Gender differences and regionalization of the cultural significance of ...

Mycologia, 104(4), 2012, pp. 826–834. DOI: 10.3852/11-347 # 2012 by The Mycological Society of America, Lawrence, KS 66044-8897

Gender differences and regionalization of the cultural significance of wild mushrooms around La Malinche volcano, Tlaxcala, Mexico A. Montoya1

(ethnic Nahua towns). San Isidro Buensuceso is the most distinct community, according to the criteria in this study. Key words: cultural significance, ethnomycology, free listing, La Malinche National Park, Nahuas, Otomıés, wild edible fungi

Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Biolo´gicas, Universidad Autońoma de Tlaxcala, Km 10.5 Autopista San Martıń Texmelucan-Tlaxcala, Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala 90120, Me´xico

E.A. Torres-Garcıá Taller de Etnobiologıá, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autońoma de Me´xico

INTRODUCTION

A. Kong A. Estrada-Torres

In countries with high cultural and biological diversity, such as Me´xico, macroscopic fungi have been considered significant for various reasons, particularly due to their use in magical-religious contexts (Wasson 1983, Guzmań 2008), as medicinal species and as locally consumed or marketed foods (Pe´rez-Moreno et al. 2008). This is evident in the number of species used locally and/or regionally and also in the richness of traditional knowledge about fungi, including perceptions about their origin, morphology, place of growth and growth season (Reygadas-Prado et al. 1995). In addition, there is a diversity of traditional names (Guzmań 2007), detailed knowledge of characteristics useful to distinguish between toxic and edible species (Mapes et al. 1981), variety of uses and different means of preparation (Montoya et al. 2002) and a high percentage of people from indigenous and rural areas who know and use wild fungi (Estrada-Torres 1989). More than 200 edible species of fungi grow in Me´xico (Villarreal and Pe´rez-Moreno 1989). However, some species such as the Amanita caesarea complex (Pe´rez-Moreno et al. 2008) or Boletus pinophilus (Montoya et al. 2004), are particularly appreciated and the most often sought out by collectors in temperate regions of the country (Alavez-Vargas 2006). The cultural importance of diverse species of fungi commonly has been inferred through indirect observations; the use of specifically designed indicators of cultural importance has been applied only in a few studies (Montoya 2005, GaribayOrijel et al. 2007). Montoya et al. (2003) used frequency of mention to determine the most important mushroom species in San Isidro Buensuceso, a town in Tlaxcala, Me´xico, and found that the cultural significance of mushrooms was negatively correlated to the sporocarp availability in the forest. More abundant resources are not always the most appreciated. In another town, Javier Mina, the same authors

Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Biolo´gicas, Universidad Autońoma de Tlaxcala, Km 10.5 Autopista San Martıń Texmelucan-Tlaxcala, Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala 90120, Me´xico

J. Caballero Jardıń Botańico, Instituto de Biologıá, Universidad Nacional Autońoma de Me´xico, Apartado Postal 70614, Me´xico, DF 04510, Me´xico

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the cultural significance of wild mushrooms in 10 communities on the slopes of La Malinche volcano, Tlaxcala. The frequency and order of mention of each mushroom species in interviews of 200 individuals were used as indicators of the relative cultural significance of each species. A X2 analysis was used to compare the frequency of mention of each species between males and females, and a Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the difference in the total number of fungi mentioned by either gender. Traditional names for mushroom species were documented and frequency of mention assessed through multivariate statistics. The fungi with highest frequency of mention were Amanita basii, Lyophyllum decastes, Boletus pinophilus, Gomphus floccosus and Cantharellus cibarius complex. We found significant differences in the frequency of mention of different fungi by males and females but no significant difference was found for the total number of fungi mentioned by either gender. Principal component analysis suggested a cultural regionalization of La Malinche volcano communities based on preferences for consumption and use of traditional names. We observed two groups: one formed by communities on the eastern part of the volcano (with mixed cultures) and the other including communities on the western slope Submitted 20 Oct 2011; accepted for publication 10 Jan 2012. 1 Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

