Species Directory — Wild Mushrooms of Mexico
A Directory of Mexico's Wild Edible Mushroom Species
Mexico is second only to China in the number of wild mushroom species eaten as traditional food. This directory arranges that wealth by taxonomic genus, with names in Indigenous languages and references to verifiable scientific publications.
Sources: Institute of Biology, UNAM · Ramírez Terrazo, Revista de la Universidad de México (China exceeds 600 species)
01The full picture, in figures
This is not an improvised list. It is a mesh of verifiable references, built so that any curious reader, chef, student or mushroom gatherer can go as deep as they wish.
taxa of wild mushrooms eaten as traditional food in Mexico — Garibay-Orijel & Ruan-Soto, 2014
Anales de Antropología, UNAM →edible species listed by the Institute of Biology, UNAM; 38 of them with an illustrated entry
See the UNAM list →edible species recognized worldwide (FAO, Boa 2004) — Mexico's 371 taxa amount to 17% of that global total
FAO publication →02The reference work: Gastón Guzmán (1932–2016)
Dr. Gastón Guzmán
No directory of Mexican mushrooms can do without his work. More than half of the psilocybin-containing species known to science were discovered and described by Guzmán and his collaborators.
- Identificación de los hongos: comestibles, venenosos, alucinantes y destructores de la madera (1977) — the complete foundational work on Internet Archive
- Academic obituary: Gastón Guzmán (1932–2016) →
- Gastón Guzmán, fifty years as a mycologist — Redalyc →
- List of publications, 1958–2005 — Scientia Fungorum →
03The genera richest in edible species
According to Garibay-Orijel & Ruan-Soto (2014): Ramaria, Amanita, Boletus, Russula, Lactarius and Suillus. Anales de Antropología, UNAM →
Greatest diversity in Mexico
Ramaria — escobetas / bird's feet
The genus with the largest number of edible species in Mexico. Coral-like, branching fungi that grow on the floor of conifer forests. Names: escobeta, pata de pájaro; yisim chij in Tsotsil (Chiapas).
See the UNAM list →Most individually documented
Amanita — tecomate / yellow mushroom
It includes the most emblematic species of all: Amanita caesarea (iztacnanacatl in Nahuatl), and A. hayalyuy (yuy in Tsotsil). It demands the utmost care: toxic species of the same genus grow alongside the edible ones.
A. caesarea entry, UNAM →A. hayalyuy entry →High-altitude pine-oak forests
Boletus — panza / pancita
Mushrooms with pores beneath the cap. Boletus edulis is the porcini of high-altitude forests. Known as "pancita" in the markets of the State of Mexico.
Scientific entry, UNAM →Associated with Abies forests
Russula — oreja / trompa de puerco
Russula brevipes ("pig's snout" or "ear"), of modest commercial price but high consumption, associated with fir forests.
Scientific entry, UNAM →They exude latex when cut
Lactarius — enchilados / blue mushroom
Lactarius deliciosus (enchilado, orange latex) and Lactarius indigo (blue mushroom, matlalitzle in Nahuatl — one of the few genuinely blue foods in nature).
L. deliciosus on iNaturalist →L. indigo entry, UNAM →Pine-specific mycorrhizae
Suillus — babositos / pine pancitas
Associated with pine forests, through specific mycorrhization. Known as "babositos" for their mucilaginous texture.
See the UNAM list →04Other genera of high cultural and commercial relevance
Parasitic fungus / singular species
Hypomyces — lobster mushroom
Hypomyces lactifluorum · chak'atob in Tsotsil (Chiapas)
A parasitic fungus that infects Russula and Lactarius, staining them a deep orange-red and firming their flesh.
Scientific entry, UNAM →Recipe: Lobster Mushroom in Escabeche →Many traditional names
Lyophyllum / Infundibulicybe — clavitos and tejamanil
Lyophyllum decastes (clavito) · Infundibulicybe gibba (tejamanil)
Names: clavito, clavillo, jolote; tlalixta (Nahuatl); chejchew (Tseltal); kjo shiza (Otomí); atsixute (Huichol); ririchaka (Tarahumara). The tejamanil grows in rings that recall wooden shingle roofs.
GBIF — common names →EncicloVida →Recipe: Clavitos in Epazote Broth →Identified first by smell
Clitocybe — hongo paloma
Clitocybe odora · an intense scent of anise
Recognized by the nose before the eye. The name is confirmed by the direct knowledge of gatherers from the region.
UNAM list →The most emblematic species
Amanita caesarea — amarillo / tecomate
Amanita caesarea · iztacnanacatl (Nahuatl) · baya bela (Zapotec) · cucuchikua terekua (Purépecha)
Names: hongo amarillo, tecomate, ahuevado, real, de huevo, de yema.
