Mazahua Ethnobotany and Subsistence in the Monarch

Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico,

BEm~NmE FARF/kN,ALEJANDRO CASAS,* GUILLERMO IBARRA-MANRfQUEZ, AND
EDGAR PI~REZ-NEGR6N

Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, UNAM. Apartado Postal 27-3, Santa Marh de Guido,
58089, Morelia, Michoac~in, Mdxico.
*Corresponding author: Tel. +443 322 27 38; e-mail: acasas@oikos.unam.mx

Mazahua Ethnobotany and Subsistence in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mex-
ico. This is the first report on Mazahua knowledge and classification of plants and mush-
rooms and the roles of these resources in the local economy in the Monarch Butterfly Bios-
phere Reserve, Mexico. A total of 213 useful plant species and 31 species of edible
mushrooms were recorded. Fruits of Prunus serotina, Rubus liebmanii, and Crataegus mex-
icana were the main wild fruit gathered by people (7.47, 4.40, and 1.82 tons of fruits per
year, respectively), whereas their availability in the territory of the village was approximately
302.6, 6.0, and 34.188 tons. Brassica campestris, Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum,
Chenopodium berlandieri, and Amaranthus hybridus were the principal non-cultivated
greens consumed by people (4.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 tons per year, while 23.6, 3.78, traces,
and 46.0 tons, respectively, were available). Extraction of medicinal plants is low but gather-
ing of Ternstroemia spp. flowers endangers local populations of these plants. All households
of the village used fuelwood (1,767.2 tons per year), mainly of pine and oak species. Strate-
gies for sustainable use of these resources are discussed.
Key Words: Campesino economy, ethnobotany, Mazahua, non-timber plant resources,
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.

Due to its natural and cultural diversity, Mex-(Hopkins and Josserand 1979) that had not been
ico is one of the main reservoirs of indigenous studied before.
knowledge of plants of the world (Toledo et al. The current Mazahua population of nearly
2001). Ethnobotanical studies have been prolific 345,000 people (Fermindez et al. 2002) lives
in this country, having documented 5,000 to mostly in a relatively small area of Central Mex-
7,000 useful plant species (Caballero et al. 1998) ico in the states of Mexico and Michoacfin (Fig.
among most of a total of 58 indigenous ethnic 1). This area includes the Monarch Butterfly
groups (Toledo et al. 2001). However, there are Biosphere Reserve (MBBR). The people in some
still regions and ethnic groups in Mexico yet to Mazahua villages that occur within the MBBR
be studied from an ethnobotanical perspective, mainly practice productive activities such as agri-
and such documentation is particularly impor- culture, cattle and sheep raising, and the extrac-
tant because of the increasing loss of habitats, tion of forest products. Because the MBBR com-
plant resources, and indigenous knowledge. Our prises the overwintering habitats of the migratory
study was directed to document the botanical monarch butterfly (Danaus plexipus L.), it is an
knowledge of the Mazahua, an indigenous group important conservation site (Boj6rquez et al.
belonging to the Otomanguean languages family 2003). This region, which covers about 56,260
hectares (ha) (Comisi6n Nacional de fia-eas Natu-
rales Protegidas [CONANP] 2001), has a biolog-
1Received6 January 2006; accepted on 8 September ical diversity that includes more than 400 plant
2006. species within the core zones (Cornejo-Tenorio et

EconomicBotany, 61(2), 2007, pp. 173-191.

9 2007, by The New York BotanicalGarden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.
174 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 61