826

MONTOYA ET AL.: CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF WILD MUSHROOMS found a positive correlation between frequency of mention and prices of mushrooms in local markets (Montoya 2005). Garibay et al. (2007) considered that overall cultural significance of any resource is multifactorial and established a compound index, modified from Pieroni (2001), which they used to determine the cultural significance of mushrooms used by Zapotec Indians from Ixtlań de Jua´rez, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The index included seven cultural variables: perceived abundance, frequency of use, taste score appreciation, multifunctional food use, extent of knowledge transmission, association to health and economic status. They also assessed the cultural significance as indicated by frequency of mention, order of mention and importance within each culture (from the point of view of the informants when asked which was the most important mushroom for them). The authors found a high correlation between the four indicators they used and concluded that a compound index is a powerful tool to identify factors that determine the cultural significance of resources. Furthermore, they concluded order and frequency of mention are good indicators of cultural significance of mushroom species. Results from studies on cultural significance of mushroom species in La Malinche National Park (central Me´xico) have shown that even in remote localities where people exploit the same natural environments, the most significant species can differ from group to group (Montoya 2005). For example, in Javier Mina, the most significant mushroom species is Amanita basii (as Amanita caesarea complex) whereas in San Isidro Buensuceso it is Gomphus floccosus (Montoya et al. 2004). These variations and their causes remain insufficiently documented for most regions in Me´xico. On the other hand, important differences between men and women have been noted in their strategies for mushroom collecting as well as in the relative energy either gender spends in collecting mushrooms, although there are no apparent differences in the quantities of mushrooms they collect. Until now, it has been unknown whether men and women have similar preferences for the mushrooms they collect (Pacheco et al. 2010). This study was aimed to measure the cultural significance of mushrooms for inhabitants of 10 towns on the outskirts of La Malinche National Park (LMNP), Tlaxcala, Me´xico, and also to determine whether there are any differences in the perceptions of men versus women in relation to the cultural importance assigned to mushroom species. Residents of these towns have different ethnic and cultural characteristics (SańchezGo´mez and Domıńguez-Tejeda 2009).

827

FIG. 1. Study site. A. Location. B. Ten communities around La Malinche volcano (dark gray): AG 5 Altamira de Guadalupe, AM 5 Acxiotla del Monte, FJM 5 Francisco Javier Minta, I 5 Ixtenco, LP 5 Los Pilares, PLC 5 La Cruz, PMM 5 Mariano Matamoros, SFT 5 San Francisco Tetlanohcan, SIBS 5 San Isidro Buensuceso, SRT 5 San Rafael Tepatlaxco.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Study site.—All 10 communities are on the slopes of La Malinche volcano (F IG. 1). The vegetation is largely coniferous forest of Abies religiosa (Kunth) Schltdl. & Cham. and Pinus leiophylla Schltdl. & Cham., P. teocote Cham. & Schltdl. and P. montezumae Lamb. These last two species appear mixed with Quercus rugosa Neé, Q. laurina Humb. & Bonpl., Arbutus xalapensis Kunt and Salix spp. Above 3000 m Abies religiosa, Pinus hartwegii Lindl. and P. montezumae are the most common trees. The climate is characterized as C (CW2) (w), subhumid and with a summer rainy season (INEGI 1986). Local residents continuously use the forest’s resources. Such resources include mushrooms, which grow mainly in the same town where they are collected; only Javier Mina residents transport their mushrooms for sale in Puebla or Me´xico City. General information about these communities are included (TABLE I). Five communities are Nahua in origin, and the other five are mestizo. In Ixtenco (Otomı´) and San Rafael Tepatlaxco (Nahua) there are few speakers of the indigenous language in relation to the total population. Javier Mina inhabitants are of Nahua ancestry, but few speak their native tongue.

828 TABLE I.

MYCOLOGIA Communities studied in La Malinche National Park, Tlaxcala, Me´xico Community

San Isidro Buensuceso Acxotla del Monte San Francisco Tetlanohcan San Rafael Tepatlaxco Ixtenco Colonia Francisco Javier Mina Colonia Altamira de Guadalupe Pueblo de la Cruz Pueblo de Mariano Matamoros Colonia Los Pilares

Municipality San Pablo del Monte Teolocholco San Francisco Tetlanohcan Chiautempan Ixtenco Zitlaltepec Trinidad Sańchez Santos Huamantla Huamantla Huamantla Huamantla

