M ARY CLAIRE JARVIS, A NN MARIE MILLER, J A M IE SHEAHAN,

KERRY
PLOETZ,JEFF PLOETZ,ROBYN READY WATSON, MARIO PALMA RUIZ,
CARLOS ANDRES PASCARIO VILLAPAN, JUVENTINO GARC~A
A LVARADO,
ARMANDO LOPEZ RAM~REZ, AND BLAIR ORR

Jarvis, Mary Claire (University of Notre Dame), Ann Marie Miller, Jamie Sheahan, Kerry
Ploetz, Jeff Ploetz (School of Forestry and Wood Products. Michigan Technological University,
Houghton MI 49931-1295), Robyn Ready Watson (University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
40506), Mario Palma Ruiz, Carlos Andres Pascario Villapan (Facultad de Biologia, Univ-
ersidad Veracruzana, Mdxico), Juventino Garcia Alvarado, Armando Mpez Ramirez (In-
stituto de Genetica Forestal. Universidad Veracruzana, Mdxico), and Rlair Orr (School of
Forestry and Wood Products, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931-1295;
email bdorr@rntu.edu).EDIBLE WILD MUSHROOMS OF THE COFRE DE PEROTE REGION, V ERAC RUZ ,
MEXICO: AN ETHNOMYCOLOGICAL STUDY OF COMMON NAMES A N D USES.Economic Botany
58(Supplement):SlIl-S115,2004. A Jield study in the Cofre de Perote region found that edible
mushrooms play an important role in the socio-economics activities of the local population.
Several very OM common names indicate a long-standing traditional knowledge about this
regional resource. Recent changes in marketing mushrooms are evident.

Una investigacidn en la regidn del Cofre de Perote sobre 10s hongos silvestres u'tiles y comes-
tibles se llevd a cab0 durante el curso de micologia por 10s estudiantes y profesores y encontrci
que 10s hongos comestibles en la regidn juegan un papel socio-econdmico importante en las
actividades de la poblacidn local, varios nombres locales muy viejos indican que tan antiguo
es el conocirniento sobre este recurso en esre lugar. Cambios recientes en el mercado de 10s
hongos evidentes.
Key Words: Edible mushrooms; useful mushrooms; Cofre de Perote; ethnomycology; Vera-
cmz.

Mushroom collection and use are part of tra-
ditional pre-Hispanic and Mexican culture. To-
day, global markets for edible mushrooms, es-
pecially in Japan, are changing the socio-eco-
nornic landscape of mushroom use in Veracruz,
Mexico. In order to gain a better understanding
of the relationship between the fungi, the local
people, and the economy, field investigations
and interviews were conducted. The authors
spent three days in March, 2000, visiting various
towns and fungal habitats in the Cofre de Perote
Region of Veracruz. The local people provided
the primary information base (via interviews) as
I Received 24 May 2001; accepted 20 August 2004.
they are the ones who collected and used the
fungi and had the most practical knowledge.
A RE A DESCRIPTION
The Cofre de Perote region lies at the south-
e m end of the Sierra Madre Oriental, centered
at 19" 30' N, 97" 20' W. While the mountains
reach 5746 meters at Pico de Orizaba, Mexico's
highest elevation, this study was conducted on
the eastern slopes of the range at elevations from
2000 to 4200 meters above sea level. Towns
were approximately 2000 meters to 3500 meters
above sea level.
The dominant vegetation types in the area are
mesophytic Pinus-Quercus and, at the higher
elevations, Abies forests. Much of the area has
been converted to agricultural use, predomi-

