US EPA

9417636 

Journal Article 

Ethnomycological Report on the Macrofungi Utilized by the Indigenous Community in Ifugao Province, Philippines 

De Leon, AM; Fermin, SMC; Rigor, RPT; Kalaw, SP; Dela Cruz, TEE; Stephenson, SL 

2018 

0 

Philippine Agriculturist
ISSN: 0031-7454 

101 

2 

194-205 

WOS:000450018100010 

The study reported herein outlines the beliefs of indigenous people relating to the collection and utilization of macrofungi in selected barangays of the Banaue, Hungduan and Mayoyao municipalities in the Ifugao Province, Cordillera Autonomous Region of the Philippines. Survey questionnaires were distributed and interviews were conducted. As in other similar ethnomycological studies, the indigenous people from Ifugao Province have unique and distinct indigenous beliefs, knowledge and practices regarding the collection and utilization of macrofungi. Some of the beliefs include mushrooms with a ring or annulus on the stipe are poisonous while mushrooms that are surrounded by insects or flies are edible. Mushrooms are also believed to be surrounded by spirits so that permission is first obtained from the deity before mushrooms are collected. Medicinal practices have also been documented such as the use of Trametes sp. in treating stomach ache and headache and in helping to eliminate solid waste from the human body. Thirteen different mushrooms used by indigenous people in the region were collected and identified morphologically. These are Agaricus sp., Auricularia auricula, Coprinellus disseminatus, Lentinus sajor-caju, Lenzites elegans, Mycena sp., Oudemensiella canarii, Phellinus sp., Pleurotus ostreatus, Schizophyllum commune, Trametes elegans, Vascellum pratense, and Volvariella volvacea. Baseline information on the different mushrooms utilized by the Ifugao indigenous people as well as their beliefs in terms of mushroom collection, utilization and cultivation are herein reported. 

Ifugao province; indigenous beliefs; indigenous people; edible mushroom; ethnomycology; macrofungi