Collection and uses of wild edible mushrooms by the rural women in Naka, Gwer West, Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

A total number of fifteen edible mushrooms species were collected on wood, 471 on soil and 37 on leaves litter/humus and from the mushroom hunters of the Gwer local government of Benue State, Nigeria. The people of Naka, Gwer West Local Government of Benue State used the collected mushrooms for nutritional and medicinal purposes. The preference collected edible species of the mushrooms percentages were 45%, 26.7%, 15%, 7.5%, 3.3%, and 2.5% for Amanita strobiliformis, Chanterellus pallens, Lentinus squarullosus, Porphyrellus porphyrosporus, Melanoleula verrucipes and Termitomyces microcarpus respectively. The study indicated that Termitomyces microcarpus was the least preferred edible species in Benue State, Nigeria. Survey of other species should be done to provide a checklist of useful mushrooms in Nigeria. Â