Abstract
BackgroundFungi have multiple uses in temperate areas of México, but an important decrease in the traditional knowledge of uses and customs of mushrooms becomes a fundamental issue for fungi conservation. However, only few studies quantify the traditional ethnomycological knowledge in México, and this study is the first quantitative report for Querétaro, a central state with both Otomí and Mestizo communities and a high fungi diversity.MethodsThe present study was conducted registering traditional knowledge on the use and consumption of mushrooms in three Hñähñu (Otomí) communities (Tesquedó, Xajay, and Tenasdá) in Amealco de Bonfil, Querétaro, México, between August 2013 and November 2014. We conducted a stratified sampling, where uses common Hñähñu and Spanish names, and eight quantitative variables that conform the “Edible Mushrooms Cultural Significant Index” (EMCI) were recorded from 100 informants. For the classification and ordination analysis of species and uses, we used multivariate techniques such as cluster, multidimensional scaling, and principal components (PC).ResultsThirty-three mushrooms species were registered, most of them used for consumption by households, few aimed for commercial purposes, one species is medicinal, another has veterinary, and other ludic uses (as a toy). The three species with the highest EMCSI were Amanita basii, Fistulinella wolfeana, and Lactarius indigo. Edibility was the main use detected in the survey, and people harvested mushrooms provided by the forest mainly during the rainy season. We observed that mushroom searching and collection are activities that strengthen the family ties and are crucial for the transfer of this knowledge through generations. Cluster analysis separates groups according to different values in EMCSI variables, and principal components ordinate the species by frequencies (PC1) and traditions (PC2).ConclusionsThe current state of knowledge in the studied communities is strong, especially among women, but with a tendency to disappear due to migration and lack of interest among new generations. Future quantitative studies are important to analyze tendencies of the traditional ethnomycological knowledge transferred to new generations.
Highlights
Fungi have multiple uses in temperate areas of México, but an important decrease in the traditional knowledge of uses and customs of mushrooms becomes a fundamental issue for fungi conservation
The first ethnomycological studies in México were conducted with emphasis on mushrooms used in rituals, but indigenous knowledge goes beyond this use, such as species used for food, medicine, and recreation [1,2,3,4]
Fungi play an important role as a livelihood mechanism during the rainy season [5, 8,9,10], and women are the key element in the transmission of this knowledge [11]
Summary
Fungi have multiple uses in temperate areas of México, but an important decrease in the traditional knowledge of uses and customs of mushrooms becomes a fundamental issue for fungi conservation. With the arrival of the Spaniards, many of these uses and customs were banned, because these traditions were considered as inappropriate [5] Responding to this cultural loss, ethnomycological studies have taken great importance, since they have helped to rescue cultural knowledge and practices, on mushrooms but on different natural resources that have survived in many indigenous groups [6, 7]. Data from different sources shows that indigenous people collect fungi mainly in the rainy seasons for direct consumption by households, while mestizo people in México use them to obtain monetary benefits by selling them in municipal markets [12] or house by house, which is a local activity called “rancheo,” which generates an alternative way to obtain economic incomes [9, 13]. It is important to point out that consumption and selling are not exclusive activities of communities in temperate zones but in tropical areas too [10, 14]
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