Saturday, August 8, 2009

A Follow-Up on the Mushrooms of UP

I recently blogged about edible mushrooms in UP campus but was not certain about the identity of the mushrooms. I inquired with Ed Tadiosa over at the National Museum who specializes in fungi, which mushrooms are. He emailed me back today with this response:

I was able to open your blogspot. As per your quiry on what kind of mushroom species you had encountered at the U.P campus? Actually, it is Termitomyces sp., a wild edible mushroom. You can see those kind in soil mounds, what we call "punso". The genus Termitomyces was coined from the word termite, because this mushroom grows on mounds or termite homes. I can't give you what kind of Termitomyces this is, unless otherwise you can collect a sample of this fungus. There are at least 8 species of Termitomyces in our country.

To sir Ed, thanks for the reply. I ll try to collect a sample next time I encounter one.

1 comment:

maknavarez said...

and by the time you do it yourself, I'll be hoping you'll take a picture of any types of mushrooms you'd see along your way. I kinda enjoy reading about mushrooms both edible and poisonous. Ow, forgive me it's so impolite of me. My name's Mak from Olongapo and I'd have to say, u have some interesting stuff on your page. Always a safe trip for you sir.