The relationship between humans and nature is defined by culture. Accordingly, the use, conceptions, and perceptions of resources differ among cultural groups, even among those inhabiting the same region or those who come into contact with the same biota. In particular, mushrooms evoke a wide range of sentiments. During ethnobiological tours in Mexico, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 37 individuals of each community, from ten Wixarika and mestizo communities, living in the same locality and sharing similar resources, in the municipality of Villa Guerrero in northern Jalisco, Mexico. Furthermore, informal interviews with four Wixarika and five mestizo key informants were conducted. The topics treated were regarding the traditional nomenclature and classification, uses, and knowledge of mushrooms and related practices. Wixarika names of 37 mushroom species with edible, medicinal, and recreational uses were recorded. In addition, the Wixaritari were found to associate toxic mushrooms with the divine, as evidenced by one case of the use of mushrooms as a hierophanic agent. Each culture’s knowledge of the phenology and ecology of mushrooms was recorded in addition to data highlighting the cultural exchange between the Wixaritari and mestizos. However, a loss in the knowledge and practices concerning mushrooms was observed as a result of social changes. Even so, both cultures prefer mushrooms to other foods, including meat, especially Volvariella bombycina and Pleurotus djamor.

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The appreciation and taste towards mushrooms are influenced by sociocultural factors and ecological variables. This study evaluated the mycophilic degree among the Wixaritari and mestizo communities in a municipality in the north of Jalisco, settled in different types of vegetation, to determine if ecological and sociocultural factors influence the attitude towards the mushrooms. The MycophiliaMycophobia Index was evaluated in 10 communities in which structured interviews were conducted with a representative number of people. Responses to 18 indicators were analyzed by statistical tests. In general, the population resulted mycophilic. There were significant differences between the Wixaritari and mestizo attitudes in 10 of the 18 indicators. The model that best explained the mycophilic attitudes was communitycultural group in which the vegetation type was involved. Nevertheless, the cultural group alone affected the perception towards some issues, as the indicators include here have shown. One Wixarika community in pineoak forest was extremely mycophilic, in contrast to a mestizo community in oak forest that was indifferent to the mushrooms; these attitudes were the result of historical events that have modified the lifestyle of people. The differences in the evaluated indicators were due to the cosmovision of each cultural group. Changes in lifestyle and diet have caused a lack of interest and an apathetic attitude towards wild mushrooms in a community, but the farthest communities showed a greater appreciation towards mushrooms, especially since these and the rest of the wild resources are used to meet their basic needs. These attitudes could have implications for biological conservation because of the appreciation of a strong dependence on the environment.

Background Traditional mycological knowledge (TMK) is complex, not distributed equally among the entire population, and constantly adapting to current social situations. There are sociocultural factors that could influence the fact that some people retain a greater wealth of knowledge, for instance, cultural affiliation, migration, occupation, level of schooling, and person's age. Methods We analyze the distribution of the TMK based on sociocultural variables and 12 indicators to quantify the TMK based on a literature review. We chose two sites where there was a Wixarika and Mestizo population with records of use and consumption of wild mushrooms. In each site, 150 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The format of the semi-structured interviews was made up of sociocultural questions plus 12 questions corresponding to each of the indicators. With the data obtained, we performed linear regression tests and principal components analysis (PCA); furthermore, the significance of the groupings obtained by PCA was tested with a discriminant function analysis. Results We find that TMK was determined by the cultural group to which a person belongs. Contrary to what was expected, age and formal schooling did not influence people's level of knowledge. Likewise, migration and occupation were not determining factors either, although in some specific cases they did influence the differences in knowledge about mushrooms between people. The indicators that most helped to differentiate between the Wixarika people, and the Mestizos were knowledge of the nutritional contribution, propagation methods, and knowledge about toxic mushrooms. Conclusions In general, sociocultural differences did not affect the transmission of the TMK due to the valorization of this knowledge among the young generations and the maintenance of the use of wild resources. Specifically, the Wixaritari had and preserved a greater TMK thanks to their pride in their cultural identity, which had allowed them to adapt to modernity while preserving their traditions and knowledge. On the other hand, the Mestizos increasingly disused wild resources due to urbanization. The indicators proposed here provided a good tool to quantify TMK; however, to replicate the study in other sites it is necessary to adapt the indicators to the context of the place.