Photos and Story by Mary Buttaro

If you think foraging for exotic mushrooms is only for the experienced, think again! Join beginning forager Mary Buttaro, with experienced forager Loraine Berry, as they trek through the forests of Mexico's smallest state, Tlaxcala. Organized by Mexican Mushroom Tours, beginners and advanced foragers alike pick, cook, and learn about native life styles that flourish under an economy that benefits from mushroom foraging.

A Mycological Expedition

For one week in late August, with temperatures in the 70's, four of Mexico's eminent mycologists lead our group into the forests. Indigenous guides help us find the edible treasures, show us the way through the dense growth, and keep us from getting lost in the forest.

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Home base for the trip is the city of Tlaxcala, founded in 1527 by Franciscan friars, surrounded by 15,000—foot peaks, lies in a volcanic belt that runs from the Pacific to the Gulf coasts. The state's natural beauty and surprising biodiversity—rolling plains, grassy meadows, cool pine and oak forests, waterfalls, and majestic mountains—offer a spectrum of outdoor pleasure. For mushroomers in particular, the temperate climate, arboreal variety, and plentiful seasonal precipitation produce spectacular foray locations. Additionally, this unique epicenter of biodiversity spawned the development of the University of Tlaxcala's Laboratory of Mycology, which is devoted to the study of Mexican fungi.

While some of the mushrooms found here also grow in the United States, many can be found nowhere else in the world. New varieties continue to be discovered. Ten thousand varieties are estimated to exist in Mexico. Thus far, about six hundred have been identified in this area. Some years ago, there was great excitement in the mycological circles when a Hydnum Regalias, a species first described from the Royal Gardens in Kensington, actually turned out to be a Mexican native. It traveled in a mycorrhizal relationship with a Mexican tree that was planted many years before in the English arboretum.

Depending on seasonal rains, mushrooms begin to appear in May and can extend into October and even November. Each fungus has requirements for its growth. Many mushrooms are mycorrihizal, having symbiotic relationships with certain plants. Some are parasitic and still others are cosmopolitan, growing everywhere.

The sky is particularly interesting to watch. Each day, the deep blue, cloudless sky is gradually populated with billowy white clouds that change and darken to a dramatic deep gray as the daily rainstorm approaches. Sky watching, an important activity during the foray, saves us from being surprised by a sudden change in the weather. Every afternoon rain pounds down for an hour, then makes way for clear skies. The daily gift of rain keeps this area very productive.