Aspects of fungal nomenclature and classification in Wixaritari and Mestizo communities of Northern Jalisco
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33885/sf.2026.57.1509Abstract
Background: Human groups name and classify nature according to their own cultural criteria. In northern Jalisco, Wixaritari and Mestizos share landscapes and practices that shape their traditional mycological knowledge.
Objectives: To document and compare mushroom nomenclature and classification between the Wixaritari and Mestizos of Villa Guerrero.
Methods: 454 structured, semi-structured, and in-depth interviews were conducted, along with 20 ethnobiological field walks and classification exercises.
Results and conclusions: A total of 36 species grouped into 52 ethnotaxa were recorded: 41 correspond to the Wixarika system and 11 to the Mestizo system. Classification criteria differed between both groups; among Mestizos, a practical logic based on use, morphology, and substrate predominated, whereas among the Wixaritari, practical and cosmological criteria were integrated, using morphological and ecological characters. These differences reflect distinct ontological frameworks for organizing the use and local knowledge of mushrooms. Lexical borrowings translated from Wixarika or Huichol into Spanish were observed, as well as coincidences and discrepancies with previous reports from Wixaritari in other localities. It is concluded that this knowledge is dynamic and that discrepancies with previous studies are attributable to ecological and linguistic differences. This underscores the need for comparative frameworks with clear definitions of site, season, and methods.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright notice
Open access policy
The authors who publish in this journal accept the following conditions:
In accordance with copyright laws, Scientia Fungorum recognizes and respects the authors’ moral rights, as well as the ownership of property rights, which will be transferred to the journal for dissemination in open access. Scientia Fungorum does not charge for submission and processing of articles for publication.
All the texts published by Scientia Fungorum –with no exception– are distributed under a Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), which allows third parties to use the publication as long as the work’s authorship and its first publication in this journal are mentioned.
The authors can enter into independent and additional contractual agreements for the nonexclusive distribution of the version of the article published in Scientia Fungorum (for example include it into an institutional repository or publish it in a book) as long as it is clearly and explicitly indicated that the work was published for the first time in Scientia Fungorum.
For all the above, the authors shall send the form of Letter-transfer of Property Rights for the first publication duly filled in and signed by the author(s). This form must be sent as a complementary file.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC-By-NC-SA 4.0).
