Volume 26, Issue 78, July - December, 2025

Exploring the macrofungal community of Ajmer, Rajasthan: Taxonomy, abundance, and new distribution records

Shruti Ojha¹, Renu Jangid^2♦, Surbhi Agarwal³, Arvind Pareek⁴

¹Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
²Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
³Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
⁴Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Renu Jangid, Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

ABSTRACT

Mushrooms are known to play an important role due to their diverse aspects in nature. The diversity of mushrooms belonging to the phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota has been investigated in the present study from Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The city with a wide range of ecosystems has been highlighted in the past for several studies related to flora and fauna biodiversity. However, the study on the diversity and abundance of the mushrooms from Ajmer city, specifically, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, has been neglected in past research investigations. The monsoon season, ranging from June to September 2025, was assessed, which showed a total of 71 wild macrofungal species belonging to 32 families. The results revealed higher species richness in June-July compared to the later monsoon months. Psathyrellaceae and Agaricaceae phylum Basidiomycota showed the highest number of species, with 10 and 9 each, respectively. However, only a single species of Xylaria belonging to Ascomycota was reported from the study. Moreover, the study reported 1 (Amanita ocreata), 3 (Itajahya galerculata, Mutinus caninus, and Geastrum saccatum) and 65 wild mushroom species for the first time from the country India, state Rajasthan, and city Ajmer, respectively. This present investigation displays a broad taxonomic study of the macrofungal community, which could play an important role in various economic sectors, including agriculture, medicinal, and industrial. Beneficial mushrooms consumed as food products and various other industrial and food sectors emphasise the need for detailed investigation of mushrooms.

Keywords: Abundance, Ajmer, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Diversity, Mushrooms

Species, 2026, 27(79), e5s3251

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Published: 07 March 2026