Economic Botany 58(Supplement)pp. S 1 1 1-S 115. 2004

O 2004 by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.
S112 ECONOMIC BOTANY
TABLE 1. I NTERVIEW QUESTIONS. T HE INTERVIEWS
WERE SEMI-STRUCTURED. I NTERVIEWEES W ER E NOT
NECESSARILY ASKED FOR ANSWERS TO ALL OF THE
QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS WERE NOT A L ~ A Y SASKED
IN THE ORDER SHOWN BELOW.
I. What is your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. Do you collect edible mushrooms?
4. What are the names of the mushrooms that you
collect?
5. What do you do with the mushrooms after col-
lecting them?
6. Do you know and collect hongo blanco?
7. Do you eat or sell hongo blanco? Why?
8. How much money do you obtain from the sale of
-
honzo blanco or other edible mushrooms?
9. What company or persons buy hongo blanco or
other edible mushrooms from your area?
10. Where are these companies or persons located?
I I. Do you cultivate edible mushrooms? Which?
Why? How? Where? When?
12. Do you know someone who cultivates mush-
rooms? Who? Where do they live?
13. Are you interested in cultivating edible mush-
rooms?
nantly potato production. Soil types ranged from
sands to volcanically derived silt loams. Though
the area is mesophytic, the study was conducted
during the dry season; there was relatively less
vegetation than at other times of the year.
From March 20 to 22, 2000, the authors in-
terviewed local residents of the towns of Cruz
Blanca (March 20), Los Pescados (March 21)
and 20 de Noviembre (March 22). Two teams,
each composed of both Mexican and US stu-
dents, conducted interviews to obtain a diverse
census of mushroom use and edibility. When
possible, an attempt was made to contact indi-
viduals who were known locally as principal
mushroom collectors within their community.
Interviews were conducted in Spanish. The in-
terviews were semi-structured (Alexiades 1996;
Bernard 1995). The goals of the interviews were
to determine which mushrooms were collected
by local citizens and how they were used. While
we had a specific set of questions we wanted
answered (Table I), we used a more informal
and conversational approach when interviewing
people. We also made an effort to reach key in-
[VOL. 58
formants, people who were known to collect and
sell mushrooms. When interviewees were more
at ease, we were able to collect more detailed
information. Information was collected on inter-
view forms and some responses were audiota-
ped. The data were then combined to form a
complete list of mushrooms collected, used, and
sold by our informants. We also used a linguist,
Professor Felix Jauregui, to help us interpret NB-
huatl names for the various species (Martin
1995). Field data were supplemented with infor-
mation from printed and electronic sources (Ar-
thur 2000; Becker 1989; Deacon 1997; Diaz-
Barriga 1992; Groves 1979; Hosford 1997; Kuo
1998; Lincoff 1981a,b; Palouse Mycological As-
sociation 2000; Smith 1971, 1975; Smith and
Smith-Weber 1988; Someya 2000; Tubaki 1975;
Volk 2000; Wilson 1995; Wood 2000; Yamada
1997).
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Within our three communities, the interview-
ees reported fourteen species using twenty-six
common names. Table 2 shows the common and
scientific names, the meaning of the common
name and a description of the name.
Mexicans and their predecessors, the Aztec
Indians, named objects after old or familiar
items. Therefore, in Mexico one word may refer
to many different objects but have a similar or-
igin in meaning. The common names used for
the local wild mushroon~sin the area around
Cofre de Perote provide excellent examples of
this practice (Lopez Ramirez 1986). All of the
common names recorded in the surveys are
Spanish words or NBhuatl words, the language
of the Aztecs, except Tanaca (Jauregui 2000;
Lopez Ramirez 1986). Most of the names de-
scribe a physical characteristic or refer to a fa-
miliar object with a similar characteristic, there-
by making it easy to pass down the lore. For
example, Amantecado (Amanita rubescens)
translates to English as "the lover." The mush-
room bruises red, similar to the blush of a lover.
A few local names specifically describe the
characteristic that separates the edible mush-
room from non-edible look-alikes that grow in
the same habitat. Amanita caesarea is known as
Tecomate, the NBhuatl word for vessel. The
name aptly describes the saclike cup around its
base which distinguishes Tecomate from similar,
but poisonous, mushrooms. The peach- or apri-
cot-like odor of Cantharellus cibarius is dis-
2 w l JARVIS ET AL.: MUSHROOMS O F VERACRUZ, MEXICO S113

TABLE 2. COMMON NAMES OF MUSHROOMS AND THEIR DESCRIPTIONS.

Scienlific and common Meaning o f

Mexican name common name Description o f name

Amanita caesarea
Tecomate Vessel Tecomate is Nhhuatl. It describes the saclike cup
around its base. This is important because its
poisonous look-alikes lack the cup.
Amanita muscaria
Hongo de mosca Fly mushroom Mosca describes the mushroom's ability to attract
Mosca Fly flies by its red color and to kill them by the gas
it emits. When it is chopped up and put in milk,
Mosca acts as a natural fly killer.
Amanita rubescens
Mantequillo Butter Mantequillo describes the shiny and sometimes lu-
Amantecado Lover bricated cap of the mushroom. Amantecado is
significant since this mushroom bruises reddish,
like a lover. It poisonous look-alikes do not
bruise reddish.
Boletus edulis
Panzas (Pancitas) Belly The stem of this mushroom widens in the middle
and looks like a beer belly.
Cantharellus cibarius
Duraznito Little peach Duraznito is yellow or orange with fine hairs and
Hongo Amarillo Yellow mushroom smells like apricots or a peach. Its look-alikes
are odorless, except its poisonous look-alike
which smells bad.
Clavaria aurea
Ramaria botrytis
Escobea Little broom When this coral mushroom is tied up for storage,
Pechuga Breast meat of fowl it looks like the small escobeta brush used for
scrubbing dishes. Pechuga is significant because
when this mushroom is cooked it looks similar
to shredded chicken breast meat.
Clitocybe clavipes
Tzenso Entangled Tzenso is NBhuatl. It refers to how sometimes
Chivos (Chivitos) Little goat many of these small mushrooms grow together
in bunches. This mushroom turned upside-down
looks like a small goat's foot. It is either flat or
slightly indented like a goat's cleft foot.
Gomphus jfoccossus
Corneta Coronet Corneta refers to the coronet shape of the mush-
room. It is shaped like the broad funnel whose
edges curve under, similar to the musical instru-
ment. It is also called Tropa, though this is
more commonly another species.
Helvella lacunosa
Chipotle Group of wrinkles Chipotle is Nhhuatl for a type of dry chile pepper.
It describes the wrinkly cap, and it refers to the
dried chile of the same name which it resem-
bles.
Hypomyces lactifluovum
Enchilado Chile Enchilado is appropriate since this bright orange to
Chipo de toro Mouth of bull red mold grows on host mushrooms making
them edible like chile spices food. The mold
creates a bumpy surface on the host mushroom
resembling the texture of a tongue, or Chipo do
toro.
S114 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 58

