Wild Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms Used by the Tribes in the State of Kerala, India: A Review

Abstract

Wild edible mushrooms are a valuable dietary food to many tribal people around the world. Wild medicinal mushrooms are therapeutically important sources of bioactive compounds. Tribal groups in Kerala ('Adivasis' of Kerala) are indigenous, ethnic populations that live in the forests and mountains of the Western Ghats, bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Cholanaikkans, Kurumbas, Kattunaikkans, Kadars, and Koragas are the five primitive tribal groups in Kerala, constituting nearly 5% of the total tribal population in the state. Knowledge on the edibility of mushrooms is mainly based on folk taxonomy and traditional knowledge of indigenous people. Tribal people use some wild mushrooms as sources of food and medicine for various ailments in their communities. Auricularia auriculata, Agaricus bisporus, Boletus edulis, Ganoderma lucidum, Lentinus edodes, and L. squarrosulus are therapeutically important medicinal mushroom species used by the tribal people of Kerala. This article discusses the wild edible and medicinal mushrooms used by different tribal communities in Kerala.