By David Pilz and Jesús Pérez-Moreno About IWEMMs of Mesoamerica. It was held July 10-14, David Pilz is a consulting Forest Mycologist, 2017 on the Montecillo Campus of the P.O. Box 876, Corvallis, Oregon 97339, Steadfast readers of FUNGI Magazine Colegio de Postgraduados in Texcoco, USA. Dr. Jesús Pérez-Moreno is a Mycology might recall a previous article “Mayan México (southeast of México City) and Mycology in the Land of the Jaguars,” was followed by a Post-Meeting Field Professor and Researcher at the Colegio th de Postgraduados, Departamento de about the 7 International Workshop Trip, July 15-22. The co-author of this Edafología, Km 36.5 Carr., México-Texcoco, on Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms article, Jesús Pérez-Moreno, was the CP 56230, México. David may be emailed at (IWEMM7) that was held in La organizer of the workshop. [email protected] and Jesús may be Antigua, Guatemala, July 30-August If you are sufficiently intrigued by emailed at [email protected]. All photos 3, 2013 and organized by mycologist IWEMMs to attend the next one, you by David Pilz except where otherwise noted. Dr. Roberto Flores (Pilz et al., 2015). will be in for a treat. The IWEMM10 Perusing the beginning of that article is scheduled for October 20-23, 2019 Keywords: edible forest mushrooms, will remind the reader about the focus, in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, mycorrhizal, international workshop, history and locations of the previous in the heart of matsutake country. The México, IWEMM IWEMMs. Since then, there have been workshop is being organized by Dr. This article portrays two more workshops. Takashi Yamanaka (Forestry and Forest Abstract: th the 9th International Workshop on The 8 IWEMM took place October Products Research Institute) and Dr. Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms in 10-17, 2016 in Cahors, France and Akiyoshi Yamada, (Shinshu University). México and the subsequent field trip. was organized by truffle specialist Both are preeminent matsutake It is written from the perspective Pierre Sourzat. Information about that researchers. As with all IWEMMs, an of a participant (lead author) and workshop and an abstract book of the International Scientific Committee will enhanced by the expertise of the scientific presentations are available help select the oral presentations and organizer (co-author). Cultural, social, online (Sourzat, 2016). assist with publication of proceedings, th and tourism aspects of the events are This article portrays the 9 IWEMM abstracts, articles or books. For more emphasized, but citations provide (https://iwemm9web.wixsite.com/ information, check the IWEMM10 additional information about the mexico), which took place among some website periodically as information is scientific program. of the remarkably mycophilic cultures added (https://iwemm10-nagano.com). 44 FUNGI Volume 11:5 2019 Figure 1. Workshop logo by Mexican artist Dr. Cruz García-Albarado, aka Cruzgaali. Figure 2. Life-sized painting by Miguel Nava of a native morel harvester. the Aztec codex Mendoza from Central Also, during the opening ceremonies, México and the human figure was a thirteen-minute video produced by “Edible mycorrhizal mushrooms” inspired by 6,000-year-old cave painting Mexican film maker Jaime Kuri explored might seem like a narrow research in the state of Guerrero. The icons that the theme of the workshop (Kuri, 2017). focus for an international workshop, look like a reversed question marks A subsequent online, four-minute video but actually it overlaps with many near the human’s head and above an gives viewers an immersive feel for how areas of research, often resulting in indentation in the trunk of the tree are a colorful the workshop was (Leon, 2017). interdisciplinary studies. Some of these glyph for “the spoken word.” The spiral Over 350 workshop participants broader topics are listed in Table 1. background represents the dynamic from the Americas, Europe, Africa, As a result, many of the attendees at interrelatedness of these elements. the Middle East, Australasia, and Asia IWEMMs have cooperated not only México is a land of numerous presented 122 research topics in 28 with colleagues from around the world, indigenous mycophilic cultures that oral presentations and 94 posters. but often with specialists and volunteers have used mushrooms for food and The oral presentations began with from entirely different disciplines. rituals for a long time, likely many a distinguished keynote speaker Sir Through repeated participation in these millennia. Archaeological evidence, David Read, Emeritus Professor at the workshops, a real sense of “family” has linguistic studies, pre-Hispanic codices University of Sheffield, UK. Not only developed over the years among many and colonial writings provide