preserved forest (CONANP 2001). Although the

Mexican government decreed the Monarch But-
terfly Biosphere Reserve in 1986 and increased its
area in 2000, there has been human pressure on
both the buffer and core zones. Such pressure has
demonstrated the need to plan the human activi-
ties within the boundaries of the Reserve and at
the regional level. The Management Program of
the MBBR establishes as the following two main
challenges for conservation: (1) the development
of scientific and technical bases and (2) the con-
struction of institutional agreements and social
organization to guide production activities to sat-
isfy the social needs and insure the conservation
of biodiversity and natural resources (CONANP
2001).
Illegal logging is one of the main factors
causing deforestation in the MBBR (Boj6rquez
et al. 2003); protection policies are required
from the government as well as from the re-
gional and local authorities. Deforestation also
is caused by agricultural clearing and by domes-
tic and legal timber extraction and, therefore,
alternate land use is necessary to conserve the
Hg. 1. Distribution area of the Mazahua people in regional forests. Use and commercialization of
Central Mexico non-timber plant resources are potential alter-
native practices with low impact on ecosystems
in other areas (Shanley et al. 2002) and they
al. 2003) and nearly 200 species of vertebrates could be useful in the MBBR. Non-timber
(CONANP 2001). Relevant ecosystem services plant resources offer products as food, fodder,
include providing water for Mexico City. The medicine, construction materials, handcrafts,
municipalities near the MBBR are inhabited by and fuel, among others; these resources have
nearly 500,000 people, 124,000 of which are of been used by the indigenous peoples of the re-
indigenous groups (CONANP 2001). Clearing gion for centuries. Therefore, identifying useful
of lands for agriculture has put a continuous pres- plant resources, evaluating their economic po-
sure on local ecosystems since pre-Columbian tential, and designing forms of utilization to
times. The area has been occupied for centuries ensure their future maintenance should be the
by the Mazahua, Matlatzinca, Otomf, Nahua, principal aims of ethnobotanical research in
and Purhepecha, all of whom continuously vie order to contribute to conservation and sustain-
for the control of the territory. After the Spanish able management in the MBBR.
Conquest, human pressure on ecosystems in- Our study documents the use of plant re-
creased, since important mines of gold and silver sources in the area aspiring to contribute to plan-
were established in the area. Forests were cleared ning their long-term maintenance. In particular,
to support agriculture and domestic animals to the purposes of this study were to (1) document
sustain the new settlements as well as to provide Mazahua knowledge of local plants, including
wood for the construction of villages and mines. nomenclature, classification, and forms of use
Pressure was particularly strong during the twen- and management; (2) generate an inventory of
tieth century because of illegal logging, the esta- the useful plants locally available that could be
blishment of new settlements, and the extensive used to support planning activities in the Mon-
exploitation of natural resources associated with arch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve; and (3) com-
the population growth, which has an annual rate pare quantities of plant products extracted by
of 2.5% for the last 20 years (CONANP 2001). people with their abundance in local ecosystems
Currently, only 28% of the MBBR has well- to identify risks and use potential.
2007] FARFfi~NET AL.: MAZAHUA ETHNOBOTANY AND SUBSISTENCE 175

Materials and Methods

STUDY SITE
The study was conducted in the village of
Francisco Serrato, municipality of Zit~cuaro, Mi-
choac~in (Fig. 2). The elevations range between
2,400 and 3,000 meters (m); the climate is tem-
perate. The rainy season lasts from June to Octo-
ber, with an annual mean precipitation of 852.7
millimeters (mm). Natural vegetation is com-
posed of patches of pine forests (mainly Pinus
pseudostrobus) and pine in association with oaks
(Quercus laurina, Q. rugosa, and Q. crassifolia),
with oaks and firs (Abies religiosa), and with the
Mexican alder Alnusjorullemis.
The village is inhabited by 2,000 people ac-
cording to the Instituto Nacional de Estadfstica,
Geograffa e Informfi.tica (2001). Villagers main-
tain the Mazahua language and customs, includ-
ing the use of traditional clothes among women.
The main economic activity is agriculture, in-
volving the seasonal cultivation of maize, beans,
wheat, barley, and potatoes. Raising of chickens,
turkeys, pigs, and sheep, as well as the extraction
of wood for the construction of houses, fences,
tools, and for commercialization are also relevant
activities. Gathering of plants complements the
economy, contributes to the fulfillment of the
needs for food, medicine, and fodder, and is a
source of money from the commercialization of
useful products.

ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDIES Hg. 2. Study area. The village of Francisco Ser-

rato, municipality of Zit~icuaro, Michoac~in, in the
Ethnobotanical research included the collec- Monarch ButterflyBiosphere Reserve, Central Mexico.
tion of specimens of plants and mushrooms and
the documentation of their indigenous names,
uses, and forms of management, with the collab-
oration of 30 Mazahua informants (five key con- herbaria of the Universidad Michoacana
stant informants and 25 occasional informants). (EBUM), and the Instituto de Ecologla, Mexico
Collecting covered the different vegetation types, (IEB). Specimens of mushrooms were deposited
agricultural systems, disturbed areas, and road- at EBUM. The study was carried out over 18
sides. For documenting common names of plants months during the years 2000-2001.
and mushrooms, lists of names were tape
recorded in Mazahua and then transcribed by a EVALUATIONOF EXTRACTION
schoolteacher with expertise in editing educa- AND CONSUMPTION OF THE
tional books in this language. Mazahua classifica- MAIN PLANT RESOURCES
tion of plants and mushrooms was analyzed Structured interviews were used to obtain in-
based on nomenclature and through closed- formation on production and consumption of
ended questions showing voucher specimens to agricultural products to establish the basic subsis-
five people. tence pattern of local people and this was used as
Voucher specimens of plants (Farfiin-Heredia a reference framework to analyze the role of forest
collection numbers) were deposited into the Na- products in subsistence. The most important
tional Herbarium of Mexico (MEXU), the plants and mushrooms used by people were first
176 ECONOMIC BOTANY
identified through interviews asking people to list
the main plant and mushroom species used in
different ways. The interviews also obtained in-
formation on quantities and frequency (per week
and year) of extraction and consumption or com-
mercialization of the most important useful
plants and mushrooms identified as human food,
medicines, fodder, and fuelwood. All household
units of the village were assigned an number.
Using those numbers, nearly 10% of the house-
holds in the village, or 22 families, were selected
randomly for interviews. Measures of quantities
of plant materials extracted were conducted also
by counting and weighing useful parts. This in-
formation was compared with ecological infor-
mation on abundance of plant resources reported
by Farfiin (2001).
Results
MAZAHUA NOMENCLATURE AND
CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS AND
MUSHROOMS
Appendices 1 and 2 show that not only useful
plants and mushrooms receive Mazahua names
but also other plants that are acknowledged by
people as elements of nature "to enjoy." The
Mazahua system of classification of the natural
world includes a first level of inclusion distin-
guishing moving elements of nature (tenxe yo
nyomb'u) including biotic and abiotic elements
such as animals (ubt], water, and wind, and un-
moving elements (tenxe yo dya nyomb'u) in-
cluding plants (xii, meaning also tree and leaf),
rocks, and mushrooms (cjo6j6).
For classifying plants and mushrooms, the
Mazahua use five life-form categories: (1) xizaa
(meaning tree and stick) includes trees and
woody tall shrubs, (2) pzifiio comprises small
shrubs and tall herbaceous woody plants, (3) ts'i
pzifilo are small herbs, and (4) ngiid are ferns.
Some ferns are named as small herbs (i.e., Adi-
antum andicola is named ts7 banjua and
Cheilanthes chaerophylla is named ts' ngiiel; the
prefix ts' used to name herbs), whereas others are
considered as real ferns and are named only with
the term ngiiei. Finally, (5) nrr consists of plants
producing large, beautifully colored flowers, re-
gardless if they are herbaceous or woody plants.
Mushrooms constitute a kingdom, grouped with
the term cjodj6.
Generic names are numerous (we identified
91) and commonly include a prefix or a suffix in-
[VOL. 61
dicating the "life-form" category of the plant. For
instance, the prefix ts'indicates that the plant is a
small herb (Table 1), whereas the suffix pzij~o is
used to name shrubs and tall herbaceous plants.
Plants of the families Poaceae and Cyperaceae are
considered as small herbaceous plants and are
clustered under the term ts'nrrebT. Names of
trees are accompanied with the prefix xi (appar-
ently a contraction of the term xizaa); for
instance, Pinus pseudostrobus is named xivau,
Quercus laurina is xizhaa, and Q. rugosa and Q.
crassifolia are named using the term xibatr'i.
Similarly, for naming mushrooms the Mazahua
use a first term referring to the specific name of
the mushroom and cjo6j6 (mushroom) as a sec-
ond term; for instance Amanita caesareais named
kishimocjo6j6 ("tomato mushroom" in Mazahua)
and Morchella spp. is named juaxcjo6j6 ("corn-
cob mushrooms" in Mazahua). Other mushroom
names are given using the term cje (probably a
contraction of cjo6j6) as the prefix, as in the cases
of Lactarius indigo named cjeb'atsiji ("blue
mushroom") and Ramaria spp. named cjen-
guatssi'i ("bird feet mushroom").
The Mazahua nomenclature is commonly bi-
nomial. Plant generic categories are named con-
sidering morphological similarities among plants.
For instance, most plants of the genus Salvia are
classified under the term k'anrrejna, whereas
plants of the genera Tagetes and Senecio are
grouped together under the term k'axtr'u nrran-
j ~ . However, names also include terms followed
by specific epithets that indicate the place where
the plants are found or distinctive morphological
characteristics. For instance, people use the term
tr'eje to indicate that plants are from the forest,
as in ts'ingiid tr'eje (Cheilanthes chaerophylla), a
term indicating that these plants are herbaceous
(ts') ferns (ngiie,] and occurring in the forest
(tr'eje).
USEFUL PLANTS AND MUSHROOMS
A total of 213 useful plant species and 31
species of edible mushrooms were identified (Ap-
pendices 1 and 2). Most plant species that belong
to the family Asteraceae are mainly used as fod-
der; followed by Lamiaceae, which is mainly used
as fodder and medicine; and Solanaceae,
Rosaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae, which are
mainly used as fodder and human food (Table 2).
Most useful plant species are wild (166
species), mainly occurring in pine-oak forests (94
species) and pine-oak-fir forests (81 species)
2007] FARF,~N ET AL.: MAZAHUA ETHNOBOTANY AND SUBSISTENCE 177