Scientific and common Meaning of

Mexican name common name Description of name

Lactarius indigo
Azul Blue Azul refers to the distinctive blue color of this
Queshque Name of a blue bird
Wool jacket
mushroom. Queshque is a Nhhuatl name of a
blue bird. Queshque, which also means wool -
jacket, may refer to the concentric circles on the
cap which are like the lines in woven wool
sweaters.
LyophyNum decasres
Xolete (sholete) Scrape off Xolete is Nhhuatl. Since these mushrooms grow in
clumps in a bowl-like vessel, xolete refers to
how the people scrape the fruit bodies off when
collecting.
Russula brevipes
Russula delica
Trompa Trumpet Trompa is a yellow to orange funnel-shaped mush-
room which flares out at the top, and so resem-
bles a trumpet.
Tricholoma magnivelare
Tricholoma magnivelaris
Armillaria ponderosa
Hongo blanco White mushroom T. magnivelare is a mostly white mushroom that
Hongo canela Cinnamon mushroom smells like cinnamon, which explains the names
Hongo de ray0 Lined .mushroom Hongo blanco and Hongo canela. Honga de
Hongo rico Rich mushroom ray0 refers to the mushroom's nature to become
Tanaca Japanese family name streaked with brown when it ages. Hongo rico
either refers to its delicious taste or to the great
price for which it sells. Tanaca is the last name
of the Japanese family that came to buy T.mag-
nivelare.

tinctly different from the foul odor of similar
poisonous mushrooms. The common name, dur-
aznito, means little peach, marking odor as a key
characteristic for collectors.
The names have stayed in use in the region
because they have been passed down through
generations and allow for easy identification
(Lopez Ramirez 1986). In general, these names
make it easy to recall key characteristics of the
mushroom. In at least one case, the modem
world is changing some of the key characteris-
tics. Traditionally, mushrooms were collected
for home consumption. Any commercialization
was strictly at the local-market level. Most of
the mushrooms in this study followed the tra-
ditional use pattern; home consumption or local
sales were dominant. Average prices for these
mushrooms were 15 to 30 pesos per kilogram,
though in the regional markets of Xalapa and
Perote prices for a few species may reach over
200 pesos per kilogram. However, the global
mushroom market now extends throughout
Mexico, especially through trade with Japan
(Bandala et al. 1997). In the Cofre de Perote
region, hongo blanco is the primary export
mushroom. Prices range from 200 to 850 pesos
per kilogram, a substantially higher price than is
paid for mushrooms which are only used locally.
The primary purchaser is a Japanese buyer, Tan-
aca. Thus, hongo blanco has acquired two ad-
ditional common names, Tanaca and hongo rico,
the rich mushroom.
Increasing prices have made hongo blanco
significantly more valuable than other species to
local mushroom collectors. As a result, collec-
tion efforts have increased. Today, collectors
find it more difficult to locate patches of hongo
blanco than they did in the past. Similar com-
ments were far less frequent for other species.
CONCLUSIONS
The etymology of common names of mush-
rooms in the Cofre de Perote region reveals the
20041 JARVIS ET AL.: MUSHROOMS OF VERACRUZ, MEXICO
long tradition of mushroom use, stretching back
to pre-Columbian Mexico. The logic, identifi-
cation of key characteristics, behind the names
is quite evident. The mushrooms continue to be
used as they have been for centuries, for home
use and for local sale. Globalization of mush-
room trade has reached the Cofre de Perote re-
gion. It is reflected not only in the prices paid
for hongo blanco, but the additional names
which hongo blanco has acquired.
Given the socio-economic conditions of the
region, it is reasonable to assume that mush-
rooms will continue to play an important role
for local citizens a s long as the mushrooms re-
main available. It is important to conduct this
type of research to determine the current eco-
logical situations of individual species. Many of
the people interviewed commented that the fun-
gi, particularly hongo blanco, are becoming
more and more difficult to find. If research on
fungi is conducted on a regular basis over an
extended period of time, patterns of abundance
and the effects of human impact can b e moni-
tored and assessed. From such information,
management plans and harvesting strategies can
be formulated and implemented to ensure the
lasting presence of these socially and economi-
cally important species.
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