Frequency of mention.—Cultural significance of mushrooms was evaluated by the frequency of mention of each species in a free listing exercise. Ten communities around LMNP were chosen (FIG. 1). In each community, 20 adults (10 men and 10 women) who participate in mushroom collecting were recruited to participate by means of the snowball sampling technique (Alexiades 1996). A total of 200 people were in the sample. Each person completed a structured interview in which they were encouraged to name at least 20 mushrooms known to them. The names mentioned in the interviews were correlated to the species collected and identified during field trips to forested areas. In some cases, we were unable to correlate the traditional names to the actual species because the mushrooms were not found during the collecting trips. In these cases, only the mushrooms’ traditional names were recorded. The resulting information was analyzed based on the percentage of people who mentioned each species and on the order in which they were mentioned. The mushrooms most often mentioned by the interviewees were considered the most important. Statistical analysis.—The relationship between frequency of mention by men and by women was analyzed by means of a contingency table and a chi-squared (X2) test. A U MannWhitney test (Zar 1984) was performed to determine the difference between total number of mushrooms mentioned by men and women. All statistical analyses were done with the PAST (palaeontological statistics) program 1.36 (Hammer et al. 2001). A similitude analysis (Rolph 2000) was carried out followed by a principal component analysis to determine the relationships among the 10 chosen communities. The data used were: (i) average order of mention of mushrooms mentioned by 10% or more of the interviewed persons (with a total of 20 mushroom species). This was calculated from taking into account the order of mention given by 20 people from each town (species not mentioned were assigned a value of 30 in the data matrix with a total of 27 names, with the most frequently mentioned species assigned a value of 1. (ii) The frequency of mention of mushrooms identified in the first three places in the free listing task (five mushrooms). (iii) The frequency of mention of the traditional names used in each town for the species indicated but only when these

Ethnicity

North latitude

West longitude

Nahua Nahua Nahua/Mestizo Nahua/Mestizo Otomıés Mestizo

19u 19u 19u 19u 19u 19u

099 159 159 179 159 119

98u 98u 98u 98u 97u 97u

069 099 099 079 539 559

Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo

19u 19u 19u 19u

179 179 179 169

97u 97u 97u 97u

599 589 589 569

names were indicated by more than 20% of the people interviewed (a total of 23 names were included). A quantitative matrix (48 3 10 OTUs or communities) was constructed from the data described above and processed with the statistical program numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system (NTSYS PC) 1.8 (Rolph 2000). The Euclidian distances between communities were obtained, and then a clustering method was used to obtain a phenogram through the SAHN technique using the UPGMA option. The cophenetic matrix was obtained to assess the goodness-of-fit of the cluster analysis. With the original data, principal component analysis was performed using the correlation index by rows or characteristics (indicators of significance used). All eigenvectors and eigenvalues, their percentages and their cumulative percentages were obtained. Communities were grouped according to the indicators of cultural significance.

RESULTS Frequency of mention.— A total of 58 species of mushrooms were identified by and known to people around La Malinche volcano in this study. Only 20 of these species were mentioned by more than 10% of those interviewed (TABLE II). The 10 most mentioned species were Amanita basii Guzmań & Ram. Guill. (amarillo or jıćara, yellow mushrooms), Lyophyllum decastes (Fr.) Singer (xolete), Boletus pinophilus Pila´t & Dermek (pante or panza little belly), Gomphus floccosus (Schwein.) Singer (tlapitzal or corneta, trumpet), Cantharellus cibarius complex Fr. (tecosa) (FIG. 2), Russula delica Fr. (cuatecax or patas de cabra, crowbar), Ramaria spp. (xelhuas or escobeta, broom), Laccaria trichodermophora G.M. Muell. (xocoyul), Suillus pseudobrevipes A.H. Sm. & Thiers (poposo or pancita, little belly) and Morchella aff. esculenta (L.) Pers. (olonanaćatl or chipotle, corncobs mushroom, which looks like a Mexican chili). We concluded that these mushrooms are the most popular and most appreciated in study area. The average number of fungi mentioned varied by

MONTOYA ET AL.: CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF WILD MUSHROOMS

829

TABLE II. Frequency of mention of wild mushroom species mentioned by .10% of interviewees in 10 communities located on the slopes of La Malinche National Park, Tlaxcala, Mexico Species

Traditional name

Frequency of mention

Amanita basii Lyophyllum decastes Boletus pinophilus Gomphus floccosus Cantharellus cibarius group Russula delica Ramaria spp. Laccaria trichodermophora Suillus pseudobrevipes Morchella aff. esculenta Amanita muscaria Lactarius salmonicolor Hygrophorus chrysodon Amanita rubescens Lyophyllum sp. 1 Hebeloma aff. mesophaeum Hongo blanco Agaricus campestris Clitocybe gibba Pleurotus opuntiae

Amarillo, Ayoxoćhitl, jıćara Xolete, xu´letl Pante, xotoma Corneta, tlapitzal Tecosa Tecax, tecajete, Pata de cabra Escobeta Xocoyul Panza Chipotle Zitlalnanaćatl Hongo enchilado Hongo nin õ Amantecado Xolete Ocoxalero Hongo blanco Llanero Izquilonanaćatl Hongo de maguey