TABLE 1. EXAMPLES OF MAZAHUA NOMENCLATURE AT THE LIFE-FoRM

LEVEL 1

Life Form ScientificName Mazahua Name

Trees Pinus spp. xivatf

Buddleia cordata xij'ta
Quercus spp. xilojo
Small herbs Iresine celosia ts'inguitz'ajna
Euphorbia dentata ts'inrrof
Salviafulgens ts'inbarenzd
Shrubs and large herbs Eupatoriumspp. and Stevia spp. Pepzifio
Salvia mexicana mb'opzifiotr'eje
Polygonum aviculare pzifiodyotr'eje
Ferns Chelianthes chaerophylla ngue~
Adiantum andicola ts'ingiieltr'eje
In the Mazahua names, lettersin bold indicate the classifyingterms.

TABLE 2. PLANT FAMILIES W1TH THE LARGEST (Table 3). Disturbed habitats support 52 useful
NUMBER OF USEFUL PLANT SPECIES IN FRANCISCO species of weedy plants and 29 species of useful
SERRATO ruderal plants (Table 3). All species of mush-
rooms were wild, mainly gathered in pine-oak
Number of Species and pine-oak-fir forests (Table 3). Only 30 plant
Plant Family (n = 213 spp.) Percentage
species used in the village were cultivated and six
Asteraceae 45 21.13 of them (Crataegus mexicana, Cupressus lusitanica,
Lamiaceae 13 6.10 Phaseolus coccineus, Prunus serotina subsp, capuli,
Solanaceae 12 5.63
Rosaceae 11 5.16
Rubus liebmannii, and Tagetes erecta) have wild
Leguminosae 10 4.70 relatives in the local forests. Most plant species
Poaceae 10 4.70 are used as fodder, human food, medicine, orna-
Caryophyllaceae 5 2.35 mental, and fuelwood (Table 4). A total of 34
Cucurbitaceae 5 2.35 plant species (20 edible species, 7 species used as
Pinaceae 4 1.88 wood or firewood, 5 medicinal plant species, and
Brassicaceae 4 1.88 2 species of Agave used for production of the al-
coholic beverage "pulque") and 18 mushroom
species are sold in local and regional markets (Ap-
pendices 1 and 2). The average number of uses
per plant species was 1.71_+0.06 (mean _+sd),
TABLE 3. PLANT SPECIES SUPPLIED BY DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENTS WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF THE
VILLAGE OF FRANCISCO SERRATO TABLE 4. NUMBER OF PLANT SPECIES FROM
FRANCISCOSERRATOPER USE FORM
Edible
Habitat Useful Plant Species Mushrooms
Number of Species
Use Form (n = 213 spp.) Percentage
Pine-oak forest 94 25
Pine-oak-fir forest 81 27 Fodder 141 66.20
Riparian vegetation 35 4 Medicine 59 27.70
Shrub-grassland 19 6 Food 56 26.29
Ruderal 29 0 Ornamental 18 8.45
Agricultural fields 52 0 Fuelwood 16 7.51
(weeds) Handcrafts 9 4.23
Agricultural fields 30 0 Construction 8 3.80
(cultivated) Soap 6 2.82
178 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 61

