Finding Fungi:Weed Edibles A look at India’s Wild Edible Mushro

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    If yeast gets the spotlight in lockdown, can mushrooms be far behind?

     

    They are recommended as pantry staples, part of lockdown recipes and an alternative source of income for working professionals.

    But beyond the highly cultivated button Weed Edibles mushroom (and a few other varieties) lies a world of wild edible fungi in India, best discovered during the monsoon.

     

    They grow in hollow barks, on termite hills, on dead banana stems and in arid deserts. Some resemble vessels, some appear when lightning strikes and some bleed blue milk.

    Together, they sustain the growth of forests through wood wide web — underground networks that connect trees.

     

     

    The mushroom curators

    India’s indigenous communities are the custodians of her wild edible fungi.

    Take the example of Bilinso Syiemlieh, 70. She is an expert on the wild fungi in the forests around Jakrem village in West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. She learnt to identify edible varieties at a young age by accompanying elders on collection trips. Bubblegum THC Gummy After her husband’s death, foraging for mushrooms became a way to sustain her family of five.

    So, she began experimenting with unknown fungi too. It wasn’t without risks. Once, when a mushroom turned out to be toxic, “I was sweating all over and my clothes were soaked,” she reveals in the trailer of soon-to-release documentary Planet Fungi.

     

    “She has had a couple of near misses where she became very sick,” say Australian director Catherine Marciniak, who made this documentary with reputed fungi photographer Stephen Axford, in association with Assam’s Balipara Foundation. “She has also discovered some edible mushrooms, adding to her village’s knowledge about them.”

     

    India’s tribal communities consume nearly 283 of the 2,000 species of wild edible mushrooms found the world over.

     

    And much like Syiemlieh, they have their own ways of identifying the fungi. In Maharashtra, the names of mushrooms collectively called aalimb, are prefixed with spots they grow in: wood-sprouting ones are lakdachi aalimb or kathrud, those that grow in the soil bed of the mahua tree are moha cha aalimb, and so on.

     

    The tree and soil impart a distinct flavour to the fungus, THC Edibles courtesy their symbiotic relationships. Textures, shapes are popular ways of identification too. “A mushroom found on the peaks of Harishchandragad and Kalsubai is called telia sattar because of its oily, slippery head,” says Shailesh Awate, co-founder, OOO Farms that promotes sustainable agricultural practices and documents Maharashtra’s bounty.