180 162 158 121 104 98 95 86 71 61 55 44 41 39 36 35 31 30 28 25

community, ranging from 3.3 (Ixtenco) to 14.8 (San Isidro Buensuceso) (TABLE III). According to the results obtained in the free listing task, the number of names mentioned by men (9.6) and women (9.4 were not significantly different as determined by the Mann-Whitney U test (U 5 0.6225 . 0.05). However, men and women differed in the number of times men and women mentioned each mushroom name (X20.95,41 5 27.32 , X2 5 51.291) (TABLE III). Some examples are: Ramaria spp., mentioned 18% more by women than by men; Gomphus floccosus, mentioned 14% more by men than by women; Amanita rubescens, mentioned 38% more by women; Pleurotus opuntiae which was mentioned 60% more by men; Cantharellus cibarius complex was mentioned 12% more by men than by women; and Clitocybe gibba was mentioned 10 more times by women than by men. Order of mention.—Lyophyllum decastes was the species most often mentioned first in the study (29%), followed by A. basii (28%), B. pinophilus (20%) and G. floccosus (6.5%) (TABLE IV). The lowest numbers (TABLE IV) indicate species with lowest average order of mention, meaning that, on average, they were among the first species mentioned and they have high cultural significance. Cultural significance.—The similitude UPGMA analysis identified two clusters of communities based on relative importance of mushroom species: Altamira de Guadalupe, Los Pilares, Mariano Matamoros and

Pueblo La Cruz comprise one group (FIG. 3B, Group 1); Acxiotla del Monte, San Francisco Tetlanohcan, San Rafael Tepatlaxco and Ixtenco comprise the other (FIG. 3B, Group 2). Communities belonging to the two groups occupy different areas on the volcano and have different ethnic compositions. Those in the first group are on the southeastern slope and are predominantly mestizo; the second ones are on the southwestern slope, except Ixtenco, which is on the southeastern slope, and are predominantly indigenous. The differences between both areas are the traditional names used for the species of mushrooms as well as the significance assigned to Gomphus floccosus on the southwestern slope and for Lyophyllum decastes and Amanita basii on the southeastern slope (see explanation of eigenvectors for details). Separate from these two groupings are Francisco Javier Mina and San Isidro Buensuceso, which are different from each other as well as from the other communities. In the first, mushrooms are used mainly in large or small scale commercialization, either for the market in nearby towns or in distant cities, such as Puebla or Me´xico City. The ordination of communities by principal component analysis carried out with the selected indicators (the average order of mention, the first three mushrooms mentioned in the free listing and those traditional names mentioned by more than 10% of the persons interviewed) was similar to the similitude UPGMA analysis. The indigenous communities, including Ixtenco, formed a well defined group.

830

MYCOLOGIA

FIG. 2. Mushroom species with higher cultural significance around La Malinche National Park. A. Amanita basii. B. Lyophyllum decastes. C. Boletus pinophilus. D. Gomphus floccosus. E. Cantharellus cibarius.

Mestizo communities formed a second group, while Francisco Javier Mina and San Isidro Buensuceso communities were from these two groups and from each other (FIG. 3B). The eigenvectors (SUPPLEMENTARY TABLE I) clearly showed those indicators of cultural significance explaining the grouping. Those with higher weight in the principal component 1 axis were traditional

names used for Lactarius salmonicolor (hongo enchilado), Morchella esculenta (chipotle), Lyophyllum sp. (cuaresmen ˜ o) Hygrophorus chrysodon (nin ˜ os), Suillus pseudobrevipes (panza), and the average order of mention obtained for Lactarius salmonicolor. In the principal component 2 axis they were average order of mention obtained for Clitocybe gibba and Hygrophorus chrysodon and traditional names of B.


