Collection and Morphological Characterization of Wild Mushroom

Abstract Mushrooms have the ability to grow in every environment having many different growing systems with different adaptations. A survey was conducted in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone Horo district surrounding Shambu town from July-August 2022 comprising forest, farmland, and grassland. The entire wild mushroom observed or encountered in the field were collected and brought to the Wollega University Shambu campus Horticulture laboratory room immediately after collection in plastic bags. Different species of wild mushrooms were collected from different places and then characterized. The macroscopic features were carefully recorded and documented. The morphological characteristics were the appearance and color of fruiting bodies, the pilus diameter, flesh /tissue color, stipe length, stipe color, color change of stipe on pressing, and nature and color of spore print recorded and documented. In the laboratory, all 9 species of collected wild mushrooms were photographed and spore points were collected and then recorded. From all collected wild mushrooms, the largest cap is 11cm while the smallest is 1.8cm in diameter. The longest stipe is 12 cm whereas the shortest stipe is 3 cm. The gills' arrangement, color, and nature of the attachment to the stipe were different for different wild mushroom samples collected. The thickness and color of the tissue of the different mushrooms were found to be different.