Online ISSN : 2349-8080 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorinchiefijcrbp@gmail.com |
Mushrooms the beautiful edible macrofungi are important medicinally and nutritionally. The present study attempts to explore the locally grown mushrooms and also the imported varieties. Nine different genera of mushrooms were collected from different areas of Jazan and Abha belonging to Ascomycotina and Basidiomycotina. The nine genera were Agaricus, Agrocybe, Amanita, Boletus, Coprinus, Lepiota, Pleurotus and Podaxis belonging to Basidiomycotina. Morchella was the only genus belonging to Ascomycotina. The imported mushrooms from different countries mainly Holland, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand are collected from local markets from Abha and Riyadh. Eight genera of edible mushrooms which areidentified as Agaricus bisporus with different varieities like Silver creek and Portobello, Auricularia polytricha (Black fungi), Cyclocybe aegerita (Yanagi Mushroom), Flamullina velutipes, Hypsizygus tessellates (White Crab Mushroom), Lentinula edodes (Shiitake Mushroom), Lyophyllum shimeji (Brown Shimeji), Pleurotus or Oyster Mushroom with two species Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ostreatus. Agaricus was the most common and predominant genera both as local and imported variety. Photographs of the mushrooms were taken and also the cross sections were studied. The structure of the gills is depicted by the spore print taken on the filter paper. More mushroom farms are required to be established so that they can be grown locally. As they are primary decomposers of organic matter they are also responsible for protection of environment and hence agents for controlling pollution. They are also eco friendly agents for recycling the waste.