M.

Mithal Jiskani*

Research on Desert Mushroom:

A Local Khumbhi in Sindh
Season's orchestra's in full swing,
fresh showers ease the mind;
On mountain-side so green with
grass;
cattle abundance find;
Gay herdsmen's wives about their
necks
of blossoms garlands wind;-
Cucumbers, mushrooms, vegetables
food of every kind;
Lord! days of dearth let lie behind,
ne'er let them reach the earth.
Ref. Shah Jo Risalo (English Version)
(By Shah-Elsa-Kazi)
(www.sindhpk.com)
،‫مىدَ ٿِي مَىڊَلَ مَىڊِيب‬
‫ڪي اوھِيڙَنِ اوڪَ؛‬
،‫ڇبڇَرِ ٿِي ڇَىَهِ ۾‬
‫ميىھِيُون چَرَنِ موڪَ؛‬
،‫سَرَھِيون ٿِـيُون سَىگھبرِيُون‬
‫پُويو پبئِهِ طَوقَ؛‬
،‫ ڦىگِــيُون‬،َ‫ چِڀِڙ‬،‫ميھب‬
‫جِتِ ٿِيَهِ سَڀيئي ٿوڪَ؛‬
.‫ ڏوالئي جب ڏِيىھَڙا‬،َ‫الھِئيه مَٿبن لوڪ‬
‫ڪليبڻ آڏواڻي جي مرتب ڪيل رسبلي ۾ بيته‬
‫تي شبمل پھريه اليڪٽراوڪ اوٽرويٽ‬
‫ عبدالمبجد‬:‫ ترتيب ۽ پيشڪش‬،‫ايڊيشه‬
**2004‫ وومبر‬13 ،‫ڀرڳڙي‬

The people of Sindh are very much familiar with the

business of Desert mushroom, Podaxis pistillaris, commonly
known as KHUMBHI (Fig.1) and the false shaggy mane in
English (Guinther, 2008). It is most commonly observed in the
desert and mountain (Thar and Kohistan) areas as well as in
plains, meadows, coniferous forest etc. during and after rainy
season of summer and rarely in winter too. It is really very much
relished by the local people, hence is hunted and eaten by the
rural folk, since centuries. The above verse (Baitt ‫ )بيت‬of Hazrat
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitae R.A. is the best and an old evidence.
Near about every person of Sindh is known to its delicacy and