831

TABLE III. Total and average numbers of mushroom names, and variation in the frequency of mention of the most significant mushroom species in the 10 communities on the slopes of La Malinche National Park, Tlaxcala, Mexico

Community Los Pilares San Isidro Buensuceso Francisco Javier Mina Altamira de Guadalupe San Francisco Tetlanohcan Pueblo la Cruz Pueblo Mariano Matamoros San Rafael Tepatlaxco Ixtenco Acxotla del Monte Total

Total and Total and average number average number Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency of mention of mention of mention of mention of mention of names of names of Amanita of Boletus of Gomphus of Lyophyllum of Russula mentioned mentioned by men by women basii pinophilus floccosus decastes delica 97/9.7 148/14.8 110/11 141/14.1 70/70

120/12 148/14.8 111/11.1 123/12.3 73/7.3

17 17 20 20 16

19 20 19 20 11

7 20 11 10 20

19 17 8 19 18

12 9 8 12 13

105/10.5 99/9.9

73/7.3 103/10.3

19 20

18 20

13 11

19 19

3 10

63/6.3 3/3.3 73/7.3 939/9.4

82/8.2 50/5 73/7.3 956/9.6

17 16 17 179

19 6 16 168

7 2 17 118

19 17 13 168

15 2 14 98

pinophilus (xotoma), G. flocossus (tlapitzal), Hebeloma aff. mesophaeum (ocoxalnanaćatl) and A. basii (ayoxochitl). It is interesting that mushrooms most frequently first-mentioned, A. basii (5a), B. pinophilus (19a), G. floccosus (45a), L. decastes (76a) and R. delica (113a), were not important in this grouping. This probably was because in many cases they were not all recognized in a homogeneous way. Amanita basii was mentioned in each community by more than 80% of interviewed people. Regarding the other four species, it was not the same; differences in the number of people who mentioned each species were fewer in all cases. DISCUSSION The previous section cites some cultural factors that could have an effect on traditional mycological knowledge and on natural resources in general. On the other hand, in an ecological study on the relative availability of edible mushrooms along four transects each in the eastern and western parts of the area greater abundance, yield and biomass of mushrooms were found in the southeastern part of the park than in the southwestern portion (Montoya et al. 2005). In both areas, the same number of species was found, although 12 species were found exclusively in the southeastern area and 13 different species were exclusively found in the southwestern area. Differences in abundance and distribution of fungi support the idea that different biological conditions exist in these two regions of La Malinche. Based on the results obtained in this research, we suggest that La Malinche

also contains regions that are culturally different: A unit comprising Nahua communities is on the southwestern slope while the southeastern area has a group of hybrid communities. Among species reported in this study, A. basii, B. pinophilus (B. edulis complex) and Ramaria spp. stand out because they have high significance in other parts of Me´xico, for example in Ixtlań de Jua´rez, Oaxaca (Garibay et al. 2007). These mushrooms are highly esteemed, and as Turner (1988) pointed out, they are species with high cultural value, recognized over wide geographical areas. Estrada-Torres and Aroche (1987) showed the significance of Amanita caesarea complex by indicating that this was the most mentioned and popular species among the people of three communities in Acambay, Me´xico state. People used it as reference to name all mushroom structures (volva, ring, stalk, pileus, cuticle, scales) and to distinguish edible from toxic species of the region by observing the presence or absence of some of these structures. Estrada-Torres (1989) pointed out that the richness in the variety of names given to mushrooms by specific ethnic groups is one of the most important indicators of the significance of species for that group and the higher the number of traditional mushroom names the higher the knowledge they should have about their use and biology. The results of this study showed that people from San Isidro Buensuceso and Altamira de Guadalupe mentioned more names than any other community, suggesting that these communities have the greatest ethnomycological knowledge in the area. Prior information describes the traditional

832

MYCOLOGIA

TABLE IV. Average order of mention of wild edible mushrooms in 10 communities on the slopes of La Malinche National Park, Tlaxcala, Me´xico Species Agaricus campestris Amanita basii Amanita muscaria Amanita rubescens Boletus pinophilus Cantharellus gpo. cibarius Clitocybe gibba Gomphus floccosus Hebeloma aff. mesophaeum Hongo blanco Hygrophorus chrysodon Laccaria trichodermophora Lactarius salmonicolor Lyophyllum decastes Lyophyllum sp. 1 Morchella aff. esculenta Pleurotus opuntiae Ramaria spp. Russula delica Suillus pseudobrevipes

AGa

AM

PMM

FJM

LP

SRT

PLC

SFT

I

SIBS

PCAb

23.2 6.05 19.2 21.7 2.45 13.2 26.5 18.9 27 30 22.2 29.4 19.5 3 17.9 16.8 28.9 16.1 16.3 19.5

28.5 7.6 30 30 9.45 15.4 29 7.6 30 23.5 28.9 22.2 30 12.7 30 30 30 19.4 12.1 24

29.6 3.5 26.3 22 1.9 11.9 27.1 18.1 30 30 22.2 15.8 23.9 4 23.3 18.8 27.8 18.8 18.95 17.8