GBIF →Recipe: Amanita Caesarea Ceviche →05Beyond the edible
Entomopathogenic fungi
Cordyceps s.l. — 49 species in Mexico
As of 2024, the Mexican catalogue rises to 49 species, with Morelos as the state of greatest diversity (18 species). Robert Kelly, a naturalist in Tepoztlán and a collaborator of Simbiosis, took part in that study as a collector.
Acta Botánica Mexicana, 2024 →Fungal bioluminescence
Bioluminescent Mycena — six species new to science
In 2019, Alonso Cortés-Pérez —a scientific collaborator of Simbiosis— and his co-authors described six new species of bioluminescent Mycena from the cloud forests of Mexico, and added one further record for the country.
Mycologia, 2019 (DOI) →UNAM Global →06Further scientific studies
- Complete A–Z list of the edible and toxic mushrooms of Mexico — Institute of Biology, UNAM
- Comparison of diversity and composition of macrofungal species in Oaxaca, Mexico — PeerJ, 113 species in Ixtlán de Juárez
- Availability of sporomes in the forests of Ixtlán de Juárez, Oaxaca — Garibay-Orijel et al., Rev. Mexicana de Biodiversidad, UNAM (2009)
- Wild edible mushroom gathering among the Tsotsil of Chamula, Chiapas — Scientia Fungorum
- Knowledge and use of edible mushrooms in the Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico — PubMed
07Citizen science
Living platforms where anyone can document the wild mushrooms of Mexico.
NaturaLista / iNaturalist Mexico
CONABIO's official platform, holding millions of observations of plants, animals and fungi contributed by the public. Source: CONABIO →
Enter NaturaLista →Wild Mushrooms of the Morelos Highlands
An active project running from Huitzilac to Tepoztlán, the region where Robert Kelly works.
See the project →EncicloVida
A CONABIO platform with entries from the National Biodiversity Information System (SNIB), fungi included.
Enter EncicloVida →eFungaMex
An INECOL project gathering the taxonomy, ecology and distribution of Mexican fungi.
Discover eFungaMex →08The voices of the gathering communities
Behind every scientific name stand generations of women who know the forest, the season, and each species by its name in their own language.
The mushroom women of Acaxochitlán, Hidalgo
The Nahua community of Los Reyes. They document the weekly ritual of the market with cocoxnanacatl (yema), cashcashnanacatl (azulitos, Lactarius indigo) and tlacuayel (pancitas, Boletus aestivalis).
The mushrooms of the Totonac people in Zongozotla, Puebla
Twenty-two species used by the Tutunakú community, with names such as chaxanat tonkgolo (Cantharellus lateritius).
The Tlahuica of the State of Mexico — the Pjiekakjoo
This group distinguishes 160 species. Morchella rufobrunnea is called "olotito" for its likeness to a corn cob.
Special edition AME 87: Mushrooms in Mexico
It covers the Otomí of San Ildefonso (Querétaro), the Terekuecha of Michoacán, Wixárika culture, the Lacandón people, and an analysis of mycophilia and mycophobia.
These sources document communities other than those that collaborate directly with Simbiosis — they are cited as complementary reference, not as a representation of our nanacatera collaborators.
09Calendar: what to look for, and when
A rough guide to the high season. Fruiting peaks in August, during the rains.
| Species / Genus | Peak months |
|---|---|
| Lobster Mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum) | July – October |
| Clavito / Tejamanil (Lyophyllum, Infundibulicybe) | July – September |
| Hongo Paloma (Clitocybe odora) | Rainy season (Jun–Oct) |
| Saffron Milk Cap / Enchilado (Lactarius deliciosus) | Rainy season, under pines |
| Blue Mushroom (Lactarius indigo) | Autumn (Sep–Nov) |
| Caesar's Mushroom (Amanita caesarea) | Rainy season (Jun–Oct) |
| Boletes (Boletus, Suillus) | Rainy season, high-altitude forests |
| Ramaria spp. (escobetas) | Rainy season, conifer forests |
An orientation calendar. Actual fruiting varies with altitude, local rainfall and microclimate.
10To go deeper
- Mexico: Fungal Kingdom — the wider picture
- Mycotourism and Ethnomycology — the discipline, the peoples, the worldview
- Nanacateras — the communities we work with
- Collaborating Mycologists — the science behind Simbiosis
- The complete recipe collection — every preparation from Simbiosis
Meet them in person, in Guanajuato
Simbiosis | The Mushroom Boutique, inside Mercado Sano (San Miguel de Allende), is where the Mexican fungal kingdom becomes tangible.
WhatsApp simbiosissanmiguel@gmail.comThis directory is a living work
If you are a gatherer, a chef, a mycologist, or someone with knowledge of the field — we want to hear from you. simbiosissanmiguel@gmail.com
This page is educational and informative in character, built from verifiable academic and institutional sources. The safe identification of wild mushrooms requires expert knowledge — never gather or eat wild mushrooms without the guidance of an experienced expert. Simbiosis does not sell fresh wild mushrooms for self-identification.