ABSTRACT
Many fungi are greatly beneficial to human beings because of their delicacy and important medicinal values such as anti-tumor and immunological properties and other pharmacological activities. As one of the worldwide biodiversity hotspots located in the East Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, China’s Yunnan has long been known as the “Kingdom of Fungi” due to its geological, geographical, and ecological complexities. Living in the “Kingdom,” people with many nationalities there have acquired rich knowledge and have a long history in utilizing fungi as food and medicine in different ways. However, due to global changes, some fungi are in danger of extinction. In this chapter, we briefly introduce the speculative causes of the high biodiversity of fungi/mushrooms in this area and the history of utilization of medicinal mushrooms in Yunnan. We summarize the diversity of medicinal fungi in Yunnan and pinpoint some important local medicinal species, such as Cryptoporus sinensis, Engleromyces sinensis, Ganoderma lingzhi, Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Sanghuangporus sanghuang, and Shiraia bambusicola, and their morphology, distribution, and resource availability. Finally, we emphasize the sustainable utilization of medicinal species in Yunnan, particularly conservation measurement and resource management.
