Short Communication: Ethnomycological survey of macrofungi among the Aeta Community of Mt. Arayat, Philippines
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 444
File Views: 223
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Bustillos RG, Caymo ES, De Guzman KMD. 2026. Short Communication: Ethnomycological survey of macrofungi among the Aeta Community of Mt. Arayat, Philippines. Asian J Ethnobiol 9: y090102. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjethnobiol/y100102. This study aimed to collect and identify macrofungal species in Mt. Arayat, Pampanga, Philippines. This also sought to determine the indigenous beliefs, utilization, and practices of Aeta Communities in Sitio Cananaoan towards them. Purposive sampling was employed to select the respondents in the study area, while an adapted survey questionnaire was used to gather relevant data regarding their insights. Most of the 24 respondents were female, aged 17-30. Although they have a local name for mushrooms, kuwat, only 12 of them (50%) have indigenous knowledge of mushrooms. Nevertheless, they were aware that mushrooms are found in several substrates during the rainy season. Aetas mostly eat mushrooms, and they identify the edible ones based on their appearance, smell, texture, and substrate. They consume them without any spices, as it may lead to negative effects. Before they collect mushrooms, they say bari-bari po or excuse me to honor spirits they believed residing in the place. Of the 14 documented mushroom species in this study, six of them (42.86%) were used as medicine, while six were also used as food (42.86%). As the ethnomycology slowly erodes due to modernization and environmental disturbances, this study contributes to preserving ethnomycology in the country.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Ajibola OO, Nolasco-Hipolito C, Carvajal-Zarrabal O, Salleh SF, Adeyinka GC, Adefegha SA, Ahmmed MK, Sumaiya K, Thomas R. 2024. Turkey tail mushroom (Trametes versicolor): An edible macrofungi with immense medicinal properties. Curr Opin Food Sci 58: 101191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2024.101191.
Arenas MC, Tadiosa ER, Reyes RG. 2018. Taxonomic inventory based on physical distribution of macrofungi in Mt. Maculot, Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines. Intl J Biol Pharm Allied Sci 7 (5): 672-687. https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2018/7.54420.
Bustillos RG, De Guzman KM, Kalaw SP, Dulay RMR. 2025. Species and morphological identification of wild macrofungi in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Biosaintifika J Biol Biol Educ 17 (1): 91-106. https://doi.org/10.15294/biosaintifika.v17i1.10882.
Bustillos RG, Dulay RMR, Kalaw SP, Reyes RG. 2024. Diversity of macrofungi along elevation gradients in Mt. Arayat Protected Landscape, Arayat, Pampanga, The Philippines. Stud Fungi 9 (1): e017. https://doi.org/10.48130/sif-0024-0017.
Cai M, Lin Y, Luo YL, Liang HH, Sun P. 2015. Extraction, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of crude polysaccharides from the wood ear medicinal mushroom Auricularia auricula-judae (higher basidiomycetes). Intl J Med Mushrooms 17 (6): 591-600. https://doi.org/10.1615/intjmedmushrooms.v17.i6.90.
Comandini O, Rinaldi AC. 2020. Ethnomycology in Europe: the past, the present, and the future. In: Pérez-Moreno J, Guerin-Laguette A, Arzú RF, Yu FQ (eds). Mushrooms, Humans and Nature in a Changing World: Perspectives from Ecological, Agricultural and Social Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37378-8.
Corazon D, Licyayo M. 2018. 4. Gathering practices and actual use of wild edible mushrooms among ethnic groups in the Cordilleras, Philippines. In: Niehof A, Gartaula HN, Quetulio-Navarra M (eds). Diversity and Change in Food Wellbeing. Wageningen Academic, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-864-3_4.
De Leon AM, Balcruz JJC, Matillano JRT, Miguel CM, Orevillo JPR, Dulay RMR. 2023. 7 Ethnomycology. In: Semwal KC, Stephenson SL, Husen A (eds). Wild Mushrooms and Health Diversity, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Benefits, and Cultivation. CRC Press, Boca Raton. https://doi.org/10.1201/b23190.
