0000000000025934
AUTHOR
M. L. Gargano
Identification and sustainable exploitation of wild edible mushrooms in rural areas (Mycoticon, LdV-ToI project): Development of an innovative training package to meet educational and income-generating demands in South Europe and to improve the use of mushrooms as high-value food
In Mediterranean and in southeast Europe the activities of a significant part of the population are traditionally linked with agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. However, many rural communities are experiencing serious difficulties associated with low income per person and poor employment prospects combined with increased demographic decline. Alternative activities such as the collection and trading of wild edible mushrooms as well as the cultivation of choice species could contribute at providing valuable solutions both in financial and environmental terms. The total number of fungal species which are considered having edible and/or medicinal value is over 2300.1 Most of them form …
Elaphomyces citrinus and Elaphomyces maculatus in Sicily (southern Italy)
The first record of Elaphomyces maculatus from Sicily is reported. The presence of E. citrinus in Sicily, first indicated a century ago by Mattirolo in his monograph on hypogeous fungi of Sardinia and Sicily, is confirmed. Notes on the taxonomy, ecology and distribution of these two infrequent hypogeous fungi are provided.
EVALUATION OF BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL LOAD IN FRESH, FROZEN AND DRIED FOOD MUSHROOMS
The analysis carried out by Doores et al. (1) and Venturini et al. (2) on the total bacterial load tested in wild and cultivated fresh mushrooms highlight values ranging between 3.7 and 9.3 log ufc/g. Due to the absence of pathogens, the microbiological quality of mushrooms analysed by the above-mentioned authors has been considered good. On the basis of data reported in literature we have also extended the observations with frozen and dried mushrooms in order to evaluate the mesophilous bacterial and fungal load. In particular the presence/absence of Escherichia coli (Migula,1895) Castellani & Chalmers, 1919, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes (Murray et al.1926) Pirie 1940 was…
Macrofungal diversity and ecology in two Mediterranean forest ecosystems
The macrofungal species richness and community assemblages in Italian native woodlands of oaks and Carpinus betulus and non-native woodlands of Pinus spp., Cupressus sempervirens and Eucalyptus camaldulensis were examined through the collection of basidiomata and ascomata over 1 year. The sampling in Collestrada (Umbria) and Pizzo Manolfo (Sicily) forests revealed 216 species of macrofungi. The results indicate differences in macromycete richness and diversity patterns between the two sites. The dominant tree species of the two sites were different; thus, the Collestrada forests had higher mycorrhizal species richness, while the Pizzo Manolfo forest had a higher relative number of saprotrop…
Diversity of macrofungi and exploitation of edible mushroom resources in the National Park “Appennino Lucano, Val D'Agri, Lagonegrese” (Italy)
An investigation on the macrofungal diversity of the National Park “Appennino Lucano, Val D'Agri, Lagonegrese” (Basilicata, southern Italy) was carried out, together with an evaluation of wild edible mushrooms in agro-forest ecosystems and their possible exploitation as a new source of food and revenue in rural and under-developed areas of this region. An unpublished list of 249 mushroom taxa (229 Basidiomycota and 20 Ascomycota), mostly belonging to the genera Tricholoma, Tuber, Russula, Amanita, Boletus, Lactarius, Mycena, Agaricus, Clitocybe and Hygrophorus, growing in this important natural area is provided together with ecological characterization of the recorded specimens. Inonotus ob…