Mushroom walk through Mukuvisi Woodlands , Harare , Zimbabwe February 2014
Today l signed up for a guided walk about wild mushrooms . The walk was conducted by Cathy Sharp , who is a mycologist living in Zimbabwe and has been studying mushrooms all her life . I was looking forward to this as there is seldom access to these type of people and l have always wanted to learn more about mushrooms and their identification .
I was one of about 20 people from all walks of life , and ages , so very diverse group . We walked a short distance through the miombo forests of Harare’s Mukuvisi Woodlands . It is raining this time of the year and the grass is tall and all the plants are green , it is a very humid environment and leaf litter is plentiful on the ground , therefore perfect conditions exist for mushrooms to grow . I probably encountered 25 species in all . Some of them apparently edible , some known to be poisonous , l personally don’t eat wild mushrooms .
Here are some pictures of some of the mushrooms we encountered , there were many others l have yet to identify . The identifications are based on a small booklet that Cathy produced as well as information from the walk .
( The booklet is called : A Pocket Guide to Mushrooms in Zimbabwe ).
Therefore the identifications are open to discussion .
I will add more information in time .
Lactarius spp. ( maybe kabansus ) (Orange-gilled Milkcap)- Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Clavulina wisoli ( White Coral )- Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Clavaria helicoides(Orange Coral)- Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Cantherellus spp.- Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Cantharellus platyphyllus(Blue-tinged Chantarelle) maybe 2 – Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Cantharellus platyphyllus(Blue-tinged Chantarelle) maybe – Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Amanita afrospinosa(Spiny amanita) -Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Schizophyllum commune (Split Gill)-Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
Scleroderma citrinum (Earth Ball) maybe – Feb 2014 Mukuvisi Woods