*
Author is Assistant Professor at Department of Plant Pathology,
Faculty of Crop Protection, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam
(mmjiskani@sau.edu.pk)
**
http://www.bhurgri.com/bhurgri/sd_shah_sarang.php
5
deliciousness, as well as its medicinal value. This mushroom
contains 21.06% crude protein, 1.71% ether extract, 24.13% ash
and 12.23% crude fibber (Khan, 1986). In 1991, Khaliel et al.,
reported that it contain 76% moisture, 5% total nitrogen, 22-37%
total crude protein, 18.5% carbohydrates, 2.3% total lipids and
2.4% ash. According to Gupta and Kapoor (1990), carbohydrate
analysis revealed 15.0% reducing sugars.
There are various ways by which desert mushroom is
consumed, mostly as a fried in breakfast. The local Hukmah
(Hakims) use it in different ways for treatment of different food
deficiencies and illness. Some times it is
used with butter for bandage of broken
bones (Jiskani, 1999, 2001 and 2004). It is
used in some parts of Yemen for the
treatment of skin diseases, in South
Africa as folk medicine against sunburn
(Guinther, 2008). In other countries, e.g.
India, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia,
they are used as food (Gupta and Singh,
1991). It was often used by Aborigines
to darken the white hair in the whiskers
of old men, for body painting and as a
fly repellent in Australia (Australian
National Botanic Gardens: Fungi Web
Site, Guinther, 2008). Panwar and
Purohit, (2002) reported its
antimicrobial activities against
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus
mirabilis. Additionally, antibacterial
activity against Staphylococcus aureus,
Micrococcus flavus, Bacillus subtilis,
Proteus mirabilis, Serratia marcescens and
Escherichia coli is attributed to the
epicorazines are described by Al-Fatimi
et al. (2006). Fig.1. Desert mushroom,
Research studies on desert Podaxis Pistillaris
mushroom; a local khumbhi was
initiated from November 1984 to October, 1988 at the
6
department of Plant Pathology, Sindh Agriculture University
Tandojam, under FG-Pa-389 (PK-ARS-214) Project, entitled
“Investigations on tropical mushrooms of Sindh”. The author
worked as Research officer in the project, as alone full time
researcher, under kind supervision of Prof. Dr. Gulam Rasool
Solangi (Late). Later on, Prof. Mehmood Wondiar (Rtd.) also
remains active researcher till his retirement and author joined
University again and continued studies since 1996.
The physiological
studies were carried on
growth and
development of pure
culture and spawn (Fig.
2) as well as on artificial
cultivation
methodology. Different
cereal grains viz. wheat,
sorghum, maize and
millet grains were tested
for spawn preparation. Fig. 2. Pure culture and spawn
Wheat grains proved to
be the best, on which spawn prepared in 22-23 days (Solangi,
1988).
It is also pertinent to mention here that mushroom is a form
of plant life but has no green coloring matter or chlorophyll. It is
being recognized as fleshy fungi, sometimes tough, umbrella like
sporophore (fruiting body). It produces microscopic spores,
which serve as a mean of reproduction, but are not same as that
of plant seed. Naturally, the mushrooms grow in places like
fields, woods, forests, water channels, manure heaps, bands,
grassy grounds and or in the plains. The mushrooms are also
observed during the rainy season on the manure heaps and
dump places with abundance of humus as saprophyte and
primary decomposer or on living trees or plants as parasite.
Undoubtedly, it is hard to say that how many kinds of fungi
or even mushrooms are in the world, or even in Sindh? There
may be several kinds or species of mushrooms. Some are edible
while others are extremely poisonous. The majority is

7
unattractive for eating (commonly called in-or non-edible)
because of poor flavor, taste, texture or small size and sometimes
due to unattractive color and shape. Still other species are
poisonous to some people and harmless to other and only few
are not only edible, but delicious too. Poisonous mushrooms are
known to be poisonous because someone ate them and become
ill or died. Mostly white mushrooms are known to be edible,
because people have eaten them regularly in quantity with out
ill effect.
However, according to Litton (1975), 90 to 95 percent of all
deaths in Europe resulting from mycetismus (mushroom
poisoning), which have been attributed to a single species of
Amanita, namely Amanita phalloids, the so called „death cup‟
mushroom. It is also true that, there is no taste, other than eating
to determine whether an unknown mushroom is edible or not!
Hence, the wild mushroom must not be eaten unless it is
identified by experts because some mushrooms are edible while
others are poisonous (Jiskani, 1999, 2001 and 2004).
Meanwhile, there are over 2,500 mushroom varieties grown
in the world today. The cheapest,
edible and commercial one is the
button mushroom, Agaricus campestris,
which is grown in more than 70
countries, producing a crop with a
value of over many billion dollars
(Raven and Johnson, 1992). The oyster
mushroom, Pleurotus spp. And straw
mushrooms, Volvariela spp. Are also
cultivated artificially, in Pakistan,
including Sindh (Jiskani, 1999, 2001
and 2004).

Classification
According to Alexopolous and
Mims (1979) Podaxis pistillaris belongs
to order Hymenogastrales, Subclass Fig. 3. Desert mushroom of
various ages on sale point
Holobasidiomycetidae and Class
Basidiomycetes, but Dring (1973)
8
placed it in order Podaxales. Smith (1973) recorded its family as
Agaricaceae. While Bessey (1964) give its systematic position as
Class Basidiomyceteae, subclass Eubasidiae, „Gasteromyceteae‟,
orders Lycoperadales, family Podaxaxeae.