27.35 1.95 23.45 14.45 4.2 18.65 30 18.2 16.85 10 30 16.3 26.7 19.6 20.1 22 30 20.2 21.6 25.3

20.7 7.9 19.7 25.6 4.4 14.25 27.3 23.1 22.95 30 21.8 28.0 23.0 3.4 21.7 20.4 26.4 18.3 16.3 22.35

24.2 5.6 28.9 30 17.9 18.5 30 18.6 28.7 22.2 25.2 17.7 27.5 12.4 30 30 23.75 16.4 10.1 25.1

30 4.65 25.7 23.1 5.35 15.5 24.35 15.45 28.95 30 26.6 14.3 22.4 3.4 30 21.5 28.9 14.5 26.4 21.4

30 7.35 28 30 15.8 26.4 30 3.9 30 24.5 30 21.9 24.7 5.6 27.5 30 30 22.8 12.8 19.5

28.6 7.65 27.5 29.0 21.8 28.8 30 27.4 30 30 30 28.7 28.9 6.2 30 28.8 24.6 24.7 27.7 22.1

27.1 10 15 30 5.2 13.9 16.2 3.2 16.4 30 17.5 15.9 24.6 9.5 30 17.6 23.9 13.6 20.4 22.5

2 5 8 9 19 23 29 45 48 51 67 71 73 76 78 88 104 111 113 118

a AG 5 Altamira de Guadalupe, AM 5 Acxiotla del Monte, PMM 5 Pueblo de Mariano Matamoros, FJM 5 Francisco Javier Mina, LP 5 Los Pilares, SRT 5 San Rafael Tepatlaxco, PLC 5 Pueblo LA Cruz, SFT 5 San Francisco Tetlanohcan, I 5 Ixtenco, SIBS 5 San Isidro Buensuceso. b Indicators of cultural significance used in PCA.

mycological knowledge in most of the studied communities (Montoya 2005; Montoya et al. 2003, 2009). In San Isidro Buensuceso, traditional names used for mushrooms are in Na´ huatl, suggesting that the cultural significance of mushrooms is generations old and has remained high. In contrast, the inhabitants of the Otomı´ community in Ixtenco mentioned the lowest number of mushroom names. Residents said they do not collect mushrooms anymore because there are no more in the forest; either they have all been picked, or people do not know how to identify them and are afraid of being poisoned. This information is confirmed in Montoya et al. (2002) who pointed out that knowledge of mushrooms is changing by transculturation. The values obtained in the average order of mention (TABLE IV) show which mushrooms have the highest cultural significance in each community and allow comparisons to be made between communities. For example, in the case of Altamira de Guadalupe, Los Pilares, Pueblo La Cruz and Ixtenco, L. decastes was the species most mentioned by the interviewees and was considered the mushroom with the highest cultural significance for those localities (and with the second highest cultural significance in Altamira). For Acxiotla del Monte, Javier Mina and

San Rafael Tepatlaxco, the most significant species was A. basii. Similarly San Isidro Buensuceso and San Francisco Tetlanohcan interviewees considered Gomphus floccosus the most significant species. The highest eigenvalues (SUPPLEMENTARY TABLE I) were determined by the different names used for the species listed, suggesting that grouping was determined by cultural factors. With the information obtained, it could be said that, regarding mushroom species that have been identified as having the highest cultural significance in some studies made per community, at least in the case of La Malinche volcano in Tlaxcala, Me´xico, this significance is preserved in cases of large geographic areas. The analysis made evident a clear regionalization of communities in the southeastern and southwestern slopes of La Malinche. Cultural and biological characteristics of both groups are very different. People in the southeastern region are predominantly Mestizo, except for Ixtenco community which is Otomı´; communities in the western region are Nahua descendants. Among these, there are three communities (San Isidro Buensuceso, Acxiotla del Monte, San Francisco Tetlanohcan) with the highest number of Na´huatl speakers in the state. San Isidro Buensuceso is the community with the highest number of Na´huatl speakers.


FIG. 3. A. Similitude analysis (calculated with Euclidian distances) among the 10 study communities based the average order of mention, the first three mushrooms named in a free listing task and traditional mushroom names mentioned by least 10% of people interviewed (r 5 0.89). B. Principal component analysis of 10 communities of La Malinche National Park region, considering three indicators of cultural significance (average order of mention, the first three mushrooms named in a free listing task and traditional mushroom names mentioned by least 10% of interviewees) of wild edible mushrooms. AG 5 Altamira de Guadalupe, AM 5 Acxiotla del Monte, PMM 5 Pueblo de Mariano Matamoros, FJM 5 Francisco Javier Mina, LP 5 Los Pilares, SRT 5 San Rafael Tepatlaxco, PLC 5 Pueblo LA Cruz, SFT 5 San Francisco Tetlanohcan, I 5 Ixtenco, SIBS 5 San Isidro Buensuceso.

