Mushrooms On My Mind

When I traveled to my home in the north of Nam in January, the weather was rainy and misty and just right for the appearance of Omahova, a local delicacy and, I kept my eye out for people selling them along the roadside.

Sure enough, towards evening, I came upon this guy selling some in the rain. I stopped and took a pic but didn't buy any because they were open already and in this state they're often infested with worms.


Two days after I arrived home the weather was still good for mushrooms and I decided to take a drive to Tsinsabis, a small San settlement about 30km north on the newly tarred road past my home.

The window for the appearance of mushrooms is about one week, two weeks max.


It wasn't long before I came upon this guy selling Omahova - the ones he is displaying are open already but he had a few which were still closed and which I bought.

The prices asked for the mushrooms have increased dramatically over the last few years but, are still cheap - whatever the price, the people selling them are dirt-poor and I'm glad that they're able to earn a few bucks in this way.


As I was buying the mushrooms, this lovely child came running up from some shacks in the distance and graciously posed for a photo.


Further on up the road, near Tsinsabis, the rain was bucketing down and I decided to turn back because I was having difficulty seeing out the windows.


On my way back the rain eased up and I came upon this guy selling some Omahova - I bought a few of the closed ones.


I also found these two youngsters close to home - by this time I had enough Omahova but I gave them a few dollars anyway after they'd posed for pics.


A close-up of a mushroom lying on the road - When I arrived home, I chopped-up the ones I'd bought, dumped them into boiling water for a minute, then bagged and stuck them in the freezer, to await the arrival of someone who knows how to cook.

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Mushrooms In A Dry Land

Some years, in northern Namibia, weather conditions are just right for one or two weeks and we get all sorts of mushrooms and other fungi popping up in shaded places - they don't last for long though because the heat causes them to decompose very quickly.

Here's a link to an earlier post on 'Omahova', giant mushrooms which are a great delicacy here in Nam.

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Omahova

Good rains are falling in Namibia and atmospheric conditions are right for the appearance of a much sought-after delicacy - mushrooms, or 'Omahova' as they're known here.

Two years ago, I came upon these two dudes on a highway in the middle of nowhere. They were selling these giant mushrooms which they'd collected in the bush:




The mushrooms grow only on termite mounds and appear a few days after good rain showers and cloudy, misty weather. I've been told, but unable to substantiate as fact, that the spores are distributed through the dung of cattle, whereafter they're transported into the mounds and nurtured by the termites.

It is also said that they only grow on the northern side of the mounds, i.e. away from direct sunlight.

When buying Omahova it is best to get them before they open-up like the ones in the pics. When they're open they go soggy very quickly and are prone to worm infestations.


The last pic is to illustrate how big the termite mounds can be, though some of them get a lot bigger.

I'm not usually very fond of mushrooms, but I'd kill for these. When prepared by someone who knows how to, they're divine. One method is to cut the stems as steaks and poach in buttered, fried onions, ... mmmm

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