The new species of medicinal mushroom found in South Africa: Hericium ophelieaeCredit: Justin Williams
A new species of medicinal mushroom, endemic to South Africa, has been identified by a student using genetic sequencing.
Breyten van der Merwe, a BSc honours student, found the specimen while walking in the Knysna forests in January 2021. He collected a sample and brought it to the attention of Karin Jacobs, microbial ecologist and mycologist in the Department of Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. The results of their work were published in Mycology.
The species has been named Hericium ophelieae, inspired by the poem Ophélie, by Arthur Rimbaud. There are 28 species in the medicinal mushroom genus Hericium, all rarely seen in nature. This is the first endemic species to be described from Southern Africa, and the second to be described from Africa. The other was described from Cameroon.
Van der Merwe said: “In nature, their primary role is as white rot decomposers of hardwood trees into a white, stringy residue. So far, they have only been found growing on four species of indigenous tree: Rapanea melanophloeos (Cape Beech), Ilex mitis (Cape Holly), Olea capensis (Ironwood), and Ocotea bullata (Stinkwood).”
This mushroom has mostly been misidentified as the Coral Tooth mushroom (Hericium coralloides). According to Van der Merwe, it is often only through DNA sequencing that the species in this genus can be differentiated from each other.
“This is a helpful tool in the world of fungal taxonomy as it serves as the barcode upon which the fungal “family trees” can be made.
“This year we are studying the medicinal value of Hericium ophelieae, to determine if there are any novel medicines that are to be discovered,” he said.
