Mazahua ethnobotany and subsistence in the monarch butterfly biosphere reserve, Mexico

Abstract

This is the first report on Mazahua knowledge and classification of plants and mushrooms and the roles of these resources in the local economy in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. A total of 213 useful plant species and 31 species of edible mushrooms were recorded. Fruits ofPrunus serotina, Rubus liebmanii, andCrataegus mexicana 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 gathering ofTernstroemia 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. Strategies for sustainable use of these resources are discussed