TABLE 5. PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF STAPLE AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTSIN FRANCISCOSERRATO

Total Production Total Consumption

Cultivated Area in the Village in the Village Deficit (in
Crop plants (in hectares) (in tons/hectare) (in tons/yea-r) tons/year)

Corn 243.1 99.13 163.58 64.45

Beans 87.9 3.15 8.55 5.40
Wheat 127.4 30.57 50.30 19.73

species with more uses being Quercus rugosa (7 the village per season and 3.36 tons were mar-
uses), Quercus crassifolia, and Cucurbita spp. (5 keted during the year 2000 (4.40 tons harvested
uses) (Appendix 1). per year) (Table 6).
Fruits of Crataegus mexicana were consumed
E X T R A C T I O N A N D C O N S U M P T I O N OF T H E by 81% of the households interviewed. The aver-
MAIN NON-TIMBER PLANT RESOURCES age consumption was 1.0 + 0.20 kg per household
Agricultural Products: per week during 12 weeks of the production sea-
Nearly 92% of people in this region practiced son (1.82 tons consumed per year in the village)
agriculture producing maize, wheat, and beans. (Table 6).
Maize was the main staple food in the Mazahua Fruits ofPrunus serotina were eaten fresh by all
diet, households producing 407.8_+83.2 kilo- people of the village. These trees are common in
grams per hectare (kg/ha) per year but consum- the borders of roads, gullies, small rivers, and
ing 874.8_+110.4kg per year. The general bal- home gardens. Fruits are available for 12 weeks
ance at the village level indicates that local from April to June. It was difficult to quantify
production of maize was insufficient to satisfy the amount of the capulin fruits used by the local
households' requirements (Table 5). Nearly 57% people since people not only collect them for use
of households bought maize and only 14% pro- at home but also, especially children, climb the
duced small excesses that were sold locally. There- trees and eat fruits there. However, according to
fore, households imported an average of 222.2 the interviews, the average consumption of fruit
34.2 kg of maize during the year of the study. A of this species was 1.8-+ 0.4 kg per household per
similar situation was found with production and week (4.04 tons per season). Nearly 14% of the
consumption of wheat and beans (Table 5). households sell fruits of P. serotina, an average of
11 _+2.3 kg of fruit per household per week (3.43
Wild Fruit." tons of fruit per season). The total amount of the
Fruits of 17 species are consumed throughout capulin fruit harvested in the village was 7.47
the year. Some of them are sold. Blackberries tons (Table 6).
(Rubus liebmannii), "capulfff' (Prunus serotina Other fruits are commonly used in smaller
subsp, capuli), and "tejocote" (Crataegus quantities, generally in the sites where they are
mexicana) were the species with the highest vol- collected. Solanum appendiculatum, Cestrum tyr-
ume of fruits extracted, consumed, and marketed soideum, Prunus brachybotrya, Comarosthaphylis
in Zit:icuaro. longiflora, the achenes of Cirsium anartiolepis, and
Fruits ofRubus liebmannii were used by 90.5%
of households, mainly fresh or prepared in fla-
vored water, and in "atole" (a traditional beverage TABLE 6. CONSUMPTION OF WILD FRUITS BY
prepared with maize and water). An average of HOUSEHOLDSIN FRANCISCOSERRATO
0.5 0.12 kg was consumed per family per week
during 12 weeks of the production season (be- Species Amount Consumed AmountSold Total (in
(in tons/year) (in tons/year) tons/year)
tween March to August). Nearly 19% of house-
holds of the village sell an average of 8.0_+2.3 kg Prunus serotina 4.04 3.43 7.47
of blackberries per week in the Zit~cuaro market. Rubus liebmanii 1.04 3.36 4.4
A total of 1.04 tons of blackberries were used in Crataegusmexicana 1.82 -- 1.82
2007] FARF~N ET AL.: MAZAHUA ETHNOBOTANY AND SUBSISTENCE 179