De Leon AM, Fermin SMC, Rigor RPT, Kalaw SP, Dela Cruz TEE, Stephenson SL. 2018. Ethnomycological report on the macrofungi utilized by the indigenous community in Ifugao Province, Philippines. Philipp Agric Sci 101 (2): 194-205. https://doi.org/10.62550/AL194205
De Leon AM, Kalaw SP, Dulay RM, Undan JR, Alfonzo DO, Undan JQ, Reyes RG. 2016. Ethnomycological survey of the Kalanguya indigenous community in Caranglan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Curr Res Environ Appl Mycol 6 (1): 61-66. https://doi.org/10.5943/cream/6/2/1.
De Leon AM, Lagman JC, Lazaga JRC, Maniquiz PH, Martinez PLA, Nieves JD, Kalaw SP. 2022. Ethnomycological expedition: Mycophagy, species listing and toxicity assessment of macrofungi in Bambang Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Philipp Agric Sci 105 (2): 187-198. https://doi.org/10.62550/di143020.
De Leon AM, Reyes RG. 2012. An ethnomycological survey of macrofungi utilized by Aeta Communities in Central Luzon, Philippines. Mycosphere 3 (2): 251-259. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/3/2/9.
Despe A, Plimaco SMY, Japos MI, Niez L. 2023. Ethnomycological survey of wild mushroom species utilized by the Subanen tribes in selected barangays in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. Res Sq 2023: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3066317/v1.
Dizon MJ, Luzon FS, Poblete KY, Rosette MAL. 2021. Analysis on household income to the indigenous Aetas of Pampanga Philippines. J Econ Finance Account Stud 3 (2): 202-219. https://doi.org/10.32996/jefas.2021.3.2.20.
Dulay RM, Carandang JS, Kalaw S, Reyes R. 2020. Distribution and species listing of wild macrofungi in Sitio Canding, Baranggay Maasin, San Clemente, Tarlac Province, Philippines. J Appl Biol Biotechnol 8 (5): 7-15. https://doi.org/10.7324/jabb.2020.80502.
Dulay RMR, Batangan JN, Kalaw SP, De Leon AM, Cabrera EC, Kimura K, Eguchi F, Reyes RG. 2023. Records of wild mushrooms in the Philippines: A review. J Appl Biol Biotechnol 11 (2): 11-32. https://doi.org/10.7324/jabb.2023.110202.
Flores Jr. AAU, Chia VM. 2023. Macrofungi species in Lavezares, Northern Samar, Philippines. J Coast Life Med 11 (2): 780-792.
Giri S, Paul P, Pradhan P. 2025. Review: Ethno-mycological perception towards wood ear fungi (Auricularia spp.) in and around the Indian Subcontinent. Asian J For 9 (1): 82-96. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjfor/r090109.
Gong C, Xu M, Xu H, Li Y, Deng C, Jiang Y, Zhang D. 2025. Chemical constituents and pharmacology of Fomes fomentarius: A systematic review. Rec Nat Prod 19 (4): 488-517. https://doi.org/10.25135/rnp.521.2503.3466.
Grey EJ. 2016. Cultural beliefs and practices of ethnic Filipinos: An ethnographic study. IRA-Intl J Manag Soc Sci 3 (3): 739-748. https://doi.org/10.21013/jmss.v3.n3.p30.
Guzman CDM, Baltazar MM, Sanchez AJI, Linsangan MG, Dulay RMR. 2018. Molecular identification of four wild higher basidiomycetes collected in Mt. Mingan, Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. J Biodivers Environ Sci 13: 46-51.
