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Mushroom Masala - Mushrooms of South India's Dry Season

Feb 12

Hey gang,


It’s 3:30 AM and I’m at the Bangalore airport. The architecture is tasteful, lots of natural materials and green walls. We just spent the past ten days in South India which, as we were told on multiple occasions, might be the shortest amount of time anyone has ever committed to traveling through the area. That said, we crammed a lot in and felt like it was a great introduction to this vast, diverse country.


A male gaur (Bos gaurus). This guy was massive. Look at all that musculature generated from a plant-based diet. Males can weigh two tons and the females clock in at about half that size. This was also the animal that inspired the Red Bull name and logo.
A male gaur (Bos gaurus). This guy was massive. Look at all that musculature generated from a plant-based diet. Males can weigh two tons and the females clock in at about half that size. This was also the animal that inspired the Red Bull name and logo.

We spent a few days at a home-stay in the mountains in Wayanad (near the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve), five days at a yoga Ashram, and another couple days in the city of Mysore. When we arrived at the yoga Ashram one of the first people we saw - and the first American we’d met the whole trip - was someone who attended a mushroom walk I led this summer. Shoutout Juli from the New York Mycological Society.


We had a few random, chance encounters like that throughout the trip (we randomly ran into a guy in the city of Mysore that we’d met a week earlier at the home-stay, Ciara got hit by a golf ball while we were in a rickshaw). There’s definitely something in the air down here (aside from the pollution😅).


Chital (Axis axis) were the most common animals we saw in the mountains. These handsome deer are actually invasive in Texas with tens of thousands kept on private land for game hunting.
Chital (Axis axis) were the most common animals we saw in the mountains. These handsome deer are actually invasive in Texas with tens of thousands kept on private land for game hunting.

It’s the dry season here so fresh mushrooms are at a premium. We really only found them popping up in areas that had been irrigated. The rains start in June and run through September, but they’ve become a little more unpredictable in recent years per the locals. This trip wasn’t specifically for mushrooming, I opted instead to experience caffeine withdrawals at a yoga Ashram, but I’m already ruminating on how I can spend a few months here looking for and learning about mushrooms during the monsoon season.


In lieu of fresh mushrooms, lots of locals eagerly talked about their experience with mushrooms. Mushroom curries are a daily dish during the rains. Tribal folks will harvest mushrooms that grow in termite mounds and use them medicinally (backed up by a formal study, Reference 1). Lots of people flock to Kodaikonal in the fall to find magic mushrooms growing in elephant and gaur dung. There’s even a newly-formed mushroom festival in South India. The mushroom culture is definitely here, my timing was just a few months early.


Langur (Semnopithecus). We only saw these “black-faced monkeys” in the Nagarhole Tiger Preserve, but there was a smaller species of monkeys that would hang out in the villages.
Langur (Semnopithecus). We only saw these “black-faced monkeys” in the Nagarhole Tiger Preserve, but there was a smaller species of monkeys that would hang out in the villages.

India is rich in animal diversity. The birds were ornate and colorful, and there’s quite a bit of “charismatic megafauna”. Elephants, tigers, leopards, monkeys, sloth bears, gaur, peacocks all inhabit the forests of South India (you can see rhinos in a few spots in the north) . Even their squirrels are giant.


We didn’t see a tiger but we saw some fresh paw prints. The guide was able to determine they were from a female. No idea how he was able to do that, the language barrier was quite difficult for the most part.
We didn’t see a tiger but we saw some fresh paw prints. The guide was able to determine they were from a female. No idea how he was able to do that, the language barrier was quite difficult for the most part.

The one anti-mushroom sentiment I actually came across was at the yoga Ashram. According to their Ayurvedic teachings, mushrooms are considered Tamasic which means they cause lethargy or inertia. This is because they tend to grow in the dark from dead material - real earthy, “Kapha” fare. Definitely something I’ll have to read more about.


A herd of ten Asian elephants that included a few calves. It was neat to watch them swing their trunks back and forth to collect (and eventually eat) the grass. One even started eating the bark on a teak tree which they’ll do for additional nutrients or when food is scarce.
A herd of ten Asian elephants that included a few calves. It was neat to watch them swing their trunks back and forth to collect (and eventually eat) the grass. One even started eating the bark on a teak tree which they’ll do for additional nutrients or when food is scarce.

We were able to go for a “trek” (a hike) up the Brahmagiri Hills which is where I found most of the mushrooms on the trip. An interesting aspect to trekking here is that you need a guide to take you up the mountain. It makes sense since there are tigers and elephants in the forest, and none of the trails are marked. Our guide didn’t speak a lick of English and hiked the whole thing in flip flops which was sweet.


Here are some mushrooms from the trek and the rest of our time in India:


Yellow Stemmed Micropore (Micropus xanthopus)


Yellow Stemmed Micropore
This polypore reminded me of a cross between the black-footed polypore (Cerioporus leptocephalus) and false turkey-tail (Stereum). This was the most common mushroom we found on the hike. Notice the yellow coloration near the point of attachment to the branch.

Dark-footed tinypore (Micropus affinus)


Dark-footed tinypore
This mushroom looks like Reishi with colorful reds and yellows on the top of the cap, but has a very narrow, dark-colored point of attachment to the wood.
Dark-footed tinypore
Here’s one we’ll find in northeastern North America. A little blurry, but that mustard-yellow color in the middle of the mushroom was a helpful clue. Gosh knows if it’s the same exact species, or an Asiatic look-a-like, but I wrote about this species a couple years ago.

Splitgill mushroom (Schizophyllum commune)


Splitgill mushroom
One of the most common mushrooms on the planet. I’ve found them in Central Park and I’ve found them climbing the steps of Chamundi Hill. They’re renowned for having 34,000 mating types (humans have two).

Yellow-staining Agaricus (Agaricus spp.)


Yellow-staining Agaricus
These were growing out of a watered lawn and are similar to lawn mushrooms you’d find in North America. A slightly almond-like smell and no discernible taste.

Earliella scabrosa


Earliella scabrosa
Not sure about this ID, but it looked like they were growing on dead palm. When the owner of the home-stay in the mountains found out I liked mushrooms she showed me these.

Brooklyn Winter Fungi Festival


I will be in Brooklyn on 3/1 for the New York Winter Fungi Festival. Tickets are free (unless you want to go the VIP route). I’m just going to be hanging out, talking shop, and taking in the presentations/panels so it’d be great to see some of you.


I have something pretty neat planned for next week’s article during our extended layover in Paris. Stay tuned.


Aubrey


Bonus Stripe-necked mongoose picture (Urva vitticolis)


Mongoose

References:


  1. Paloi S, Kumla J, Paloi BP, Srinuanpan S, Hoijang S, Karunarathna SC, Acharya K, Suwannarach N, Lumyong S. Termite Mushrooms (Termitomyces), a Potential Source of Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds Exhibiting Human Health Benefits: A Review. J Fungi (Basel). 2023 Jan 13;9(1):112. doi: 10.3390/jof9010112. PMID: 36675933; PMCID: PMC9863917.

  2. https://tsusinvasives.org/home/database/axis-axis

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