Record of medicinal Jew’s (<i>Auricularia auricula-judae</i> (Bull.) Quél) ear mushroom growing in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana and its possible health values

Abstract

Medicinal mushrooms are part of total health delivery system of a nation. A mushroom of recognised health benefits was seen for the first time on a pencil cactus (Euphorbia turicalli L.) in the Greater Accra Region (Adentan Municipal Assembly) in September- October 2021. The fruiting body was gelatinous with the shape of a human ear. The basidiomata were either solitary, densely rosette with caestipose habit either astipitate or with vestigial stipe. The general morphological features were akin to that of Auricularia auricula-judae. Anatomical and morphometric studies showed that the fruiting body had smooth hymenium with a layer of basidia which were cylindrical or club-shaped. The dimensions of the basidia (70.86±4.27 μm long; 9.54± 0.60 μm wide) closely agreed with the range reported for A. auricula-judae. The white/greyish basidiospores were generally sausage-shaped (allantoid) ranging in length (18.47±0.73μm) and width (7.49±0.3μm) closely to reported range. The economical and medicinal values of the mushroom are described and future commercial exploitation through biotechnological technique highlighted.