Non-Lumber Forest Products: Edible Mushrooms Cultivation

摘要

A rich and large variety of mushroom species can be found in the forests of the California Pacific coast range and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Four main edible species are prevalent throughout the Pacific coast: Morcella esculenta, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, and Tricholoma magnivelare. San Francisco itself has a unique history in mushroom mycology with up to over 1,000 wild species growing in the Bay Area. The Mycological Society of San Francisco is an educational and scientific organizationfor the public that promotes forays and fairs so that all people can share information and knowledge of mushrooms. The cultivation mushroom industry in the United States traditional started with the Agaricus bisporus mushroom and has begun to diversifytheir products with the Lentinus edodes and Pleurotus species mushroom. In the United States, Amycel and Sylvan are businesses that serve throughout America and also internationally. The Chinese have a 2,000-year history in cuisine and medicinal fungi that exceeds 20-30 species for cultivation and hundreds of species used for specific pharmaceutical needs. Over the many years the Chinese have developed unique agroforest techniques in cultivating the mushrooms. Presently the Chinese produce 40 million tons of mushrooms, which is 60% of the world's production. As the abundance of diverse mushroom species become more well known throughout the world, humans will come to enjoy the natural food and medicinal properties of these fungi treasures.