Species Richness and Traditional Knowledge of Macrofungi (Mushrooms) in the Awing Forest Reserve and Communities, Northwest Region, Cameroon

Abstract

Macrofungi are diverse in their uses as food and medicine and several species serve as decomposers and also form mycorrhizal associations. Awing forest reserve is diverse in plants and fungi species. However, no work has been carried out to assess the diversity and traditional knowledge of macrofungi in the area. Diversity surveys were carried out in three altitudes using transects of 50×20 m for six months in 2015. Ethnomycology studies were carried out in fifteen communities using focus group discussion, pictorial presentation, and questionnaires. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel 2010. Seventy-five species belonging to thirty families were identified by morphology. Thirty-six species were found only in the low altitude, 16 in the mid altitude, and 16 species in high altitude. One species was common to low and mid altitude and also low and high altitude; five species were common to mid and high altitude while there was no species common to all three altitudes. The indigenes of the Awing communities commonly called mushroom “Poh” and use it mainly as food and medicine and in mythological beliefs. The most utilized species as food and medicine included Termitomyces titanicus, Laetiporus sulphureus, and Ganoderma sp.