Macrofungal diversity in Khirsu forest of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India.

摘要

The Khirsu forest situated 19 km away from the Pauri town of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, at an altitude of 1800 to 2200 m is a diverse angiospermic forest, dominated by broad-leaved tree species viz., Quercus leucotrichophora, Rhododendron arboreum, Myrica esculenta, Lyonia ovalifolia and Quercus dilatata. Macrofungi are frequent and abundant in this forest and are distributed in relation to these tree species. The forest receives ample amount of precipitation during monsoon (July-August) and has temperate climate, which makes its environment conducive for the growth of colourful mushrooms. The specimens of macrofungi were collected from Khirsu forest between July 2009 and September 2010. In this study 15 species of the mushrooms belonging to 10 families were identified. Of these, nine (Agaricus silvicola, Amanita hemibapha, Cantharellus cibarius, Coprinus comatus, Lactarius corrugis, L. subindigo, Morchella esculenta, Phylloporus rhodoxanthus and Strobilomyces floccopus) were edible species, two (Agaricus placomyces and Lactarius yazooensis) non-edible and poisonous forms, while four (Cantharellus cibarius, C. comatus, G. lucidum and M. esculenta) had medicinal value.