Open AccessAN ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS - A POTENTIAL RESOURCE OF FOOD AND INCOME GENERATION IN PABBAR VALLEY, HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA
Author(s) -
P.P. Chauhan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plant archives/plant archives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2581-6063
pISSN - 0972-5210
DOI - 10.51470/plantarchives.2021.v21.no2.041
Subject(s) - ethnobotany , edible plants , mushroom , edible mushroom , geography , traditional knowledge , agaricus , agriculture , biology , resource (disambiguation) , socioeconomics , agroforestry , medicinal plants , botany , ecology , computer network , indigenous , sociology , computer science
The Western Himalayan region is rich in wild mushrooms. The people living in this area have extensive traditional mycological knowledge. The wild edible mushrooms have been consumed from the earliest history and also possess medicinal properties. The seasonal collections of wild edible mushrooms constitute a food with nutritional value and a source of income for the rural local inhabitants. In the present day, mushrooms are valued as popular food because of low in fat, carbohydrate, and cholesterol-free, and rich in vitamins. The lifestyle change is now responsible for a severe reduction in the collection of these mushrooms. The knowledge in the local environment gets lost when it is not gathered. The study aimed to investigate the knowledge and use of wild edible mushrooms in Pabbar Valley, Himachal Pradesh. A total of 13 species of mushrooms belonging to 11 families were identified as edible from the area. Morchella spp. are collected mainly for trade purposes.