Agaricus crocopeplus
A forest mushroom of the genus Agaricus, recorded as a wild food in the Tshopo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a voucher-backed ethnomycological survey.
Mushrooms
Pleurotus flabellatus
Pleurotus flabellatus is a wild forest oyster-type mushroom that grows on dead wood in the Congo Basin, recorded as eaten locally in Tshopo. Its name is entangled with P. djamor, so the record needs taxonomic care.
Overview
Pleurotus flabellatus is a wood-decaying fungus of tropical forest. The supplied catalogue records it as locally consumed in voucher-backed interviews in Tshopo province, DR Congo, with no species-specific preparation recorded. It is a saprotroph, so it feeds on dead wood rather than living trees.
The catalogue asks that the name be checked. P. flabellatus and P. djamor name concepts overlap, and the catalogue does not count trade names as distinct species. Records should be read as source identifications until the complex is reconciled.
Sources for this section
Ecology and distribution
The EFTA species page lists the Congo among the countries where the species occurs, citing Pegler (1972, 1977). It grows on dead wood in moist closed forest, dry closed forest and open forest. The catalogue records the supply as wild.
Sources for this section
Distinguishing it from Pleurotus djamor
The EFTA-based description separates P. flabellatus from the pantropical P. djamor by the absence of hairs on the cap and stipe. P. djamor is reported as edible in Mexico, but the sources read give no Congolese record for it. Because the two names can overlap, the catalogue advises against counting them as separate species without review.
Sources for this section
Cultivation
A 2010 study of edible lignicolous mushrooms from the Kinshasa region reported that a local strain of P. flabellatus grown on Cyperus papyrus stems gave the highest average yield of sporophores, at 22 per cent fresh weight. The study is a trial of one local strain on one substrate, and the sources read do not establish a general cultivation method.
Sources for this section
Food use and safety
The catalogue records local food use in Tshopo without a preparation, and states that the record is not an independent toxicological assessment. The EFTA page gives no food-use or toxicity statement. A wood-decay mushroom eaten locally does not show that every collection or every lookalike is safe.
Do not use this page to identify or eat wild fungi. Confirm identification with a qualified mycologist or a reliable regional authority before any consumption.
Sources for this section
Places
Tshopo
Documented use · Region evidenceInterview-based food-use record; species-specific preparation not established.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Documented use · Country evidenceDistribution note from the EFTA page citing Pegler; not an origin claim.
Related
More from Tshopo province
Cantharellus luteopunctatus
Cantharellus luteopunctatus is a wild ectomycorrhizal chanterelle of central African rainforest, recorded as eaten locally in Tshopo province, DR Congo. Its preparation is not documented.
Cantharellus rufopunctatus
Cantharellus rufopunctatus is a rainforest chanterelle-group fungus that the catalogue records as eaten locally in Tshopo province, DR Congo, where no species-specific preparation has been established.
Hygrocybe cantharellus
Hygrocybe cantharellus is a small orange waxy-cap agaric with a catalogued food record from Tshopo province, DR Congo, and a taxonomy that the sources read do not settle for that region.
Marasmius bekolacongoli
Marasmius bekolacongoli is a wild mushroom of Central African rainforest that field surveys in Cameroon, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo record as eaten by local people.
Russula sesemoindu
Russula sesemoindu is a wild ectomycorrhizal mushroom with a local name in Tshopo province, DR Congo. It is recorded as eaten by several informant groups, with no preparation or safety assessment.
Russula striatoviridis
Russula striatoviridis is a wild ectomycorrhizal mushroom recorded as locally eaten in Tshopo province, DR Congo. No preparation method or safety assessment is established for it.
Termitomyces striatus
Termitomyces striatus is a wild termite mushroom that grows with fungus-growing termites in tropical Africa and Asia. Local food use is recorded, but its species-level preparation is not established.
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Sources
Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Societe et EnvironnementCultivation · Regional record
Study of local edible lignicolous mushrooms from the Kinshasa region (2010)A local P. flabellatus strain on Cyperus papyrus stems gave the highest average sporophore yield, 22 per cent fresh weight.
Cited in: Cultivation
PubMed CentralFood use · Ecology · Regional record · Cultivation
Supplied fungi catalogue entry S056 (PMC7011311)Recorded as locally consumed in voucher-backed Tshopo interviews; species-specific preparation not established.
Forest saprotroph; supply wild.
Cited in: Overview; Distinguishing it from Pleurotus djamor; Food use and safety
EFTA, Edible Fungi of Tropical Africa (Meise Botanic Garden)Identity · Ecology · Distribution
Pleurotus flabellatusCongo listed among countries (Pegler 1972, 1977); dead wood in moist closed, dry closed and open forest.
Differs from P. djamor by the absence of hairs on cap and stipe.
Cited in: Overview; Ecology and distribution; Distinguishing it from Pleurotus djamor; Food use and safety
PubMed CentralCultivation · Taxonomy
Supplied fungi catalogue entry S053 (Pleurotus, tropical forest substrates)P. flabellatus / P. djamor name concepts can overlap; retain source identifications until the complex is reconciled.