Doctorate on edible mushroom: Applying traditional knowledge of people belonging to Kaani tribe in the Western Ghats – Tamil Nadu

West Ghats near Kanyakumari in the Tamil Nadu – Kerala border region
Photo courtesy Davidson Sargunam >>

Facts and figures: India’s biological, cultural and geographic diversity

Spread over 3,287,240 km2 and despite a total human population of over 1,210,000,000, India represents a wide spectrum of biological, cultural and geographic diversity. It has been identified as one of the top 12 global biodiversity hotspots and has 91 eco-cultural zones inhabited by 4,635 ethnic communities. India also has amongst the largest indigenous/tribal population, constituting 8.08% of the country’s population, representing 461 tribes. The term ‘Indigenous Peoples’ is not officially recognized in the country, instead the Constitution of India uses the term ‘Scheduled Tribes’. The total forest cover is estimated to be approximately 20% of the total area of the country. About 1,70,379 villages with a population of 10,674,334 inhabit areas in close proximity of forests.

Source: RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT OF ICCAs IN INDIA by Neema Pathak Broome and Tushar Dash, p. 4 | PDF-Repository
URL: https://kalpavriksh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IndiaICCARecognition_Final_SEPT2012-as-published.pdf
Date Visited: 10 March 2025

The traditional knowledge of people belonging to Kaani tribe in the Western Ghats of Kanyakumari district has helped a research student secure her doctorate.
The Kaani tribe, who inhabit hills and deep jungles, are a veritable storehouse of traditional wisdom. Their traditional knowledge is passed orally through generations. Mushrooms form a prominent place in their menu. Since Kanyakumari district is blessed by two monsoons, the tribal people go in search of mushrooms after the rain. Environmental educator S.S. Davidson, who is conducting research on the culture of the Kaani tribe, told The Hindu that the tribal people shared their knowledge on a host of edible mushrooms to a team of mycologists headed by him. A research scholar, Johnsy Moses, chose an edible mushroom, ‘Lentinus,’ for her doctoral research at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany of Madras University.
The edible mushroom was cultured in controlled laboratory conditions in the university. […]
The ‘Lentius’ mushroom grows at the base of bamboos. If bamboo clusters were destroyed or degraded, there was every possibility of this edible mushroom species facing extinction owing to loss of habitat.
These wild mushrooms could be commercially exploited to add variety to the menu, said Davidson. The research scholar was awarded PhD degree for her research. She was guided by V. Kaviarasan, a mycology expert in Madras University.

Source: Chennai student conducts study on mushrooms of Western Ghats – The Hindu
Address : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/chennai-student-conducts-study-on-mushrooms-of-western-ghats/article4593311.ece
Date Visited: 3 January 2022

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