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Mushrooms
A termite mushroom of East Africa. It grows from the underground nests of fungus-growing termites, is gathered wild in Tanzania, and cannot yet be cultivated.
Termitomyces mbuzi is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Termitomyces. Species of this genus grow in a partnership with fungus-growing termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae, and the mushroom fruits above the termite nests. The species is recorded in Tanzania.
The European Forest Institute species page describes it as one of the whitest termite mushrooms in Africa, alongside T. microcarpus and T. schimperi, with a sharp-pointed umbo and a fairly thick stipe for the overall size of the fruiting body.
The Fermentea catalogue records T. mbuzi as a regional termite-mushroom food taxon in Tanzania, harvested from the wild. The research summarised here does not give a documented local name, a recipe or a preparation for this species specifically.
A Tanzanian study records as many as 25 species of Termitomyces from the country. Harvesting of wild mushrooms in the Lake Victoria basin for household food and for trade between households is described as widespread. Commercial sales of wild harvests in Tanzania are reported to contribute significantly to family incomes in an IUCN assessment of a related species.
A Slow Food Ark of Taste entry describes soup with rice or ugali (maize porridge) in Mbeya and Iringa in southern Tanzania. That entry covers T. clypeatus, not T. mbuzi, and should not be read as a preparation for this species.
Termite mushrooms cannot yet be cultivated without termite hosts. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen are testing whether they could become a sustainable human food, and the reported limit on availability is the lack of a cultivation method.
Because the material available is catalogue-level, the page does not give a yield, season or storage behaviour for T. mbuzi.
The common label termite mushroom is used for several species, so this item is named by its scientific name. A name on a market stall or in a catalogue does not confirm the species of a specimen.
Do not identify a wild mushroom for eating from this page. Wild termite mushrooms should be identified by a specialist, and unidentified wild mushrooms should not be eaten.
Country-level record from the catalogue and the Tanzanian study; no locality is given for this species.
The African Caesar-group mushroom, Amanita masasiensis, is a wild ectomycorrhizal species of central and southern African woodlands, eaten locally. The genus contains deadly poisonous species, so identification needs care.
Amanita bweyeyensis is a Eucalyptus-associated Amanita in East and Central Africa, in section Phalloideae with the deadly A. phalloides. Sources call for extreme caution, and it is not recommended as food.
Amanita loosei is a large wild Amanita of tropical African miombo and open woodland, gathered and sold as a valued seasonal food. Regional food-use evidence is not a guide to identifying wild mushrooms.
Amanita mafingensis is a reddish Amanita described from Tanzania in 1994, where local people regard it as edible. Its genus includes some of the most dangerous mushrooms, so this page gives no edibility verdict for any other place.
A small red ectomycorrhizal chanterelle of African open forest and miombo. Sources document regional food use but differ on taste and harvesting preference; older records as C. floridulus or C. miniatescens require care.
Cantharellus platyphyllus is a red-to-orange chanterelle of tropical African woodland, gathered and sold locally in several countries. Its edibility rests on local use and literature, not a species-level safety study.
A miombo-woodland chanterelle described from Tanzania and called Wipatwe in the Southern Highlands. Food classifications conflict, including within a 2015 community study.
A historical account records Entoloma argyropus as eaten at Amani, Tanzania. It does not establish safe modern identification, preparation, or current use.
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European Forest Institute Ethnomycology (EFTA)Identity · Food use · Safety
Termitomyces mbuzi Härk. & NiemeläWhitest termite mushroom in Africa with a sharp-pointed umbo and thick stipe
Listed as a regional termite-mushroom food taxon
Cited in: What the fungus is; Safety and identification
COSTECH repository, TanzaniaFood use · History
Termitomyces Species from Tanzania, Their Cultural Properties and Unequalled BasidiosporesAs many as 25 Termitomyces species recorded from Tanzania
Wild harvest used for household food and inter-household trade in the Lake Victoria basin
Cited in: Harvest and food use
Slow Food Foundation, Ark of TasteFood use
SakulwiheSoup with rice or ugali in Mbeya and Iringa, reported for T. clypeatus, not T. mbuzi
Cited in: Harvest and food use
FoodNavigatorCultivation · Availability
Researchers to investigate termite mushrooms as new food sourceTermite mushrooms cannot yet be cultivated without termite hosts
University of Copenhagen research on a sustainable human food source
Cited in: Cultivation and research