Book Review
Tanzanian Mushrooms: Edible, Harmful and Other Fungi
Marja Härkönen, Tuomo Niemelä, & Leonard Mwasumbi
Finnish Museum of Natural History, 2003
ISBN 952-10-1420-2, 200 pages, softcover, 25 euros
Planning a safari to East Africa? Interested in mushrooms? Then this book is for you! Even if you are not going to Africa, the book has a lot of information about mushrooms, their fruiting, ecology, edibility, and ethnomycology (how the local peoples use wild mushrooms). The book is written in clear, non-technical English. Words that apply specifically to the mushrooms and may not be familiar to some readers are described the first time they are used, and there is a glossary that not only describes the word but includes the page numbers where it is used in the text and where it is illustrated. The 200 very good color photographs mostly show the mushrooms, but some illustrate natural habitats, mushroom collecting, sale of wild mushrooms, and local gastronomy.
The 105 Basidiomycetes described in detail are principally agarics, boletes, chanterelles, and polypores. Preceding the descriptions are chapters that discuss the Tanzanian forests, grasslands, and croplands that support mushrooms; the ecology of the fungi in those areas; the teatures or musnrooms that are important in identifying them; the relationships between the mushrooms and the people of Tanzania; the edible and poisonous species; and some recipes, traditional and adapted.
New data is included on the nutritional value of several popular edible species as compared with the values for the cultivated Agaricus bisporus. The best edible mushrooms were the species of Termitomyces. Local preferences were shown for Amanita species, Cantharellus, Lactarius, and Russula. The seven Termitomyces treated in detail had higher protein content and energy values than Agaricus bisporus. Four species of edible Amanitas are treated in detail, including the beautiful A. tanzanica. The poisonous Amanitas (A. phalloides and A. muscaria) have been introduced and are found in plantations of exotic conifers.
The authors collected stories of mushroom poisonings and found that myths persist over which characters are diagnostic of poisonous species, e.g., formation of foam when boiled, slimy appearance, if monkeys eat them they are not poisonous, etc. "The traditional method to cure the victim [of poisoning] is to make him vomit. The methods for that are rather harsh. You may let him drink water in which some soil, chicken droppings, or ashes are added." Recovering victims are fed that universal cure-all chicken soup!
The book is recommended because it is a good introduction to mushrooms and their allies. It is a good read with lots of interesting tidbits, and the photographs and drawings are fine.
— Review by Jim Ginns
— The Mycophile 45:3, May/Jun 2004