Cantharellus miomboensis is a chanterelle mushroom of miombo woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. It is considered to be very common and has a wide range. Therefore, it is assessed here as Least Concern.

Chanterelle project

This is a species of eastern miombo woodlands, being apparently absent from western-African woodlands (e.g. De Kesel et al. 2016, 2017).

There is no quantitative information regarding the population size of this species, although it is suspected to be very large and it has been described as very common (De Kesel et al. 2017). Ongoing threats to miombo woodland could potentially be driving population declines.

The genera Cantharellus consists of species forming ectomycorrhizal associations with trees. This species occurs in miombo woodland apart from areas dominated by Uapaca species (see De Kesel et al. 2016, 2017).

Miombo woodland is impacted by anthropogenic activities such as logging and clearance for agriculture (Jew et al. 2016). Mining could be an additional threat, while the impacts of collection on Cantharellus miomboensis are unclear.

Further surveys to ascertain the full range and the ecology of the species would be useful. Confirmation that Cantharellus miomboensis Buyck & V. Hofst. refers to the same concept as that highlighted as having medicinal properties would be beneficial for future medical research. Finally, while this is a very common species, understanding the impacts of collecting on its population may be also important.

This species is thought to be edible (De Kesel et al. 2017). Cantharellus miomboensis has also been highlighted as having medicinal uses (e.g. Masalu et al. 2010). However, it should be noted that this study was published before the official description of C. miomboensis (in Buyck et al. 2013), and so confirmation that these actually refer to the same concept is required.