multiple is he a giant among mycologists (co- of the attendees. And this family’s values lines of evidence that there was extensive author of the textbook “Mycorrhizal are laudatory: quality science, broad knowledge and use of mushrooms when Symbiosis”), but he has a wonderfully collaboration, diverse perspectives, and the Spanish arrived. For instance, over witty and sharp sense of humour a desire to make the world a better place 5,500 common names for mushrooms (British spelling intended). In his for both humans and nature. The theme have been documented in various native opening presentation, he calculated that of this IWEMM, “Mushrooms, Humans, languages of México. More than 450 if all the ectomycorrhizal hyphal threads and Nature in a Changing World,” was species of wild edible mushrooms are in all the mycelia that existed on planet derived from these values. still consumed, of which more than half Earth each year were stretched out end- The workshop logo (Figure 1) are sold in markets (Pérez-Moreno and to-end, that they would reach across the illustrates this theme. Created by Guerin-Laguette, 2017). diameter of the Milky Way galaxy! Mexican artist Dr. Cruz García-Albarado Signifying the importance of wild The scientific presentations were (aka Cruzgaali), the logo portrays several edible mushrooms to rural communities divided into six sessions entitled: key elements. The two mushrooms are in México, was a full-sized painting 1-Diversity, Taxonomy and Ecology, based on illustrations in the ancient of a morel harvester presented to the 2-Sustainability, Traditional Knowledge, Oaxacan Mixtec codex Yuta Tnoho. The workshop by artist Miguel Nava during Conservation and Economic tree was adapted from a drawing from the opening ceremonies (Figure 2). importance, 3-Food Science and 2019 FUNGI Volume 11:5 45 mushrooms, as well as the people who love them. Harvesters from twelve indigenous Mexican cultures brought fresh mushrooms they had collected. These were exhibited in basketry of their ethnic group. They also exhibited and sold a rich array of their traditional mushroom handicrafts. Likewise, the workshop attendees were themselves encouraged to dress in the traditional attire of their homelands, resulting in a group photo of cultural inclusion (Figure 3). Activities included a presentation of Mexican Charros (horse-riding demonstration), dancers in Aztec costumes, freshly cooked tortillas filled with huitlacoche (the edible corn smut Figure 3. Group photo of international attendees celebrating cultural diversity by fungus, Ustilago maydis), a presentation dressing in traditional attire from their homelands. Photo by Lucila Aragón Carrillo. about inoculating corn to cultivate huitlachoche and various children’s activities (Figure 4). Perhaps the most impressive part of the Bio-Cultural Fair was the display of high-resolution facsimiles of mushroom imagery found in parts of several extant pre-Hispanic codices. These included the Mayan Madrid and Dresden codices, as well as the Mixtec Tonindeye and Yuta Tnoho codices. Many such codices have gone through repeated name changes. The names used here for the Mixtec codices are recent suggestions based on the native language, rather than who possessed the codices after the Spanish conquest (Jansen and Jiménez, 2004). The Yuta Tnoho codex depicts the “first dawn” or “the creation of the world” (Hernández- Santiago et al., 2017) and its association Figure 4. Children painting mushroom statuettes. with entheogenic mushrooms. Figure 5 shows representative illustrations Health and Biocultural importance, biogeography, biotechnology and climate from the facsimiles on display. One 4&5-Cultivation, and 6-Climate Change, change. Contact the co-author, Jesús of the species that might have been Molecular Biology and Genomic Pérez-Moreno, for updated information depicted in these codices is shown in Sciences. Readers who are interested in about this forthcoming book. Figure 6. Ethnic communities including further exploring the abstracts of the Providing social interludes to the the Mazatecs, Chinantecs, Zapotecs, scientific presentations and posters are numerous talks and posters, the and Nahua groups still use Psilocybe invited to download the proceedings organizers arranged a memorable mushrooms ritually. (Pérez-Moreno and Guerin-Laguette, evening at the world-famous Ballet One last note on the workshop itself. 2017). To date, eleven workshop papers Folklórico de México at the Palacio de Many of the individuals helping with the have been published in two scientific Bellas Artes in downtown México City. events were mycology students. Their journals (Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana Costumed performers dramatically posters presented mycological studies 2017, Scientia Fungorum 2017). Eight recapitulated