Harvested mostly in the West and North West Regions, the delicacy is in high demand in Douala.

The food item that grows naturally in hilly areas, especially where cattle is reared, is considered by its numerous consumers as full of calcium and zinc. The umbrella-shaped delicacy, mostly found in the North West and West Regions, is of two kinds; the small flat reddish type and the round long tail type. The former is understood to be in higher demand.

According to Jacques Penda, who has been selling the seasonal foodstuff for about 13 years, mushroom comes out once a year. “The season is too short; from the beginning of the rainy season till the end of April. The fresh mushroom sale season lasts at most six weeks, after which only the dried type is available,” he explained. As the season is short, some traders rush to production sites and buy the perishable foodstuff in huge quantity in order to preserve by drying for sale during off seasons.

In Douala, traders get mushroom from businessmen who constantly travel to production centres. A basket of the delicacy is sold at between FCFA 30,000 and FCFA 60,000, depending on the size. A 15-litre bucket of dried mushroom sells at FCFA 50,000, while a heap of about eight to 12 fresh mushrooms sells at FCFA 1,000, FCFA 2,000 and FCFA 3,000, depending on the sizes.

An all-time consumer, Barrister Marcel Tchen, disclosed that mushroom is prepared in several forms. “It can be prepared as soup and eaten with rice, plantain or cocoyam.

It can also be added to ‘achu’ soup or ‘pepper soup’ for its unique savour,” Marcel pointed out. Jacques Penda, who understands the health benefits of the legume, said it was nature’s gift to mankind and that any attempt to domesticate this species of mushroom will not only result in a different taste, but might be detrimental to health. It is interesting to know that natural mushroom takes less than 48 hours to mature.