Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 6 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLK (1982) 361 - 364 361 Short Communication Geaster mummosum: a bactericidal fungus used in Himalayan Folklore G. C. JOSHI, V. P. TEWARI and P. JOSH1 Amalgamated Units, Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (C.C.R.A.S.), Tarikhet (Ranikhet) U.P. 263663 (India) (Received September 18,198l; accepted January 8,1982) Summary The discovery is described of the high bactericidal and healing proper- ties of basidiospores of a “star fungus” identified as Geaster zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfed mummo$um Chev. (family: Geastraceae) growing saprophytically in pine forests. It is used in folk medicine for burns by the inhabitants of Kumaon. This drug was clinically tried on 25 patients with ~ar~~~ua (otorrhoea), 8 with kama- sula (earache), 7 with umna (wounds) and 2 with nabhipaka (umbilical sepsis) showing an improvement/cure in almost all cases. The drug offers potential for deveiopment as a therapeutic agent. Introduction A “star fungus” of class Basidiomycetes locally known as fuskia, fusfusia or fuskia tumari in the Kumaon hills of the Uttar Pradesh Himalayas is used in folk medicine for burns. Habit and habitat The fungus grows saprophytically as tender globose pouches on decaying organic matter in soil, often in grassland areas in forests. It is often found amply strewn on the slopes of pine (h’nus roxburghii Sargent) forests from 450 m up to 2400 m in the outer Montane and middle ranges of the Himalayas, generally appearing after the first rain and gradually thinning out in winter. Botanical studies The basidiocarps arise either laterally or terminally on mycelial threads. They may be found on the soil surface from the very beginning of develop- ment or may be sballowly subterranean when young, becoming obvious on the surface at maturity. @ Elsevier Sequoia/printed in the Netherlands