TABLE 7. CONSUMPTION OF WILD AND WEEDY extraction may be significant. For instance, the
GREENS ("QUELITES") IN THE VILLAGE OF FRANCISCO extraction of flowers of Ternstroemia spp. is en-
SERRATO couraged by outsiders who buy the product for
ca. U.S. $0.10 per bag of 150 g of dry flowers. A
Total AmountConsumed medium-sized Ternstroemia tree may produce 20
Wild Plants (in tons/year)
to 35 bags (U.S. $2.00 to U.S. $3.50 per tree).
Brassicacampestris 4.3 The effect of this trade represents a risk since
Amaranthushybridus 0.5 people commonly cut the main stems of trees to
Chenopodiumberlandieri 0.7 collect flowers more easily.
Rorippanasturtium-aquaticum 0.9
Fuelwood:
All households of the village cook with fire-
acorns of Quercus crassifolia, are among the most wood. The plants most commonly used are
relevant. Alnus acuminata subsp, arguta, Quercus crassifo-
lia, Q. laurina, Buddleia cordata, Pinus pseu-
Urger'is: dostrobus, Ternstroemia pringlei, Comarostaphylis
Plants whose parts are consumed as greens are longiflora, and Baccharis conferta. The average
traditionally called "qudites," a term derived from amount of fuelwood burned per family per week
the N~ihuatl name "quilitl." The "quelites" used by is 196.90 45.30kg (9.4 tons per year). The
the Mazahua are Amaranthus hybridus, Brassica entire village consumes 1,767.1 tons of fuelwood
campestris, Chenopodium berlandieri, C. ambro- per year.
sioides, Cucurbita spp., Drymaria cordata, Galin-
soga parviflora, Malva parviflora, Oxalis alpina, Fodder:
Phytolacca icosandra, Portulaca oleracea, Rorippa The most common form of feeding domestic
nasturtium-aquaticum, Solarium nigrescens, and animals is in large fields or pens, hut 9.5% of
Stellaria cuspidata (Appendix 1). Total amounts of households gather wild plants to supplement
the most appreciated quelites consumed by the their browsing and grazing. On an average, they
whole village are shown in Table 7. collect 5.5-+ 1.25 kg of plants to feed three lambs
per day, and 5.0+1.5kg to feed one horse or
Beverages: donkey per day.
Among plant species extracted to prepare bev-
erages one of the most important is Satureja Discussion
macrostema, the leaves of which are boiled to pre- The Mazahua system of classification and
pare a stimulant infusion drunk during breakfast nomenclature of plants and mushrooms follows
and dinner. About 65.4% of households inter- the general principles of classification presented
viewed consumed leaves of this species one to by Berlin (1992). These are hierarchical systems
three days per week, which is 150.60 -+35.20 with a series of inclusiveness levels, which typi-
grams (g) per household per week or nearly 1.078 cally include not only the useful ones but also the
tons in the village per year. The rest of the house- most distinctive plants and mushrooms. In gen-
holds used the infusion occasionally. The alco- eral, the Mazahua system of classification is based
holic beverage "pulque" is occasionally prepared on the affinities among the taxa (their morpho-
with sap extracted from Agave atrovirens and A. logical features, habits, and habitats), indepen-
salmiana, rarely cultivated in the village. dent of their cultural significance. However, at
the life-form level we identified the category nrr
Medicinal Plants: grouping plants that produce beautiful flowers re-
Nearly 28.6% of the households interviewed gardless if they are herbaceous or woody plants.
used medicinal plants, mostly from cultivated We clearly identified kingdom, life form, generic,
specimens. Extraction of plants or plant parts for and specific ranks, but not clear varietal terms.
this purpose are in small amounts and, therefore, The generic names were the most numerous.
difficult to quantify, but the impact appears to be Plant and animal kingdoms were clearly identi-
insignificant. However, Ternstroemia pringlei, T. fied, and mushrooms appear to be in the same
lineata, Cuphea aequipetala, Equisetum sp., and rank since they are considered neither plants nor