Characters
The desert mushroom is quite common, found in a variety
of habitats and easy to recognize. Mostly, it found on ground, is
tall and erect. It has a slender woody stipe (stem), which
penetrates the gleba (oval to egg shaped fruiting body). The
gleba is the fertile portion enclosed a distinct outer wall
(peridium). The peridium consists of one or more layers. It may
be firm, hard, soft, and papery or may even disappear during the
development of the spore fruit. The peridium may open
naturally after spores are mature. The gleba is fleshy first
(consists of more or less fleshy, thread like mycelial growth) and
become powdery after maturity. The stem extends into a gleba,
therefore the pileus (cap) has failed to expand like other
mushrooms, but it remains attached to the stem. The basidia are
borne in cluster on short branches of hypha. The spores are not
forcibly discharged from the cap, like other mushrooms, but
simply fall off after the peridium is broken or has weathered
away. Different specimens of various ages, grown under
extremes of habitats, look like different species, but actually are
only one species, Podaxis pistillaris (Fig. 3). According to Arora
(1986), the cap is 2-15 cm high and 1-4 cm broad, oval to
cylindrical; surface dry, pure white to tan, yellow-brown, or
brown; typically breaking up to form shaggy fibrils or scales
which may eventually wear away to reveal the smooth under-
surface; eventually tearing radially or irregularly. Whereas, the
stem is 4-15 (26) cm long, 0.2-1 (1.5) cm thick, equal above, the
base usually swollen, solid or hollow; white and discolored with
age.

Distribution
P. pistillaris has been found in a number of locales,
including: Afghanistan (Watling and Gregory, 1977), Africa
(Dring, 1964), Argentina (Martinez, 1971), Australia (Hilton and

9
Kenneally, 1981), Brazil (Baseia and Galvão, 2002), Congo
(Dissing and Lange, 1962), Iran (Watling and Gregory, 1977),
Israel (Dring and Rayss, 1963; Binyamini, 1973), South Africa
(Bottomley, 1948) and USA (Brasfield, 1937).

Cultivation
Most of the people are of opinion that rain is a seed of
desert mushroom, gifted from almighty Allah. Whereas,
Cultivation of the fruiting bodies has been reported by (Jandaik
and Kapoor, 1976; Arora (1986) and Phutela et al., 1998).
In Sindh, preliminary experiments have been conducted on
the artificial cultivation of Desert mushroom, Podaxis pistillaris, at
Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam (Jiskani, 1999, 2001 and
2004). The results reveal that it can also be easily grown as that
of other cultivated mushrooms with a little difference. It does
not need tissue culture or artificially prepared spawn, but spores
produced in mature mushroom, in shape of dark brown powder,
can directly be used for sowing purpose. Further, the results
show that there is no need of agricultural or industrial waste, nor
a process of soaking, boiling or sterilizing of such material is
required. On the other hand, it can be simply cultivated on flat
bed of soil. Only the need is that select sandy to sandy loam soil
in the surrounding of thick grove of trees and or gardens, or
ordinary shed must be prepared, because direct sun rays are
dangerous for this mushroom too. Ditches, caves, hut, hovels,
cottage, sheds or shelters, bee-hive shaped huts, thatched or
matted roofs as well as cellars, garages, kitchens, bathrooms or
any other extra rooms of a house or so, can be used as a shed for
mushroom cultivation.
However, small 4x5 feet sized beds may be prepared with
about 9 to 12 inches layer of soil and than one soaking dose of
irrigation water may be applied. After a day, the mushroom
powder (spores of matured mushroom), not old than one year,
may be broadcasted on the prepared bed. The same may be
mixed with the help of log stick, spade or so, on 2 to 3 inches
upper surface of the bed. It must be kept in mind that the beds
should be under shade (of trees or artificially prepared thatches
etc.). The water must be sprinkled just after mixing of the spores
10
and twice a day on the following days, so that the beds remain
moist.
No doubt, humidity, temperature and light affect primary
as well as remaining growth stages of the mushroom, hence, the
crop may take different period (days) in different seasons.
Normally the crop may appear within 30 days. Initially, the roots
like threads, (or well-developed hypha) develop from the spores,
in orders to search for food, which are actually microscopic, but
some times are visible. These threads transmit into mushroom,
which initially appears very small and milky in color, which
may vary in shape and size, on the beds, but become normal in
shape and size, within one or two-three days, depending upon
the environmental conditions.

