This article is from WeChat official account:Foodthink(ID: foodthinkchina) , author: Lin Yi Burma, from the title figure: author

Although many provinces produce wild mushrooms, nearly 70% of the wild mushrooms on the national market come from Yunnan.

Yunnan has no clear four seasons in terms of climate, but the dry and rainy seasons are very clear. This natural greenhouse and abundant rainwater provide good climatic conditions for wild bacteria. In addition, more than 90% of Yunnan Province is mountainous landforms, from tropical rain forests to deep coniferous forests, rich in vegetation types, so that the symbiotic species of wild fungus has a diverse and solid “companion”. The high altitude of 2000-3000 meters provides a natural barrier for the growth of wild bacteria: less pollution, less human disturbance, fresh air and clean water.

Yunnan wild mushroom has two classes, 11 orders, 35 families, 96 genera, about 250 kinds, here, you can find more than half of the world’s edible fungi species, 2 of the domestic edible fungi species 3 are also distributed in Yunnan.

1. Three major production areas, each with its own focus

Northern Yunnan, Central Yunnan and Southern Yunnan are the three major producing areas of Yunnan fungus, each with its own characteristics.

Among them, Central Yunnan is the producing area with the most output and the richest variety. With Chuxiong as the center, the cities of Nanhua, Shizong, and Wuding are all within this range. Boletus edulis is the most representative fungus here, but in the famous Nanhua market in Chuxiong, most fungi from other producing areas can be found here.

◉Freshly picked Matsutake mushrooms. Photo｜Ma Yuxi

Due to the warm climate, southern Yunnan is the place with the lowest mushroom varieties and yields among the three producing areas, but also because of the warm temperature, the mushroom peak season here is also earlier than other producing areas. Pu’er, Lincang, Honghe, Xishuangbanna and other regions belong to the southern Yunnan producing areas, which are rich in dry bacillus, boletus, chicken fir, chanterelle, red milk mushroom, bamboo fungus and so on.

◉Dry paste. Photo｜Lin Myenyi

2. Respect the symbiosis environment and collect wild mushrooms sustainably

◉Chuxiong, pick up the fungus as soon as possible. Photo｜A Liang

The timing of mushroom picking is very particular. July and August are the rainy season and the peak season for fungus, but even during this time period, it is not 100% of the fungus that can be found every day in the mountains. It is best to choose the day when the sun rises after the downpour, so that the fungus that has absorbed enough water will break out of the soil and emerge in patches.

The fungus is a kind of symbiotic species that will symbiotically coexist with the older coniferous forest, but the symbiotic objects are different. Boletus often grows at an altitude of 900 meters to 2In the mixed forest of pine and oak between 200 meters, such as Yunnan pine, alpine pine and oak, golden bark, and green oak.

◉ “Hidden” wild fungi among weeds and rotting leaves. Photo｜A Liang

Matsutake also grows under these pine and Quercus trees, but it has more stringent requirements for the age of the symbiotic tree species, which must be over 50 years old, and if the symbiotic environment is suitable, it will take 5-6 years. The growth can break through. Therefore, if you go up the mountain to find boletus, you can try your luck under the pine forest. But when looking for Matsutake, you cannot lack the “Matsutake Nest Map” handed down from generation to generation by the Tibetan people. (see later).

The coccinea coccinea grows in symbiosis with termite nests. Termites will help the fungus Corydalis disseminate seeds, and the fungus Corydalis extract nutrients from around the termite nest to obtain disease-resistant substances. Not all termite nests will have chicken fungus, but where there are chicken fungi, there must be termite nests next to them. On the ground of coniferous forests, wasteland, or on the half-hill slopes of red soil mountain forests, the fungus may grow. As long as you find a nest of chicken fir mushrooms in the first year and remember its specific location, you can continue to dig the chicken fir at the same location next year.

But it should be noted that do not destroy the surrounding soil when picking chicken fir, and do not use tools to deep plan to destroy termite nests. In this way, sensitive termites will move their families and re-install the nests. To the neighborhood. In the next year, the collectors will be out of the air, and they will look for Coccinella again.

◉Matsutake in Shangri-La Matsutake Market. Photo｜Lin Myenyi

On the one hand, Yunnan matsutake is highly recognized in foreign markets such as Japan and Europe, and on the other hand, various media have contributed to this background. The price of matsutake has risen, and the market has also linked the eating of matsutake with the honor of identity. The fierce market has caused an imbalance between supply and demand. In recent years, Shangri-La has seen more and more “killing chickens and eggs” collections.

Actually, the 3～5cm child velvet and bullet head mentioned above do not meet the picking standards; while the old velvet, which can produce spores when opened, is indispensable for the breeding of new matsutake Lack of conditions. Tong rong and old velvet are over-collected, resulting in the annual decline in production in Shangri-La and Yunnan Matsutake production areas.

As consumers, we should consciously reject Tong Rong and Lao Rong when buying.

◉Photo｜Aliang

In addition to over-harvesting, the roughness and backwardness in the picking process caused environmental damage and also affected the yield of wild bacteria.

For example, truffles are truffles. Their growth needs to be combined with the root systems of Yunnan pine, Huashan pine, Quercus serrata, Quercus serrata and Castanopsis alpina to form mycorrhizas, and mycorrhizas recombine with the surrounding soil It constitutes a fungus pond.

Some villagers who pick truffles will go down with a hoe and uproot the truffles and surrounding vegetation and soil. This kind of picking method that rudely destroys the fungus pond seriously affects the balance of the truffle growth environment, and directly causes the truffle production to decrease or cease production.

The more scientific way of picking is to slowly poke away the soil covering the top with a rake. After the truffles are exposed, pick the mature ones, leave the immature ones, and then put a layer of the excavated soil. Lay it back in layers to prevent the truffles from being exposed to the air and eventually dying.

◉Truffle. Photo｜Lin Myenyi

In the final analysis, this is due to the lack of industry consensus and standards in the collection, transportation, and processing of the wild mushroom industry, which makes the market uneven, and even bad money drives out good money.

In the collection process, villagers pick according to their experience. What tools to use, and how to restore the environment after picking, all depend on word of mouth. How to keep fresh, transport, and clean after picking all depends on asking people and exploring by yourself.

In the process of processing, wild bacteria still remain in the primary processing. It is dried into slices, made into freeze-dried, fried and pickled, with low technical content and low added value. And in the processing stage, there are more adulteration and chaos. For example, old velvet slices are used as dried matsutake slices, inferior products are used as raw materials for processing, and the ingredients of cordyceps flower and shiitake mushrooms are increased in mushroom soup packets to reduce costs.

However, in recent years, in order to protect the sustainability of the resource of wild mushrooms, the local government has followed the coastal fishing moratorium by implementing closure of mountains and forests during the non-wild mushroom production season, and teaching local villagers to collect bacteria without harming the bacteria. Methods of growing environment. What we ordinary consumers can do is, for example, refuse to consume children’s velvet under 5cm and the old velvet with open umbrella in the purchase process. After all, there is no harm if there is no sale. This can also improve the excessive exploitation of wild mushrooms. status quo.

This article is from WeChat official account: Guanshitong Co. Foodthink (ID: foodthinkchina) , author: Yi Lin SM