Jinam TA, Phipps ME, Aghakhanian F, Majumder PP, Datar F, Stoneking M, Sawai H, Nishida N, Tokunaga K, Kawamura S, Omoto K, Saitou N. 2017. Discerning the origins of the Negritos, first Sundaland people: Deep divergence and archaic admixture. Genome Biol Evol 9 (8): 2013-2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evx118.
Lazo CRM, Kalaw SP, De Leon AM. 2015. Ethnomycological survey of macrofungi utilized by Gaddang communities in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Curr Res Environ Appl Mycol 5 (3): 256-262. https://doi.org/10.5943/cream/5/3/8.
Liwanag JMG, Santos EE, Flores FR, Clemente RF, Dulay RMR. 2017. Species listing of macrofungi in Angat watershed reservation, Bulacan Province, Luzon Island, Philippines. Intl J Biol Pharm Allied Sci 6 (5): 1060-1068. https://doi.org/10.5943/cream/10/1/37.
Lodi RS, Dong X, Wang X, Han Y, Liang X, Peng C, Peng L. 2025. Current research on the medical importance of Trametes species. Fungal Biol Rev 51: 100413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2025.100413.
Mallari RL, Tanod RMS, Tondo JE. 2020. An ethnomycological survey of macrofungi utilized by Dumagat Community in Dingalan, Aurora. Intl J Res Appl Sci Eng Technol 8 (9): 1154-1160. https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2020.31709.
Muñoz-Castiblanco T, De La Parra LSM, Peña-Cañón R, Mejía-Giraldo J, León I, Puertas-Mejía M. 2022. Anticancer and antioxidant activity of water-soluble polysaccharides from Ganoderma aff. australe against human osteosarcoma cells. Intl J Mol Sci 23 (23): 14807. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232314807.
Nhi NTN, Khang DT, Dung TN. 2022. Termitomyces mushroom extracts and its biological activities. Food Sci Technol 42: e125921. https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.125921.
Rathore H, Prasad S, Sharma S. 2017. Mushroom nutraceuticals for improved nutrition and better human health: A review. PharmaNutrition 5 (2): 35-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phanu.2017.02.001.
Reyes RG, Nair MG. 2016. Ligninolytic and leaf litter degrading mushrooms from the Philippines with antioxidant activities. Intl J Pharm Res Allied Sci 5 (4): 67-74.
Robles-García D, Suzán-Azpiri H, Montoya-Esquivel A, García-Jiménez J, Esquivel-Naranjo EU, Yahia E, Landeros-Jaime F. 2018. Ethnomycological knowledge in three communities in Amealco, Quéretaro, México. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 14 (1): 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-017-0202-7.
Shi L, Dossa GGO, Paudel E, Zang H, Xu J, Harrison RD. 2019. Changes in fungal communities across a forest disturbance gradient. Appl Environ Microbiol 85 (12): e00080-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00080-19.
Soriano JK, Pampolina N, Carandang V. 2021. Macrofungal taxa and diversity for monitoring of productivity and sustainability of Bombongan-Lewin Subwatershed in Laguna, Philippines. Ecosyst Dev J 11 (1 and 2): 82-92.
Tantengco OAG, Ragragio EM. 2018. Ethnomycological survey of macrofungi utilized by Ayta communities in Bataan, Philippines. Curr Res Environ Appl Mycol 8 (1): 104-108. https://doi.org/10.5943/cream/8/1/9.
Torres ML, Tadiosa ER, Reyes RG. 2020. Species listing of macrofungi on the bugkalot tribal community in Alfonso Castaneda, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Curr Res Environ Appl Mycol 10 (1): 475-493. https://doi.org/10.5943/cream/10/1/37.
Undan JR, Fermin SMC, Pajarillaga LMA, Malonzo MAC, Kalaw SP, Reyes RG, De Leon AM. 2021. Ethnomycological survey and molecular identification of macrofungi utilized by the Bicolano community in Camarines Sur, Southern Luzon, Philippines. Ecol Environ Conserv 27: S1-S7.