headaches etc.
GANODERMA: This particular mushroom is cultivated for medicinal properties instead of for food, on a commercial scale in China. It is known to cure chronic bronchitis, coronary heart disease and cancer. Various types of Ganoderma are commonly observed inside the western Ghat forests.
POLYPORE FUNGUS: (Polyporaceae & Ganodermataceae) The mushroom is observed on dead logs or injured trees. The fungal caps appear as concentric rings clustered or stacked one atop another. Caps are leathery and tough with no presence of a stem. The caps are 4 to 6 inches broad.
BIOLUMINESCENT MUSHROOMS
We have observed a few species of bioluminescent mushrooms but yet to determine the cause of bioluminescence. It could be due to bacteria or other microbial species. MUSHROOMS IN ORGANIC MATTER DECOMPOSITION
Boletus species: The mushroom is quite common during monsoon season. The brown cap is more than 4 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches tall. The underside of the cap has tube openings instead of gills. Neem seed application to soils triggers the growth and development of Boletus.
Chanterelle species: These mushrooms are quite hardy and are uncommon in coffee forests. Whenever they are present, they are found under hardwood tree species. Some species are edible.
Coprinus species: Another common mushroom commonly observed on the floor of the coffee forest. MUSHROOMS IN OTHER INDUSTRIES The vivid color of mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and natural fibers. A few reports suggest that mushrooms play an important role in effective biological remediation and filtration technologies.
MUSHROOM SELECTION: When buying mushrooms from the supermarket shelf, choose those with a firm texture and uniform color with tightly-closed caps. If the gills are exposed, it’s an indication of age, and they are probably past their shelf life. Discolored, broken and damaged mushrooms with soft spots should be avoided.
MUSHROOM FACTS It is a fact that the price of wild mushrooms can range for reasons such as appearance, flavor, taste, soil type, historical significance and availability. European truffles can sell for over $ 1,600 per pound!
Almost overnight a mushroom can grow from a pin sized head to a medium sized balloon with rapid intake of water. Mushrooms grow with lightning speed because the mushrooms increase their size through cell enlargement rather than cell division.
The sporadic growth of mushrooms is due to the fact that the fungus has the ability to store up nutrient rich compounds as reserves and when ideal conditions prevail, they start to fruit. Many of the edible white mushrooms do appear within 24 hours of a thunderstorm and this is no myth.
PADDY STRAW MUSHROOM: The commercial cultivation of this mushroom contributes to 6 % of total world production of cultivated species. This particular mushroom has the characteristic property of Agino Moto.
Amantia phalloides, commonly referred to as the DEATH CAP is considered as one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world. Amantia muscaria, a reddish colored mushroom rarely found in the Western Ghats is said to induce a hallucinogenic effect on human beings.
CONCLUSION
The threat to mushroom diversity is clearly visible due to habitat destruction, deforestation, land use change and building mega projects {special Industrial economic zones (SEZ)} inside the core of the forest zone. Mushroom species are vanishing even before they are discovered because of intensive timber logging inside the core of the Western Ghat forest range. The other major contributors to decreased mushroom diversity are global climate change, construction of dams, submerging prime forest land, introduction of exotic tree species, application of new generation herbicides and pesticides. The slash and burn method of cultivation followed by the tribal’s is also a strong reason for the decline in mushroom species. Although a great many species of mushroom are edible, very few species have been artificially cultivated. More research needs to be carried out in this direction. Also, since mushroom cultivation is done indoors, it requires very little land. Mushrooms grow on various substrates based on agricultural wastes, which in turn can be recycled. Mushroom cultivation can also provide employment to rural households. REFERENCES http://ineedcoffee.com/by/Dr._Anand_Titus_and_Geeta_N._Pereira/ Jacqueline Seymour.1978. Mushrooms and Toadstools. The Color Nature Library. Crescent Books. Page 1 | Page 2 Tags: mushrooms |
