Down To Forage

Hello friends,

I’ve popped up again in southern Mexico just in time for the rainy season -

The Funga of Mexico is one of the most diverse and substantial on the planet, and the intact ancestral connection to fungi is unrivaled.

Case and point, Huautla de Jimenez in the Sierra Mazateca mountains of Oaxaca state maintains the only known magic mushroom ritual that stretches back to time immemorial. While traditional use of psychoactive fungi has been documented in many places around the world, an intact ancient ceremonial container such as the ‘velada’ ritual of the Mazatec Indigenous people cannot be found anywhere else.

When the rains hit central and southern Mexico in June, the mushrooms pop up as a vital lifeline and economic opportunity for many people in the region. It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life to have the opportunity to go foraging for Hongos silvestres (wild mushrooms) with local Mexican mycologists here for the past two rainy seasons.

In the state of Chiapas, there are an estimated 50,000 different types of fungi - and only 2% of these fungi have been identified and described by science. The estimation is deduced by analysis of the flora and ecosystems in the region. Every time we go out foraging, we find new fungi species that have never been observed in the region before.

The myco-activism of Fungaria (@_Fungaria_ on Instagram, Fungaria on Facebook) comes at a crucial point in the ethnomycological lifecycle of fungi in this region; increasing governmental regulation, habitat destruction, and waning interest by younger people in the state mean that wild mushroom foraging, selling, and consumption are dwindling.

Wild fungi vendors in the markets of the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez used to be commonplace, and many customers bought their saffron milk caps, amanita cesarii, lobster mushrooms, and other foraged delicacies. These days, only a handful of vendors remain, and they struggle to sell even 100 pesos ($5) worth of wild foraged fungi in a day.

Just this week, a young boy in Chiapas died from eating poisonous mushrooms - several high profile cases of mushroom pointing have occurred, inciting a higher degree of mycophobia among some parts of the population. A large banner hung outside of a local hospital advises that people don’t pick wild fungi, painting the practice in a dangerous light and suggesting that foraging is too dangerous a practice to engage in.

For the moment, a window of opportunity exists to merge a massive legacy of ancestral wild fungi knowledge with advanced scientific analysis such as DNA sequencing, taxonomic study, and collection & storage of genetics.

As urban development and public infrastructure continues to encroach on the last remaining pockets of unfettered biodiversity and pristine wilderness across our planet, the remaining biodiversity must be protected and studied before the habitats are further impacted by human activity. A prime example pf this is the Maya Train that the Mexican government is building across the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo - slated for completion in December 2023 and opening one of the most remote and biodiverse remaining ecosystems up to development despite widespread protests from environmentalists and conservationists.

In my travels throughout the state, I have encountered a robust and magical Funga that invites careful study and appreciation. From the jungles of Lacandonia to the Los Altos (the highlands), along the Caribbean coast of Yucatan and into the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, an extraordinarily important and rapidly disappearing body of wild fungi and indigenous knowledge are being swallowed up by the forces of globalization and modernization. At the same time, a rising tide of mycoactivism and scientific inquiry driven by local mycopreneurs and researchers has arrived to help spread awareness and appreciation of this unparalleled fungi legacy in central and southern Mexico.

And now that we’ve set the scene, it’s time for me to go figure out what to do with these Ramaria & Amanita Mascaria that are sitting on my kitchen counter ( :

Thank you for following along and please let me know what type of content you’d like to see here in this newsletter in the future.

Cheers,

Dennis Walker