With flavors reminiscent of shrimp or mild pepper, and textures ranging from soft and fibrous to gelatinous, wild mushrooms can be used in sauces, omelets, salads, pickles, miso, and even sweets. Although still relatively unknown and hard to find, 409 edible species grow in a range of colors and shapes on tree trunks and forest floors across Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and other biomes, according to a study published in IMA Fungus in December 2024. The study involved researchers from eight Brazilian states.
The team compiled the Brazilian list from a global study of 2,189 edible fungi, published in 2020 in Comprehensive Review in Food Science and Food Safety, involving scientists from 14 countries. Next, they reviewed the literature on each species and carried out fieldwork, using DNA analysis to confirm mushroom identities.
Mariana Drewinski (IFSP) / Nelson Menolli Jr. (IFSP)Cookeina tricholoma and Tremella fuciformisMariana Drewinski (IFSP) / Nelson Menolli Jr. (IFSP)
“Our understanding of which mushrooms are safe to eat is based on ethnomycology—the field that studies the relationship between fungi and human culture,” says Nelson Menolli Jr., a mycologist who leads the Teaching, Research and Extension Laboratory in Mycology (IFungiLab) at the Federal Institute of São Paulo (IFSP) and coauthored both articles. Of the 409 species, 59 need special handling—such as cooking or other preparation steps—to ensure they’re safe to eat. The other 350 can be eaten safely with no risk of adverse reactions.
Menolli is leading a research project within the FAPESP Biota program to catalog Brazil’s mushroom biodiversity, with a special focus on wild edible varieties. Mushrooms are the reproductive structures of certain fungi. They sprout from the mycelium—a network of thread-like structures that spreads through soil or decaying wood.
Thiago ComenaleLaetiporus gilbertsoniiThiago Comenale
“This is the most extensive catalog of edible mushrooms ever compiled for Brazil,” said Chilean mycologist Giuliana Furci, founder of the New York-based nonprofit Fungi Foundation, in an interview with Pesquisa FAPESP. Furci, who was not involved in the study, believes the list will continue to grow. Many Indigenous communities and rural foragers already eat mushrooms without knowing exactly what species they’re dealing with. “Some fungi don’t look anything like the typical cap-and-stem mushroom,” she explains. “They might resemble a twig, a coral, an oyster, or even a fish.”
“So far, we’ve confirmed the identity and occurrence in Brazil of 86 edible species from the initial list, based on literature or genetic analysis,” says Menolli. For the remaining 323 species, the team will need to conduct more in-depth field studies. Over the past seven years, they’ve carried out 120 collecting expeditions across 11 Brazilian states. “Accurate identification is critical to avoid accidental poisoning,” Menolli notes. Around 1% of the world’s 29,000 known mushroom species are toxic, causing symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, or more severe poisoning—and roughly 30 species are deadly.
“There’s no reliable lab test to determine if a poorly studied mushroom is toxic,” adds mycologist Mariana Drewinski, the lead author of the IMA Fungus article, which drew on her doctoral work at the Environmental Research Institute (IPA). Today, Drewinski runs a mushroom cultivation business that markets edible species. “If you can’t confidently identify the species, enjoy it with your eyes—not your mouth,” she cautions.
In her PhD research, Drewinski explored the cultivation potential of four wild edible mushroom species native to Brazil. These could offer homegrown alternatives to the country’s three dominant commercial varieties—shiitake (Lentinula edodes), shimeji (Pleurotus ostreatus), and the common table mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)—all of which originate from Europe or Asia. “Take shiitake, for example—it thrives in cooler temperatures, around 16 degrees Celsius [°C] to 20 °C,” explains Drewinski. Wild Brazilian species, on the other hand, are adapted to warmer conditions and could be cultivated throughout the country—opening up mushroom farming to regions beyond the current growing regions in the South and Southeast.
Nelson Menolli Jr / Ágata Morais/ IFSPPhillipsia dominguensis and Macrocybe titansNelson Menolli Jr / Ágata Morais/ IFSP
To discover new edible mushrooms, the research team often taps into local knowledge—connecting with independent foragers through social media. That’s how ethnomycologist Cristiano Coelho do Nascimento—a PhD candidate at IPAI and a coauthor of the December paper—found his way in 2022 to Parelheiros, a rural district at the southern edge of São Paulo.
“Roughly 15 residents regularly harvest five different species of wild mushrooms,” Nascimento reports. These mushrooms grow in a preserved section of the Atlantic Forest and are used for home cooking or sold in modest amounts to neighbors and local restaurants. Because these mushrooms are seasonal and perishable—lasting just two to three days—distribution is tricky, and supply is inconsistent.
Chef Raphael Vieira, who runs 31 Restaurante in downtown São Paulo, has been buying the mushrooms since 2010. “At first, I didn’t expect them to be popular—but customers really took to them,” says Vieira, who has carved out a niche in vegetarian cuisine. “Mushrooms offer exciting opportunities to create new dishes inspired by the variety of flavors, textures, and preparation techniques that they offer.” At his restaurant, Vieira slow-grills a mushroom known locally as chapéu-de-sol or chapeleta (Macrolepiota bonaerensis), foraged in Parelheiros. “It takes on a texture similar to oysters, with a delicate, distinctive flavor,” he says. This species produces striking white mushrooms with orangish-brown scales, growing up to 24 centimeters (CM) tall and with caps as wide as 12 cm in diameter.
Nelson Menolli Jr / IFSPFavolus brasiliensis Nelson Menolli Jr / IFSP
According to Furci of the Fungi Foundation, mushroom foraging is a well-established tradition in many parts of Europe, where field guides for identifying local species are common. In Italy, for example, you need to complete a training course and obtain a license to legally collect and identify edible mushrooms. “In the past, people used to bring mushrooms to the local pharmacist, who would tell them which ones were edible,” she explains. “In Mexico, foragers sell hundreds of mushroom species at local markets,” Furci adds, “a tradition that stretches back to pre-Columbian civilizations.” She notes she’s even foraged mushrooms on the streets of her hometown, Santiago, Chile.
In early nutritional analyses of wild mushrooms grown by Menolli’s team, Aníbal de Freitas Santos Júnior, a chemical and pharmaceutical researcher at the State University of Bahia (UNEB), found that Brazil’s native fungi are just as nutritious as their commercially grown, imported counterparts. Like them, they’re rich in essential amino acids and micronutrients—compounds the human body can’t make on its own and must obtain from food. “They contain unsaturated fats that help raise good cholesterol, HDL, and lower bad cholesterol, LDL, and are also high in fiber and minerals like potassium, iron, and zinc,” notes the researcher.
