An ethnobotanical survey of edible fungi in Chuxiong City, Yunnan, China

Dongyang Liu,Chunlin Long,Rainer W Bussmann,Zhiyong Guo,Bo Liu,Hong Cheng

doi:10.1186/s13002-018-0239-2

Abstract

BackgroundChuxiong, known as “the City of Fungi,” is rich in fungal resources and traditional knowledge related to fungal biodiversity. The local environment is an excellent habitat for a wide variety of edible fungi. In addition, the region is home to many ethnic minorities and especially the Yi ethnic group who has a long history for traditionally using fungi as food or medicine. The aims of this review are to provide up-to-date information on the knowledge about, and traditional management of, fungi in this area and give advice on future utilization and conservation.MethodsField surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews were used to gather data. Ethnomycological data was collected from 67 informants in the summer of 2015.ResultsTwenty-two edible fungal species were recorded both as food or non-timber forest products (NTFPs), used to increase income, and the importance of this resource for the Yi ethnic group was evaluated.ConclusionAbundant and diverse wild genetic resources and a large production chain of edible fungi were recorded in Chuxiong. However, because of over-harvesting, the wild edible fungi are facing increasing threats. Suggestions are proposed to allow sustainable use of fungi resources, including (1) promotion of diversification of transportation, (2) development of fungi cultivation to improve quality and supply and reduce harvest pressure, (3) improvement of public awareness for environmental protection and sustainable development, and (4) promotion of eco-tourism and development of fungi catering in rural agro- and slow-food tourism.

Highlights

Chuxiong, known as “the City of Fungi,” is rich in fungal resources and traditional knowledge related to fungal biodiversity
There are wild edible fungi found in other areas of China, but those areas do yet not count on an industrial production chain like we found in Chuxiong, Yunnan
Our study found 22 species of edible fungi, which are most gathered from markets and a few collected from the wild (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Known as “the City of Fungi,” is rich in fungal resources and traditional knowledge related to fungal biodiversity. Yunnan Province is located in the southwest part of China. This province harbors more than 15,000 plant species and is often called the “Kingdom of Plants” [1]. It has a wide variety of forest and soil types due to its unique natural mountainous environment [2, 3], which creates unique microclimates and ideal conditions for a wide variety of edible fungi. The edible fungi in Yunnan are well-known in the world, and production is large and widespread. The annual production amounts to about 50,000 t, which does not include fungi from

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion