With reference to “Gucchi” sometimes mentioned in the news, consider the following statements :
- 1.It is a fungus.
- 2.It grows in some Himalayan forest areas.
- 3.It is commercially cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of north-eastern India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Show answer
Answer: C. Gucchi is the morel mushroom, a fungus (statement 1 correct). It grows wild in Himalayan forests of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (statement 2 correct). It is not commercially cultivated in India; it is collected from the wild, which is why it is so costly (statement 3 wrong). So 1 and 2.
Watch for: Students assume a costly, famous mushroom must be farmed, but it is wild-collected.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because statement 2 is also correct.
- B. Wrong because Gucchi is not commercially cultivated.
- D. Wrong because statement 3 is incorrect and statement 1 is correct.
Source to check: ICAR Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan publications on morels; news coverage of Gucchi pricing, 2021-22
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.