I thought that the fungal
taxonomy is simple, but it is not! I also thought that plant is more diverse
than the fungus, but it is not! I came to know it only when Dr. Hosaka,
mycologist (Basidiomycota) from Japan presented a seminar on Mushroom.
Mushrooms are edible, non-edible,
poisonous and non-poisonous. Many farmers earn their livelihood through the
trade of mushroom and of course many people die due to mushroom poisoning. They
play vital roles in the ecosystem as mycorrhiza and decomposers (of wood and
leaves). Mushrooms are known to be the most diverse groups of organism in the
terrestrial ecosystem, yet the true numbers of the mushroom species are
unknown.
The scientists have estimated the number of mushroom species of both
known and unknown to be ca. 1,500,000 species. It is also estimated through
different approaches that the number of species to be around 5 – 9 million or
even more.
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| Ganoderma applanatum. Phuntsholing, January, 2013 Alt. c. 400m |
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| Microporus sp. Phuntsholing. January, 2013. Alt. c. 1000m |
Dr. Hosaka mentioned that the
ratio of plant to fungi in the world is 1:5 i.e. for every plant there is 5
mushrooms. It is quite alarming that most of the fungus are not discovered or not
described, whereas most of the plants have been discovered and described too.
The fact about mushroom is that, even a single species can be identified into at
least 7 species.
Mushrooms are source of income
for some farmers and food for some. The mushrooms has so far increased the
status of local livelihood and also taken some of the lives. It is vital to identify
the edible, non-edible and poisonous mushrooms.
Mushrooms are so diverse; that to explore,
discover and describe the entire mushroom on earth will take more than 1000
years from now.
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