Salvia lavanduloides, are commercialized and their animals by the Mazahua. Mushrooms and ani-
180 ECONOMIC BOTANY
mals are named with apparently monosemous
terms (cjo~j6 and ubl, respectively), whereas
plants are named with the polysemous term .,di
meaning also tree and leaves. However, in the
Mazahua system of classification, the kingdoms
are not clear "unique beginners" (sensu Berlin
1992) since they are, in turn, grouped into one of
the more general categories, tenxe yo nyomb'u
(moving things) or tenxe yo dya nyomb'u (un-
moving things).
The Mazahua use a broad spectrum of re-
sources (213 plant species and 31 mushroom
species) in daily life. This pattern of diversified
use of plant resources is consistent with the pat-
tern as defined by Toledo (1998) as "multiple
utilization of natural resources and ecosystems"
that characterize the form of subsistence of in-
digenous communities in Mesoamerica (Casas et
al. 1994).
Although the Mazahua base their diet on maize,
beans, and wheat, they include wild plants and
mushrooms. The "quelites" are the non-cultivated
plants most used as food. These plants are available
especially from June to August, the first months of
the rainy season, when the staple grains have just
been sowed and the reserves of them from the pre-
vious year have markedly decreased. During this
time, therefore, wild and weedy edible plants play
an important role in the Mazahua diet. The bal-
ance between agricultural products produced and
consumed is generally negative among the Maza-
hua families studied. They compensate for the
deficit by buying staple grains and, for that reason,
they have to obtain money by selling wild prod-
ucts such as Prunus serotina and Rubus liebrnannii.
People also make up this deficit by gathering and
consuming edible plants.
The amounts of medicinal plants extracted
and the impacts due to this activity are mostly in-
significant. Destructive extraction of Ternstroemia
spp., on the other hand, appears to be relevant.
Farf~in (2001) reported the occurrence of 150 in-
dividuals of Ternstroernia spp. per hectare of ri-
parian vegetation (covering 210 hectares of the
territory of the village). Nearly 30% of these trees
have signs that they have been cut (e.g., main
stems have been removed and some of them have
stump-sprouting) for harvesting. This practice
may endanger the populations of Ternstroemia
and measures to stop this form of extraction are
required, including local regulations, designing of
appropriate gathering tools, and environmental
education programs.
[VOL. 61
Plant species used as fuelwood are particularly
important in the local economy since all of the
people use wood for cooking as well as a source
of monetary income. All species used more com-
monly, except Ternstroernia spp., were abundant
in the vegetation sampling reported by Farf~in
(2001) and, according to people, the fuelwood
extraction does not involve the felling of trees,
only harvesting of branches and dead trees.
Therefore, this practice does not appear to repre-
sent a significant risk to the forest. However, total
annual consumption of fuelwood is high and the
promotion of methods for more efficient con-
sumption of fuelwood (such as the adoption of
efficient stoves, experimentation with other
sources of energy, and plantations of species for
fuelwood in areas already transformed in the
buffer zones) could contribute to decreased con-
sumption of wild fuels.
Plants used as fodder are also important in the
campesino economy since raising domestic ani-
mals is a source of meat, labor animals, and mon-
etary income. At least 68 plant species are con-
sumed by free-ranging animals in pasture areas;
but also, some of them are collected to feed the
animals. Agricultural areas are particularly abun-
dant in weedy plants cut as fodder, and these
areas could be managed in a more intensive man-
net.
Mushrooms offer a high variety of edible re-
sources whose availability is concentrated from
June to September, when staple crops are scarce.
Therefore, along with "quelites" and wild fruit,