Harvesting
The mature mushrooms (but before production of spores)
can be picked by twisting at the base of stem, and lifting from
the bed. This mushroom also yields the crop in flushes,
therefore, care must be taken during harvesting (picking), so that
no any portion of harvested mushroom may remain on the bed.
The subsequent flushes depend on the proper watering,
humidity, temperature and light. Sometimes, other saprophytic
mushrooms as well as lower fungi and different microbes cause
damage to the crop and bed as well. Therefore, the cropping area
must be kept cleaned and safe to public, domestic animals, birds
etc.

References
 Alexopoulos, C. J. and C. W. Mims. 1979. Introductory Mycology.
3rd. Ed., New York. Pp. 632
 Al-Fatimi, M. A., W. D. Julich, R. Jansen and U. Lindequist. 2006.
Bioactive components of the traditionally used mushroom Podaxis
pistillaris.
 Arora, D. 1986. Mushrooms demystified. 2nd Ed., Berkeley: Ten
Speed Press: 725-26.
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0898151694/002-
5088736-8940217. In: The pages maintained for the Arizona
Mushroom Club by Scott Bates, contact at: azmushclub@aol.com
this page was last modified on December 10, 1998.

11
  Baseia, I. G. and T. C. Galvão. 2002. Some interesting
gasteromycetes (Basidiomycota) in dry areas from northeastern
Brazil. Acta Bot Bras. 16(1): 1-8.
 Bessey, E. A. 1964. Morphology and Taxonomy of fungi. Hafner
Pub. Co. New York.
 Binyamini, N. 1973. Gasteromycetes of Sinai desert. Isr. J. Bot. 22:
33-37.
 Bottomley, A. M. 1948. Gasteromycetes of South Africa. Bothalia.
4: 473-810.
 Brasfield, T. W. 1937. The morphology of Podaxis pistillaris. Univ.
Iowa Stud. Nat. Hist. 17: 100-121.
 Dissing, H. and M. Lange. 1962. Gasteromycetes of Congo. Bull.
Jard. Bot. L‟etat. 32 (4): 325-416.
 Dring, D. M. and T. Rayss. 1963. The Gasteromycete fungi of
Israel. Isr. J. Bot. 12: 147-178.
 Dring, D. M. 1964. Gasteromycetes of West Tropical Africa.
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Ainsworth, F. K. Sparrow, and A. S. Sussman (Eds.), Academic
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 Guinther, E. 2008. Podaxis pistillaris Medicinal Mushrooms.
Wikipedia
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Podaxis pistillaris. Indian J Mycol Plant Pathol., 21:273–6.
 Gupta, S. and V. P. Kapoor. 1990. Carbohydrate analysis of some
edible mushrooms. Vegetable Science. 17(2):227-9.
 Hilton, R. N. and K. F. Kenneally. 1981. The desert Coprinus
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the economy of Pakistan). Pak. J. Economic & Management, July-
Sept., 2001 p. 15-17.
 Jiskani, M. M. 2004. Different to all others: Cultivation of Desert
Mushroom, Podaxis pistillaris (L.) Morse.
http://www.apnahyderabad.com/articles/Cultivation-of-Desert-
Mushroom.asp

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 Khaliel, A. S., A. N. Abou-Heilah and M. Y. Kassim. 1991. The
main constituents and nutritive value of Podaxis pistillaris. Acta
Bot Hung. 36:173–9.
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aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis. Mushroom Res. 11:43–4.
 Phutela, R. P., H. Kaur and H. S. Sodhi. 1998. Physiology of an
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