We should visit one of the many pine forests of the country, during the rainy season, to admire the great variety of mushrooms that grow in them. Indeed, there are many types of fungi in Mexico, from very small that barely reach a few millimeters, to giants of more than one meter in diameter.
Their colors also vary enormously, from simple white to the most diverse shades, in contrast to the semi-darkness in which these organisms grow in these forests.
Mexico is perhaps one of the richest countries in mushroom species, as well as in its traditions through the indigenous people. The famous hallucinogenic mushrooms now so well known throughout the world, were discovered in Mexico in the 1950s, and it was thanks to the indigenous people that this knowledge reached the hands of scientists.
The indigenous Mexicans are great connoisseurs of mushrooms; they know very well how to differentiate edible species from poisonous ones and, of course, from hallucinogens. The author, through his 23 years of mycological research, has learned from the indigenous people to observe and identify fungi in nature.
The sale of edible mushrooms in popular markets is very common during the rainy season. Said fungi are collected by indigenous people in the forests and have been selected through many hands before reaching the market, in such a way that we should not mistrust the correct identification of these fungi. The Mexican indigenous since he is a child, is used to walking through the forests in the company of his parents or grandparents and has learned to differentiate fungi, since that ancestral experience that dates from pre-Hispanic times has been transmitted to him. The farmer applies a specific name to each mushroom to identify it and differentiate it from the others. Thus we can find a large number of vernacular, indigenous or Castilian names, which are applied to fungi. For example, we have the names of: "trumpets", "little legs", "young ladies", "buttery", "yemitas", "joletes", "ears", "young ladies", etc.
WHAT IS A FUNGUS?
A fungus is an organism made up of a set of almost microscopic filaments, which form a white cottony mass. From this mass the primordia are born that when they mature they become the fructifications of the fungus. These fructifications produce the spores, which are the seeds of the fungus, and which are responsible for perpetuating the fungus, through its dissemination generally through the air and its due germination. The aforementioned filaments of the fungus are called hyphae and the cottony mass that form mycelium, in such a way that a fungus is a set of hyphae, which are filamentous cells.
In connection with the above, the fungi that we observe or collect in the field are nothing more than the fructifications of these; We leave the real fungus growing on the ground or on the trunk back in the forest. It is important to emphasize on this, because there is the false idea that the fructifications that we collect in the forest, when we look for edible mushrooms, are the true mushrooms. Just as in an orange grove we only collect the oranges, but not the orange trees, so in the forest, we only collect the fructifications of the fungi and not these, which is the mycelium that remains on the ground.
Not all the reproductive structures of fungi are macroscopic; there are also microscopic, as in the so-called microscopic molds or fungi. For example, molds that grow on bread, on tortillas, on oranges.
All fungi are organisms that live on organic matter already formed, which they decompose and thus obtain their food from it. On the other hand, there are species that live on other living organisms, parasitizing them.In this way, fungi are perfectly distinguished from vegetables, which form their food through the air by means of solar energy and the green pigment they contain: chlorophyll (except in the cases of parasitic plants).
Because of their peculiar nutrition, their special structure and their reproduction by spores, fungi are considered organisms alien to plants and animals, so modern biologists agree that fungi are a kingdom independent of plants. rather akin to animals.
The importance of fungi in nature is very significant, since thanks to them the organic matter decomposes and is reincorporated back into the soil. Fungi, together with bacteria in the soil, break down the garbage and make it disappear. From this point of view, the ecological importance of fungi is indisputable.
How to differentiate an edible mushroom from a poisonous one?
Edible mushrooms are identified by knowing in them the shape, color and texture of all parts of the fruiting body. We must observe if they have a foot, if there is a ring in it, if they present scales, etc. It is enough, in a certain edible mushroom that we know and that we define by having a ring on the foot and now it does not have it, so that it is not the same and we doubt its identification.
Just as we identify fruits and vegetables in the market, analyzing only their shape, color and texture, and based on our experience, this is how we must identify edible mushrooms, but it would be said, in what experience? We would base ourselves on the experience of the indigenous or campesinos who sell us these mushrooms and who assure us that they are edible. If today we buy an edible mushroom in the market, for example, the "yemitas", which is characterized by having an orange yolk cap, without scales, with a striated edge, with a ring on the foot, orange lamina and with the base of the foot as a glass (if it has one, since they usually cut it), and if we record this image, we will never forget said mushroom and we will easily identify it again. But, if we find the same fungus in the forest, with a paler or stronger color, or without a ring or other typical structure, it is surely another species, it is probably poisonous.
When selecting edible mushrooms for culinary use, there must be absolute certainty of species identification. If there is any doubt, it is best to discard these mushrooms. An error can be serious.
In the identification of fungi, popular experiences that recommend knowing the fungi should be discarded by observing only whether they are boiled with a silver coin or garlic or they blacken it. These customs are often false contradictory and therefore dangerous. It is true that there are some mushrooms that will only be edible if they are cooked, as happens with the so-called “mouse ears” or “gachupines”, but the vast majority of edible mushrooms They present culinary properties either raw or boiled.
Poisonous mushrooms are harmful to man as long as they are ingested. It is totally false that a fungus intoxicates man just by holding it in the hands or smelling it.
We can classify poisonous mushrooms into the following four categories:
1. Those that cause indigestion, with vomiting and diarrhea, 1/2 hour after ingested. If the dose consumed has not been exaggerated and the person vomits everything, he recovers soon. Here we find the vast majority of poisonous mushrooms. An example of these is Russula emetica, very common in pine forests.
2. Those that cause intoxications similar to the previous ones, with a certain nervous state, but as long as alcohol is ingested. If alcohol is not drunk, these mushrooms are edible. There is only one such fungus known in Mexico, the so-called Coprinus atramentarius, which grows in gardens. There is a misconception that all edible mushrooms are bad with alcohol.
3. Mushrooms that cause vomiting diarrhea, but both with blood. These symptoms appear until after 8 or 12 hours after ingestion; the person is totally intoxicated in the liver and their liver cells are destroyed (hence the blood). These victims fall into agony that can last up to 8 days and finally die. The fungi that cause these symptoms are very rare in Mexico; Only three species are known which are of the genus Amaníta and are totally white, hence the false idea that all white mushrooms are poisonous, but the well-known mushroom, so culinary palatable, is white. The poisonous species of Manita have white blades, while the mushroom, which is scientifically called Agaricus bisporus (the cultivated one) or Agaricus campestris (the wild one), has brown to black blades.
4. Mushrooms that, when ingested, cause hallucinations. They are the well-known sacred mushrooms of the indigenous people, so common in the Huautla de Jiménez region, Oaxaca. These mushrooms are consumed by different groups of indigenous people in very special night ceremonies, similar to those that were used in pre-Hispanic times. Through them they talked to their gods, and now they eat mushrooms to talk to God. The hallucinogenic mushrooms belong to the Psi1ocybey genus and thrive in various regions of the country, such as the tropical jungles, the subtropical mountains of Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz and the high mountains such as those of Popocatépetl and Nevado de Toluca. They are also found in South America, the U.S., Europe, Africa, Japan, and Australia.
Source: Unknown Mexico No. 48 / November 1980
