Termitomyces intermedius

Identity and name

Termitomyces intermedius was first described from Japan and was later reported from China, where a 2025 paper lists it as a new record. The Chinese name for the genus is jizong, and the catalogue gives the common name regional termite mushroom.

The catalogue treats the scientific name as a research label and notes that Chinese and African Termitomyces concepts need molecular checks before records are merged.

Habitat and ecology

Specimens grow around termite nests in summer. The species is a termite-associated fungus: its fruiting bodies emerge from termite-associated substrate, and the mycelium lives in a symbiosis with fungus-growing termites.

Food status

The 2026 Chinese species catalogue lists the species as edible or edible-and-medicinal. The catalogue used for this page marks it as a checklist lead: direct food-use evidence is needed, and the listing is a research lead, not an independent safety assessment.

Other Termitomyces species are documented food mushrooms in African and Asian markets. That genus-level record does not transfer to T. intermedius. No culinary tradition, preparation or local market record for this species was found in the sources reviewed.

Safety and limits

Identification and safety: a name, a photograph or one regional guide does not confirm that a wild specimen is this species. This page is not a collection key. Edibility statements refer to the named species as understood by each source, not any particular specimen. Because this is a checklist lead, the edibility status in the catalogue is not an assessment of this species for eating. Any future food record would need its own identification and a source giving the preparation used.