Medicinal Mushrooms


Desert Shaggy Mane


Abstract: Podaxis pistillaris is a heat-tolerant desert fungus with surprising global culinary, cultural, and medicinal significance. Consumed for its high protein content and used traditionally for wound care, cosmetics, and ritual practices, it also produces bioactive metabolites—epicorazines and podaxisterols—with antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic properties, highlighting its ethnomycological and pharmacological importance.


Robert Dale Rogers F


or nearly a quarter-century my wife Laurie and I were snowbirds, spending part of each


winter in Palm Springs, California. For this amateur mycophile, desert vacations were usually a respite from identifying, picking, and preparing mushrooms. But one day in the hot sand I came upon what looked like an inkcap. A quick search revealed it to be the Desert Shaggy Mane (Podaxis pistillaris), a species capable of thriving in temperatures up to 47 °C and fruiting in low-fertility soils across the southwestern United States, Mexico, Australia, India, West Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Originally consolidated into a single species in 1933, Podaxis has recently


been revised: Li et al. (2023) recognize 16 species worldwide, some freeliving and others associated with termite colonies. Te immature fruiting body is a valued food in Yemen, Mexico, Pakistan, and India, containing 24–39% protein and notable levels of potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium (Abdalla et al., 2016; Sai and Basavarju, 2020), along with flavonoids, betacarotene, and lycopene. In India the immature mushroom,


known as khumbi, is a seasonal delicacy and even appears in wedding dishes (Mridu, 2015). It is also called saanp ki chhatri (“snake’s umbrella”), and traditional hakims regard it as both a culinary and medicinal ingredient (Khan et al., 1979). In Paraguay and Mexico it is known as soldadito (“little soldier”) and prepared with green peppers, onions, and epazote, or used in empanadas, soups, tesmole, caldillo, and mole (Medina-Ortiz et al., 2017). Among Indigenous groups of


northwestern Mexico, the Seri and Cocopah know the mushroom as “bule mushroom” and by several native names. It is made into an ointment for wounds and diabetic foot ulcers (Felger and Moser, 1974). Te Cocopah also warn that the spores can damage skin and eyes, hence a name meaning “the fungus that releases poisonous dust” (Bautista- Gonzalez et al., 2022). Across the Americas and Australia,


Podaxis spores have diverse cultural uses. Te Wayuu of Colombia apply them as sunscreen and in cosmetics, calling the mushroom “devil’s merra” (Andrade et al., 2021). In Brazil the spores are used to remove insect larvae from wounds and to treat inflammation. Australian Aboriginal groups used the “black powderpuff” spores to darken whiskers, for body painting, and as a fly repellent (AlFatimi et al., 2006). In both Colombia and Australia, spores are used in facial painting during mortuary rituals (Villalobos et al., 2017; Cleland and Johnston, 1933). Traditional medicinal uses span


Mexico, Sudan, South Africa, Pakistan, China, and India. In Pakistan, where


it is also called khumbi, it is used for ailments ranging from diabetes and cardiovascular conditions to broken bones and bleeding (Bhatti, 2019). Te Cocopah apply spores to wounds and burns, and sometimes inhale spores or smoke from the columella for psychotropic effects (Bautista- Gonzalez et al., 2022)—a practice best avoided. Spores should not be ingested, as they can cause muscle cramps, diarrhea, and abdominal pain (Sharawy and Alshammari, 2009). In China the mushroom, known as zhou huibao, is used for sunburn; in Yemen it treats diaper rash (Lindequist et al., 2005). In West Africa the spores are applied as baby powder and used as an antiabortive (Gérault and Toen, 1992). Pharmacological studies support


some of these traditional uses. Early work showed activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis (Panwar and Purohit, 2002), and more recent research found inhibition of Candida albicans and Streptococcus agalactiae (Quinonez- Martinez et al., 2024), a pathogen of concern in neonatal infections and resistant to several antibiotics (Da Silva Pimentel et al., 2024). Cultured mycelium and ethyl acetate


extracts contain epicorazin A, B, and C, which show strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus flavus, Bacillus subtilis, Proteus mirabilis, Serratia marcescens, and E. coli, with activity comparable to ampicillin for several species (Al-Fatimi et al., 2006). Cytotoxicity against human amniotic epithelial cells suggests caution for food applications. Muhsin et al. (2014) confirmed antibacterial activity and found no adverse effects on human blood cells. Epicorazin A inhibits Ustilago


maydis, the corn smut fungus (Harwoko et al., 2021), and shows cytotoxicity against several cancer cell lines, inducing apoptosis via caspase3 activation. Epicorazines A–C have been proposed as potential anticancer agents (Kleinwächter et al., 2001), and epicorazine C also exhibits antimicrobial activity. Notably, these compounds also occur in the medicinal mushroom Stereum hirsutum. Epicorazine A shows activity against


MRSA, VRE, and Candida albicans (Deffieux et al., 1978), and weak to


Summer 2026 FUNGI Volume 19:2 41


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