VRYHEID KZN: Whopping 1,6kg mushroom found in Kambula area
Maybe another farmer has made a bigger Amakhowe discovery than Ken’s?
Ken Taylor recently made a rare discovery on his farm in the Kambula area when he found a massive mushroom in his plantation. Weighing in at a whopping 1,65kg, this specific mushroom is better known as Amakhowe or I’kowe (which is the isiZulu translation for ‘wild mushroom’). This large, finely-fleshed beefsteak-like mushroom can grow up to 30cm in diameter. It has a sweet and mildly nutty flavour. As Ken quipped, “It tastes better than a steak when cooked in a bit of oil.” These mushrooms grow in a symbiotic relationship with insects. The insects transplant the amakhowe spores to their nests, and the fungi decomposes wood and dried grass into cellulose and lignin that the insects or termites can consume. Within 24 hours after the rains during springtime, the fungi produces the above portion of the mushroom that humans can eat.
The Amakhowe grows wild in mainly subtropical forest areas and predominantly Northern KwaZulu-Natal. South Africans claimed this mushroom as a local version of truffles, that are found elsewhere in the world. These mushrooms are mainly collected for personal and family use. Ken confessed that they enjoyed this mushroom for almost four days after sharing a part of it with the family. Ken added that this is the biggest mushroom he has ever seen… Maybe another farmer has made a bigger Amakhowe discovery than Ken’s? He also promised that if he finds another big one, he will share it with the Vryheid Herald to taste and enjoy…
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