In relation to the gender, in other studies it was observed that women have a greater traditional mycological knowledge than men and furthermore that they are the main agents in transmitting this knowledge, which is necessary for collection, consumption and sale of these fungi (Valencia-Flores 2006). However, from other studies made in the state of Tlaxcala (Montoya 2005), it was well known that both genders are involved in collection and sale of mushrooms. Pacheco-Cobos et al. (2010) suggested that the success of both men and women in collecting

833

mushrooms differ due to the different use of space and special habits displayed by each. Men, with the goal of finding the best and biggest mushrooms, travel to higher altitudes, to steeper areas and places such as ravines that are difficult to access. Women are in charge of carrying mushrooms found by both their husbands and themselves through the forest as well as cleaning, cooking and selling mushrooms (Montoya et al. 2003). Men generally spend more energy than women in their search. Women, however, tend to collect a greater number of species and better specimens; they visit more collecting sites and therefore collect more mushrooms by weight than men. These differences in the use and management of fungal resources also could explain the differences in the cultural significance that different mushroom species have for men and women. From a methodological point of view, it can be said that the average order of mention was a good indicator of the mushroom species significance within a single community or among several communities. Using the traditional names most mentioned by more than 10% of interviewees was a good strategy to give clarity to the analysis carried out. This was very important because in many ethnomycological studies it has been observed that many mushroom names are idiosyncratic and they very often refer to species with great value to people (Montoya, 1997). For this reason, it is necessary to correlate scientific and traditional names to each person to avoid losing information. As we know, this activity is time consuming. However, in this case the list of names was short and more consistent because few names were mentioned by many people. We were able to correlate more than 90% of the traditional names to mushroom species in field collecting trips. However, this was not the case for the name hongo blanco because this term corresponds to different species including R. delica, Amanita tuza and Lyophyllum sp. and we were unable to identify which species people were talking about during each interview. This method can be used in other studies to compare the significance of species in towns in which surrounding vegetation is similar because it enables objective documentation for the preferences of different people for the same resource in the forest. However, it is further recommended that researchers use the indicators in towns where information about traditional knowledge was obtained to reinforce the results and to explain the causes that underlie the significance of the species. Specifically, the use of traditional names mentioned by at least 10% of interviewees is highly recommended because such a criterion will reduce the amount of idiosyncratic information.

834

MYCOLOGIA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Miss Claudia A. Montoya for reading the first English version of the manuscript. We also thank Dr Nancy Turner for her kind assistance in reading, correcting and making suggestions to improve this paper. We also thank all anonymous reviewers and the editor for suggestions and comments that improved the information in this paper.

LITERATURE CITED Alavez VM. 2006. Conocimiento micolo´gico tradicional en San Miguel Cerezo, Pachuca, Hidalgo: el caso de Boletaceae sensu Chevalier. Me´xico, DF: Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM. Tesis de Licenciatura. 123 p. Alexiades MN. 1996. Selected guidelines for ethnobotanical research: a field manual. New York: New York Botanical Garden Scientific Publications Department. 306 p. Castro-Pe´rez F. 2009. Los mazahme, los mexicopa y las polı´ticas de conservacioń en la Matlalcueitl. In: CastroPe´rez F, Tucker TM. 2009. coordinators. Matlalcueýetl: visiones populares sobre cultura, ambiente y desarrollo. Tlaxcala, Me´xico: Colegio Tlaxcala, CONACyT, Mesoamerican Reseach Fundation. Tomo. p 305–366. Estrada-Torres A. 1989. La etnomicologıá: avances, problemas y perspectivas. Tesina predoctoral, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biolo´gicas, I.P.N. Me´xico. 60 p. ———, Aroche RM. 1987. Acervo etnomicolo´gico en tres localidades del Municipio de Acambay, estado de Me´xico. Rev Mex Micol 3:109–132. Garibay-Orijel R, Caballero J, Estrada-Torres A, Cifuentes J. 2007. Understanding cultural significance, the edible mushrooms case. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 3:1–18, doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-1 Guzma´ n G. 2007. Los nombres de los hongos y lo relacionado con ellos en Ame´rica Latina. Veracruz, Me´xico: Instituto de Ecologıá, Xalapa. 356 p. ———. 2008. Hallucinogenic mushrooms in Mexico: an overview. Econ Bot 63:1–9. INEGI. 1986. Sıńtesis Geogra´fica de Tlaxcala. Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD. 2001. PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electroń 4:1–9. Mapes C, Guzmań G, Caballero J. 1981. Etnomicologıá pure´pecha. El conocimiento y uso de los hongos en la Cuenca de Pa´tzcuaro, Michoacań. Cuadernos etnobotańicos 2. Me´xico D. F.: Direccioń General de Culturas Populares, SEP, Sociedad Mexicana de Micologıá, e Instituto de Biologıá, UNAM. 79 p. Montoya A. 2005. Aprovechamiento de los hongos silvestres en el Volcań la Malinche, Tlaxcala. Tesis de doctorado en Ciencias. Me´xico, DF: Facultad de Ciencias UNAM. 159 p. ———, Estrada-Torres A, Caballero J. 2002. Comparative ethnomycological survey of three localities from La Malinche volcano, Me´xico. J Ethnobiol 22:103–131.

