| Termitomyces | |
|---|---|
| Termitomyces reticulatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Basidiomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Lyophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Termitomyces R.Heim |
| Type species | |
| Termitomyces striatus (Beeli) R.Heim |
|
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
1945 Podabrella Singer |
|
Termitomyces is a genus of basidiomycete fungi belonging to the family Lyophyllaceae. There are about 30 species in the genus.[2] They are the food source for a subfamily of termites, the Macrotermitinae, who enjoy an obligate symbiosis with the genus similar to that between Atta and Attamyces. Despite this their spore transfer is mainly by shedding from mushrooms, which protrude from the termite mounds.[3] These are edible for most people, and the larger species are a popular wild food where they occur. They include the largest mushroom in the world, Termitomyces titanicus of West Africa, whose cap reaches 1 metre (3 ft) in diameter. These fungi grow on 'combs' which are excreta from the termites, dominated by tough woody fragments. Termitomyces was circumscribed by Roger Heim in 1942.[4]
Arthur French worked in Uganda (1955–1969) on the subject of fungi and termites. There was some scientific literature, in French, by Belgians, but it dealt inadequately with the relationship between mushrooms and termites, and the best edible varieties were 'termite mushrooms'. He did some work on them, with the help of the elderly Baganda women who gathered them, and published the results. For a year or two he was a world expert on termite mushrooms.
See Tobias Frøslev's Termitomyces page [1] And an academic review of the relationship in Patterns of interaction specificity of fungus-growing termites and Termitomyces symbionts in South Africa Aanenet DK al BMC Evol Biol. 2007; 7: 115. [2]
