During the past few weeks, we've seen folks standing by the side of the road, holding fungus. That may be one thing that sets us apart from most readers of NTN. It's been raining every day, and the rainy season brings out the fungus in all of us, eh?!
In this case, the fungus is locally called "Omajoba" and they grow around the base of the large termite mounds (some 6-10 feet tall)that dot the landscape north of Windhoek. I bought one today for N$20 (US$2) from a guy near Okahandja. I had been on a field trip with a range management professor to one of his study sites--some photos of that on the photo page.
Termites and fungus have a symbiotic relationship, which you can read about at the web site where I politely borrowed the photo to the right, of the termite mound.
There is some concern (we can't have fun without concern, eh?) that the mushroom may be overharvested. Certainly many people seem to make their living at this time of year from selling the 'shrooms on the side of the road.
But, ecosystem devastation aside, I brought the lovely, large fungus home, dispatched it quickly and humanely, and cooked it up in some butter. It won't replace morels from Western Iowa in my book, but it was edible and tasted pretty good.
No comments:
Post a Comment