mushrooms constitute a direct source of food
and monetary income during the period of max-
imum scarcity of food produced through agri-
culture.
The Management Plan of the MBBR (CO-
NANP 2001) suggests the possibility of enhanc-
ing programs of use, production, and commer-
cialization of non-timber forest products as a way
to generate environmentally friendly production
practices. The useful plants and mushrooms doc-
umented in this study offer a variety of options to
develop such programs. However, to maintain a
sustainable strategy of resource management, it is
necessary to analyze the availability of all plants
and mushrooms, and the ordinary rhythms of ex-
traction to ensure their long-term maintenance.
For instance, ecological studies in the area (Farf~n
2001) documented that the spatial availability of
Prunus serotina is 126 individuals per hectare in
the riparian vegetation (covering 210 hectares of
2007] FARFfilN ET AL.: MAZAHUA ETHNOBOTANY AND SUBSISTENCE
the territory of the village). This species produces
on average 6,200 -+ 447 fruits per adult tree
(11.4 _+ 0.8kg of fruit per tree), and approxi-
mately 302.61 tons are available in the village.
Considering that people consume nearly 7.47
tons per year, the ecological information suggests
that the impact of harvesting these fruits is rela-
tively low and that it would be possible to in-
crease this practice to develop alternative com-
mercial products. Similarly, Farfiin (2001)
estimated that approximately 34.188 tons of fruit
of Crataegus mexicana are produced annually in
the village, whereas people consume 1.82 tons
per year. However, Rubus liebmannii produces
nearly 6 tons of fruit per year and people ingest
4.4 tons yearly (nearly 70% of the total produc-
tion). This rate suggests that the current extrac-
tion rate could impact the maintenance of popu-
lations of this species. In this case, therefore, it
would be advisable to conduct demographic
studies to help determine sustainable levels of
harvest. Farfiln (2001) also estimated that the
agricultural area of the village (902 hectares) pro-
duce nearly 23.6 and 46 tons of the "quelites"
Brassica campestris and Amaranthus hybridus, re-
spectively, whereas the annual consumption of
these plants is 4.3 tons and 0.9 tons (again re-
spectively), indicating that the amounts harvested
are relatively low. Similarly, total biomass of Ror-
ippa nasturtium-aquaticum is approximately 3.78
tons whereas only 0.5 tons are harvested in the
village. But in the case of Chenwodium
berlandieri, annual consumption is approximately
0.7 tons; whereas, this species was not recorded
in the vegetation sampling. This suggests that this
species is rather scarce and that enhancing its
abundance by sowing its seeds in agricultural
parcels would be possible as in other areas of
Mexico (Casas et al. 1994).
Similar information is still necessary for mush-
rooms and other plant species. It would help to
analyze the status of risk of the current extraction
rates and to establish the bases to design strategies
of sustainable management techniques. However,
in the case of mushrooms and wild plants occur-
ring exclusively within primary forests, the con-
servation of natural vegetation is the main strat-
egy for maintaining them. Illegal extraction of
timber continues being the main cause of defor-
estation in the MBBR and, therefore, efforts for
sustainable management of non-timber forest
products would be ineffective if the Mexican gov-
ernment does not stop logging.
181
Acknowledgements
We thank the people of Francisco Serrato for shar-
ing their botanical knowledge and allowing us to
work on their land, the CONACYT/SEMAR-
NAT, Mexico (project 2002/0544) for financial
support, Roberto Solis and Alejandro Torres for
facilities in fieldwork, and Heberto Ferreira for
computer support. We also thank Dan Moerman
and Daniel F. Austin and two anonymous review-
ers for critical comments and suggestions on the
manuscript.
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