Assessment Notes

Justification

Lentinula raphanica is a wild edible species that has a wide distribution, occurring in tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas. L. raphanica has a medium to high detectability and grows abundantly on dead hardwood trunks and twigs, mainly in Fagales wood. In Brazil, the species is found mostly in the Amazon Rainforest biome with few records for the southern and southeastern Atlantic Forest in dense ombrophilous forest. Most of its records are within the southern part of the United States, Central America and the Caribbean islands. Even though the species' habitat has suffered declines and is still threatened, the species is considered Least Concern due to its wide range, large population, and great substrate adaptability, especially as it is capable of growing in exotic wood.

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Geographic range

The species has a wide distribution, occurring in tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas. In North America, the species was reported only for the United States of America, in the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, located in the Gulf Coast region (Mata et al. 2001, Lewis et al. 2020, Menolli et al. 2022). In the region of Central America and the Caribbean, Lentinula raphanica is known from Belize, within the Noj Kaax Meen Elijio Panti National Park; Costa Rica; Puerto Rico, in Rio Grande, on the northeastern coast of the island; Nicaragua, within the Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve; and Trinidad and Tobago, including in Port of Spain, capital city of Trinidad and Tobago, on the west coast of the island of Trinidad (Mata et al. 2001, Menolli et al. 2022, GBIF.org 2024). In South America, the species has been reported from the Amazonas State in southern Venezuela (Mata et al. 2001, Menolli et al. 2022); to Colombia, including in the Amazonas and Caquetá departments (Vasco-Palacios et al. 2005, Franco-Molano et al. 2005); in French Guiana (GBIF.org 2024); and in Brazil to the states of Amazonas, Espirito Santo, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo (Capelari et al. 2010, Menolli et al. 2022, GBIF.org 2024).

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Population and Trends

There are about 50 collections deposited in herbaria in Brazil from 14 sites, in the Amazon Forest, for the states of Amazonas and Pará, and the Atlantic Forest for the states of Espírito Santo, São Paulo and Santa Catarina. Of the other countries where the species occurs, there are about 70 collections from 58 sites. This is a species with medium to high detectability, growing abundantly on dead hardwood logs and twigs. Lentinula raphanica is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas and its population is expected to occupy a large portion of its extension of occurrence in high abundance, above 100,000 mature individuals.

In the last 20 years (three generations) the species' habitat in North and Central America has been reduced around 20% (Global Forest Watch 2024), while in Amazonia and the Atlantic forest losses have been around 5.7%, and 5%, respectively (Rezende et al. 2018; Terra Brasilis 2024). Although the species' habitat has suffered significant losses in the past and is still in decline, L. raphanica can adapt to a wide range of wood substrates, being able to colonize exotic species to its natural range, such as Eucalyptus and Mangifera species. Additionally, in some areas of its range, the species is associated with urban forest fragments although it is not found on highly disturbed areas. Therefore, the overall trend is uncertain.

Population Trend: unknown

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Habitat and Ecology

Mushrooms in the genus Lentinula are saprotrophic, causing wood decay on logs of broadleaf trees, especially Fagales (Mata and Petersen 2001, Menolli et al. 2022). Lentinula raphanica exhibits gregarious growth and is generally found growing abundantly on dead logs and twigs. In Colombia, the species grows in humid tropical forest and was reported growing on different kinds of wood such as: Scleronema micranthum, Hymenaea cf. oblongifolia, Caryocar gracile, Goupia glabra, Acioa dolichopoda, Hevea sp., Couratari cf. stellata, Lecythis chartacea, Lecythis zabucajo, Parkia panurensis, Brosimum utile, Iryanthera laevis and Iryanthera tricornis (Vasco-Palacios et al. 2005, 2008).

According to Sanöma indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon, the species is found in the forest and also on the edges of cultivations sites, in the stumps of trees that were cut down. Sanuma et al. (2016) report the growth of the species in: Couma macrocarpa, Ficus sp., Pourouma sp., Micropholis sp., Leguminosae and Annonaceae wood. Additional hosts include: Bertholletia excelsa, Calophyllum brasiliensa var. antillanum, Garcinia sp., Hymenaea courbaril, Mangifera indica and Quercus nigra.

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Threats

Changes in land use, the expansion of the cattle and soy industries, fire, logging and mining in the Amazon Forest, have increased deforestation rates (Zhang et al. 2015). As well as the Amazon Forest, the Atlantic Forest is also threatened. New areas of forest are still lost every year, mainly as a result of urban growth or the expansion of infrastructure. The Atlantic Forest is the most densely populated biome in Brazil (Joly et al. 2014). In the last 20 years (three generations) the species' habitat in North and Central America has been reduced around 20% (Global Forest Watch 2024), while in Amazonia and the Atlantic forest losses have been around 5.7%, and 5%, respectively (Rezende et al. 2018, Terra Brasilis 2024).

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Conservation Actions

To guarantee the persistence of the species it is necessary to maintain the existing preservation areas as well as the creation of new areas. The genetic diversity of the species should be maintained in vitro. This would enable future ex situ conservation actions if necessary.

New surveys are needed to better understand the distribution of the species in its known range, as well as in other areas where the species probably occurs, but which has not been reported yet, such as the northeastern Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The cultivation potential and medicinal properties of the species also need to be further studied. The large scale harvest of the species for commercial purposes needs to be better understood regarding any negative impacts on its population stability.

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Use and Trade

The species is edible and has been reported to be used by traditional communities in Colombia (Franco-Molano et al. 2005, Vasco-Palacios et al. 2008) and Brazil (Sanuma et al. 2016).

In Colombia, the Uitoto indigenous people, who inhabit the middle Caquetá region, consume the mushrooms in a broth or roasted wrapped in leaves (Vasco-Palacios et al. 2008).

In Brazil, Lentinula raphanica is among the species most appreciated by the Sanoma indigenous people, part of the Yanomami people, who inhabit the Awaris region, in the mountain forests of the extreme northwest of Roraima, Brazil. They consume the mushrooms boiled in water with salt (Sanuma et al. 2016). The species is also traded by them in a mushroom mix that may contain more than 10 mushroom species and is a product of the Yanomami agricultural system. Cutler II et al. (2021) using DNA metabarcoding to identify fungal contents of several food products, confirmed the presence of L. raphanica in the product made by Yanomami.

Basidiomata of L. raphanica found in the state of São Paulo, Southeast Brazil, have been consumed as food by experienced mycologists.

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Source and Citation

Drewinski, M., Alves-Silva, G. & Menolli Jr, N. 2024. Lentinula raphanica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T265094054A265151202. .Accessed on 28 October 2024

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• Country occurrence