Some Ethnomycological Aspects of Mushrooms in Northwestern Himalayas
Dimple Kumari, Suresh Kumar.S, Harwinder Kaur
Apple Academic Press eBooks August 6, 2025 DOI: 10.1201/9781774919934-10 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
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| Key findings | The authors report that wild mushrooms in the Northwestern Himalaya are valued as edible and medicinal resources with properties including antidiabetic, antiarthritic, anticancerous, and antiviral effects, and that traditional knowledge of their uses dates back to 1700–1100 BC in India. They contend that this ethnomycological knowledge is at risk because younger generations are neither aware of nor willing to learn it. |
Abstract
Ethnomycology is the scientific study of the relationship between humans and fungi from cultural, anthropological, and historical perspectives. It focuses on the traditional knowledge, uses, beliefs, and rituals associated with fungi in various societies and indigenous cultures around the world. The variety, edibility, indigenous knowledge, and distribution of wild edible mushrooms in the Northwestern Himalaya especially in Jammu, Kashmir, (UT) Ladakh (UT), and the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh were investigated from time to time. Macrofungi are an important natural wild bioresource. These wild mushrooms are edible or inedible and poisonous and the edible ones are rich sources of protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. Due to their desirable, exotic flavor, and nutritional value wild mushrooms are consumed by inhabitants of the respective region. In India, the practice of consumption and medicinal uses of mushrooms are quite common and it dates back to 1700–1100 BC. Wild mushrooms have hallucinogenic, antidiabetic, antiar- thritic, anticancerous, and antiviral properties. The traditional knowledge of tribal people is used to promote health. Ceremonial, religious, and other nonpractical uses of wild fungi are of relatively minor importance. Due to modernization, the traditional knowledge about ethnomycological uses of fungi is at risk as the young generation is neither aware and nor willing to grasp this knowledge.