———, Hernańdez-Totomoch O, Estrada-Torres A, Kong A, Caballero J. 2003. Traditional knowledge about mushrooms in a Nahua community in the state of Tlaxcala, Me´xico. Mycologia 95:793–806, doi:10.2307/3762007 ———, Kong A, Estrada-Torres A, Cifuentes J, Caballero J. 2004. Wild edible mushrooms from La Malinche National Park, Me´xico. Fungal Divers 17:115–143. ———, Corte´s-Sańchez E, Kong A, Torres-Garcıá EA. 2009. Conocimiento tradicional de los hongos en Altamira de Guadalupe, Huamantla, Tlaxcala. In: Castro-Pe´rez F, Tucker TM, eds. Matlalcueýetl: visiones populares sobre cultura, ambiente y desarrollo. Colegio Tlaxcala, A.C., CONACYT, Mesoamerican Research Foundation. ISBN: 978-607.7673.13-2. Tomo1. p 151–171. Pacheco-Cobos L, Rosetti M, Cuatianquiz C, Hudson R. 2010. Sex differences in mushroom gathering: men expend more energy to obtain equivalent benefits. Evol Human Behav 31:281–297. Pe´rez-Moreno J, Martıńez-Reyes M, Ye´scaz-Pe´rez A, DelgadoAlvarado A, Xoconostle-Ca´zares B. 2008. Wild mushroom markets in central Mexico and a case study at Ozumba. Econ Bot 62:425–436, doi:10.1007/ s12231-008-9043-6 Pieroni A. 2001. Evaluation of the cultural significance of wild food botanicals traditionally consumed in northwestern Tuscany, Italy. J Ethnobiol 21:89–104. Reygadas-Prado F, Zamora-Martıńez M, Cifuentes J. 1995. Conocimiento sobre los hongos silvestres comestibles en las comunidades de Ajusco y Topilejo, DF Rev Mex Micol 11:85–108. Rohlf JF. 2000. Numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system. 2.1. New York: Applied Biostatistics Inc. Sańchez-Go´mez L, Domıńguez-Tejeda EM. 2009. Marco geogra´fico del volcań la Matlalcueye. In: Castro-Pe´rez F, Tucker TM, coordinators. Matlalcueýetl: visiones populares sobre cultura, ambiente y desarrollo. Tlaxcala, Me´xico: Colegio Tlaxcala, CONACyT, Mesoamerican Reseach Fundation, Vol. 1. p 39–74. Turner NJ. 1988. The importance of a rose: evaluating the cultural significance of plants in Thomson and Lillooet Interior Salish. Am Anthropol 90:272–290, doi:10. 1525/aa.1988.90.2.02a00020 Valencia I. 2006. Uso tradicional de los hongos silvestres en San Pedro Nexapa, estado de Me´xico. Me´xico, DF: Tesis de Licenciatura, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM. 121 p. Villarreal L, Pe´rez-Moreno J. 1989. Los hongos comestibles silvestres de Me´ xico, un enfoque integral. Micol Neotrop Appl 2:77–114. Wasson RG. 1983. El hongo maravilloso: Teonanaćatl. Micolatrıá en Mesoame´rica. Me´xico. D.F.: Fondo de cultura econo´mica. 305 p. Zar JH. 1984. Biostatistical analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 620 p.