Macrofungi of Guatemala

Larger fungi (usually referred to as macrofungi or macromycetes) are of particular interest because of their importance as food resources and as a component of traditional culture in many places. Moreover, many basidiomycetes and ascomycetes with conspicuous sporocarps often play an important role as ectomycorrhizal mycobionts of trees and shrubs of boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere and are important elements in many areas of the Southern Hemisphere. Although Guatemalan macrofungi have not been as yet extensively surveyed, a preliminary checklist encompasses some 350 species of macromycetes (31 ascomycetes and 319 basidiomycetes) occurring in 163 genera and 20 ascomycetous and basidiomycetous orders. Recently, 12 species of Ascomycetes where cited, with the new records, there are now 44 ascomycete species known from Guatemala Most available observations pertain to the highlands, in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, El Quiché, Huehuetenango, and Quetzaltenango, while the wide lowland Petén region has been scantly explored, despite the fact that it accounts for about one third of Guatemala's area and, together with adjacent areas of Belize and southern Mexico, comprise the largest unbroken tract of tropical forest north of the Brazilian Amazon. At the order level, Agaricales was found to host the larger number of species (almost one third of the entire set), followed by Polyporales and Boletales. The most represented genera are Amanita, Russula, Lactarius, Laccaria, Suillus. ==Traditional knowledge and use==

"The Mesoamerican tradition of eating wild edible fungi continues from Mexico to west Guatemala then is absent from much of Honduras and Nicaragua, even though both contain forest areas that in theory support production of edible fungi", remarked Eric Boa in his reference volume on worldwide wild edible fungi. Species of edible mushrooms belonging to different genera (e.g., Amanita, Lactarius, Helvella) are often offered mixed together, and sold in form of 'medida', i.e. a fixed amount, which equals the content of a small basket. However, the more popular and valuable species are usually sold separately. Lactarius deliciosus and L. indigo – known as 'Shara' (or 'Xara') 'amarilla' and 'Shara' (or 'Xara') 'azul', respectively, or 'Cabeza de Xara' in local Spanish (Sharas, also known as 'urracas', are birds, variously coloured, living in different parts of the country) – Amanita caesarea complex (hongo de San Juan), and Cantharellus cibarius (anacate), are among the most appreciated edible mushrooms among Guatemalan Maya people. Daldinia fissa is recorded as a common edible ascomycete from the municipality of Tecpán, Department of Chimaltenango. The mushroom is named as "tzan tz'i" in Kaqchikel dialect, that means "dog nose " or "chucho nose" because of ascostroma shape. Many, but by no means all, edible species are identified through common vernacular names that have been sometimes recorded in several Maya languages. The use of macrofungi in Guatemala other than for human consumption is limited to a few instances, such as for wound healing and for preventing infections (spores and dried mycelia of Calvatia lilacina and C. cyathiformis), cicatrizing substances to treat burns in children (sporocarps of Geastrum and Lycoperdon), to heal and disinfect wounds and to treat bee stings (dried specimens of Lycoperdon marginatum). ==IWEMM-7 in Guatemala==

Guatemala hosted the 7th International Workshop on Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms (IWEMM-7). Held in the colonial city of Antigua, from July 29 to August 3, 2013, the congress convened researchers from worldwide institutions to discuss the most recent information about diversity, cultivation and production of wild edible mycorrhizal mushrooms. Several talks also dealt with the current status of knowledge on macrofungi in Guatemala and their traditional use. == References ==