Nopal de Monte: Cacti Named and Used by a Mixtec Community in Mountainous Oaxaca

Abstract

Indigenous communities are significant reservoirs of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and represent a central source of information about use and management of wild plants. Cacti are among the most representative species in Neotropical deciduous forests. Since pre-Hispanic times, numerous species of Cactaceae are used by Indigenous communities of mountain regions as sources of food, medicine, dyes, fodder, and materials for construction. We documented cacti species used in a community located in the Mixtec highlands of Oaxaca: San Sebastián del Monte. This small town, located at the top of a mountain, is inhabited by proficient speakers of Mixtec. We obtained information regarding the native cacti traditional nomenclature and uses. Additionally, we calculated a use value index for each species. Twelve cacti were registered; all of them are known by its Mixtec and Spanish names and had some kind of traditional use. A remarkable name is nopal de monte, which refers to Opuntia velutina and its characteristic mountainous habitat. Food is the main local use of cacti (fruits of ten species are consumed). Since every structure of Ferocactus recurvus is used, the species has the highest use value index. Even when Opuntia pubescens is one of the species with lowest use value index, the traditional use of its fruits (prickly pears) to dye corn tortillas with an intense pink or purple color is a feature with great nutraceutical, culinary, and tourist potential. The stems of three species are used as medicine; two species are used as dyes, one as fodder and another as fuel. As in other communities from semiarid environments, cacti are an important source of food and raw materials in the mountain town of San Sebastián del Monte. Local knowledge on use and management is relevant for their conservation as biocultural heritage. Every season, when the nopal criollo (Opuntia decumbens Salm-Dyck) bears its fruits, several Mixtec families in San Sebastián del Monte prepare and consume very special corn tortillas. These tortillas are unique because of their beautiful deep pink color (provided by the pulp of the nopal criollo fruit). These tortillas are consumed at home and are also taken to sell in the municipal capital, Santo Domingo Tonalá. Although the local people do not attribute a ritual or sacred value to the pink tortillas, they do recognize them as something special and appreciate them for their color as well as their flavor. The academic interest in discovering the process of preparing the pink tortillas led us to conduct the ethnobotanical study of the Cactaceae family in San Sebastián de Monte presented in this chapter.