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The mycoflora of Nepal was nearly “terra incognito”. For somebody needing some information on the subject, a long and tedious search was necessary to find papers scattered in various journal, not always easily accessible. Today, owing to the work of Dr. Mahesh Kumar Adhikari, this is no longer the case.
This book is not a mere compilation. The author has brought considerable contribution from his personal knowledge gathered from field collections and laboratory researches. This book can be considered the first definite reference for the mycoflora of Nepal even if a great part of the country is yet to be surveyed.
It brings to the forefront a great amount of knowledge about the prevailing wealth and diversity of Nepalese mushroom flora and specially from Himalaya.
It shows the necessity to preserve this diversity much endangered by human pressure on the forests, the richest of biotopes for the fungi.
Another interest is the study of the association of Nepalese people with mushrooms, following diverse ethnic traditions. It covers all the fields from a strict mycophoby to an enthusiastic mycophily. This is an important knowledge since in Nepal, as elsewhere such traditions are falling into disuse with increasing urbanization of the people and also since mushrooms are an interesting source of food and medicine.
For all these reasons we ought to thank Dr. Adhikari for giving us this invaluable contribution.
Dr. Guy Durrieu
Emeritus Professor
Laboratoire de Botanique et Foréstier
Université Paul Sabatier
Toulouse, France
Friday, Dec 25, 1999
