A Systematic Review of Biodiversity and Conservation of Indigenous Mushrooms (Basidiomycotina, Ascomycotina) of Central Africa Countryside: Uses, Distribution and Checklists

Abstract

Significant socio-economic, spiritual, nutritional and medicinal needs of the countrysides in Central Africa region are obtainable from macrofungi. Conversely, anthropogenic activities and climate change have led to a reduction in the habitats of mushrooms which has led to some mushrooms becoming endangered. A dearth of information on the ecology, management and composition of mushrooms in Central Africa exists. Hence a review was systematically carried out on published mycological research outcomes from Central African countryside, to delineate the way forward. It was observed that the level of indigenous mycological knowledge was very high (> 60%) in all the tribes. The highest number of edible mushrooms was from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)(377 species), followed by Cameroon (50 species). The dataset showed that 448 edible mushrooms have been identified based on citable publications and 27 tribes/localities evaluated. Additionally the dataset showed 116 author-identified mushrooms that inhabitants did not identify and use. The most popular edible mushrooms from 79 key edible mushrooms were Russula (9 spp.), Termitomyces (8), Cantharellus (8), Plerotus (5), Amanita (5), Marasmius, Lactarius and Lactifluus (4 spp. each). The topmost consumed species were Pleurotus tuberregium (14 out of 27 localities), Auricularia cornea (13), Cantharellus congolensis (12), Marasmius bekolacongoli (12), Schizophyllum commune (11) and Cantharellus floridulus (11). Mushrooms for mythology uses: (Phallus indusiatus and Dictyophora sp.), Mythology+food: (Termitomyces robustus), Medicinal: (Daldinia concentrica, Ganoderma applanatum and Ganoderma lucidum), Medicinal+food: (Polyporus dictyopus, Schizophyllum commune and Termitomyces clypeatus) and Food+mythology+medicinal: (Termitomyces microcarpus and Termitomyces titanicus). Irrefutably, these previous ethnomycological and ecological studies have scarcely made a significant impact on fungi biodiversity.