Mushrooms in service of the society and the environment

Mushrooms are cosmopolitan and epigeous or even hypogeous.They produce varied morphological forms which grow either solitary or scattered to gregarious or in cespitose clusters on variety of substrates and some may even form fairy rings as well.Ecological parameters such as soil type, pH, relative humidity, temperature, altitude, association with trees, specificity, geographical coordinates, etc., play a determinate role in mushroom growth, phenology and their distribution.These are categorized as minor forest products having number of applications as for their utility in human welfare is concerned.Besides their nutritional and nutraceutical importance, they are a source of revenue and provide opportunities for the entrepreneurs to venture into the area of cultivation of nutritionally and medicinally important mushrooms and explore opportunities in value addition as a source of revenue generation.Agaricus bisporus, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus spp., Volvariella volvacea, Calocybe indica are some such mushrooms which are being cultivated on commercial scale and are in use for value addition as well.There are number of them including Cordyceps militaris, C. sinensis, Morchella esculenta, Termitomyces heimii, Coprinus comatus, Podaxis pistillaris, Phellorinia inquinens, etc., which are collected from the wild and sold in the local markets for earning extra revenue or even dried for use in the off season.Mushrooms have been in use since times immemorial as folk medicine.Many of these including Cordyceps militaris, C. sinensis, Grifola frondosa, Tramates versicolor, Gandoderma lucidum, Psilocybe mexicana, etc., are important source of bioactive molecules having applications in therapeutics.Many of the mushrooms are saprophytic which play an important role in recycling the organic wastes and some are mycorrhizal, which help in improving the health of the plants by forming mutualistic association.Other important aspects where mushroom mycelia and their sporophores have found applications include bioremediation, mycofiltration, as objects of beauty and mystique, in the synthesis of building and packaging material, in the preparation of cosmeceuticals or nutricosmetics and as a source of natural colors.Because of such wide range of applications mushrooms are referred as special creation of God.