Volvariella — A High-Temperature Cultivated Mushroom

Although more than 100 species, subspecies, and varieties of Volvariella have been described throughout the world, ^{57 , 59} all the cultivated forms of Volvariella in Southeast Asia are probably members of the species Volvariella volvacea (Bull. Ex Fr.) Sing. ¹⁵ Volvariella volvacea, commonly known as the straw mushroom, paddy straw mushroom, or the Chinese mushroom, ¹² belongs to the family Pluteaceae Kotl. & Pouz of the Basidiomycetes. ⁵⁸ It is an edible mushroom of the tropics and subtropics, and it began to be cultivated in China as early as 1822. ¹¹ The “Nanhua mushroom,” which was in fact Volvariella, was named for the Nanhua Temple of Chaohsi in northern Guangdong Province, China. The Buddhist monks of that temple apparently cultivated the mushroom for their own table, and by 1875 it was sent as a tribute to the royal family. As it took many years for a food to be considered a proper tribute to the royal family, cultivation of Volvariella must have begun before the 18th century, almost 300 years ago. ¹⁴ Much earlier references to the cultivation of mushrooms in China have been found, but they deal with species that prefer cooler climates, and the authors in earlier times might well have been ignorant of species cultivated in the subtropical and tropical regions of China. Around 1932 to 1935, V. volvacea was introduced into the Philippines, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries by overseas Chinese. ^{1 , 3} Since then, its cultivation has been mainly concentrated in various countries of the region.