Seremban : Cendawan Busut

Cendawan busut / cendawan pusu ( Termitomyces heimii)  is anthill mushroom grown wild in by the waterway, normally in oil palm plantation, thus sometimes called cendawan sawit.  

It is symbiotic with a certain termite, Odontotermes spp.   The termites cultivate the mushroom by breaking down wooden material that the mushroom needs to grow on.  The termites in turn use the material decomposted by the mushroom as food.

The mushroom often found emerging from underground termite nest during rainy season.

While Termitomyces do have somewhat distinctive morphology, the only way to absolutely identify them is by the termite they are associating.