Authors: Härkönen, Marja & Buyck, Bart & Saarimäki, Tiina & Mwasumbi, Leonard
Journal: Karstenia, Volume 33 (1993), Issue 1, pages 11-50.
Doi: https://doi.org/10.29203/ka.1993.297
Full text: PDF
Key words: Africa, Agaricales, ethnomycology, Russula, Tanzania, taxonomy
Abstract: A brief introduction of the project on Tanzanian edible mushroom is given along with the main features of the soil and vegetation of the collecting sites. The importance of Russulaceae in Africa and the collected Russula species are discussed. Thirty-six specimens of Russula were collected between 1989-1991, and of this material, 21 species of Russula were identified. Nineteen species are reported from Tanzania for the first time. R. tenuithrix Buyck sp. nov., R. tanzaniae Buyck sp. nov., R. hiemisilvae Buyck sp. nov., R. sublaevis (Buyck) Buyck stat. nov. and nine other species were found in woodlands, R. usambarae Buyck sp. nov., R. acriannulata Buyck sp. nov. and five other Russula in lower montane forest. One species has been introduced in Pinus plantations. Along with a key to the collected Russula species, their systematic position, distribution and possible host trees are discussed and compared with earlier data from Tanzania and other African countries. A discussion on the edibility of Russula is also included.