Collecting and Learning to Identify Edible Fungi in Southeastern Poland: Age and Gender Differences

Abstract

The gathering of 17 folk taxa of edible fungi (most commonly Boletus edulis, Leccinum spp., Xerocomus spp., Suillus spp., Cantharellus cibarius, Armillaria spp., Russula spp., Lactarius salmonicolor, Macrolepiota procera, Boletus erythropus) was recorded in three villages in southeast Poland, but only 13 of them are gathered by children. Gender and age differences were small (apart from the fact that more adults than children collect non-Boletaceae species), and relatives of both sexes took part in teaching children about mushrooms, although fathers were most frequently mentioned as first teachers. Collecting mushrooms, mainly for own use, sometimes for sale, is still a culturally significant activity.

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Collecting and Learning to Identify
Edible Fungi in Southeastern Poland: Age
and Gender Differences
Łukasz Łuczaj a & Zofia Nieroda b
a Department of Ecotoxicology, University of Rzeszów, Werynia,
Poland
b Academy of Humanities and Economics in Łódź, Łódź, Poland
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Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 50:319–336, 2011
Copyright ©Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0367-0244 print/1543-5237 online
DOI: 10.1080/03670244.2011.586314
Collecting and Learning to Identify
Edible Fungi in Southeastern Poland:
Age and Gender Differences
ŁUKASZ ŁUCZAJ
Department of Ecotoxicology, University of Rzeszów, Werynia, Poland
ZOFIA NIERODA
Academy of Humanities and Economics in Łód´z, Łód´z, Poland
The gathering of 17 folk taxa of edible fungi (most com-
monly Boletus edulis,Leccinum spp., Xerocomus spp., Suillus
spp., Cantharellus cibarius,Armillaria spp., Russula spp., Lactarius
salmonicolor,Macrolepiota procera,Boletus erythropus)was
recorded in three villages in southeast Poland, but only 13 of them
are gathered by children. Gender and age differences were small
(apart from the fact that more adults than children collect non-
Boletaceae species), and relatives of both sexes took part in
teaching children about mushrooms, although fathers were most
frequently mentioned as first teachers. Collecting mushrooms,
mainly for own use, sometimes for sale, is still a culturally signifi-
cant activity.
KEYWORDS foraging, inter-generational knowledge transfer, folk
taxonomy, mushroom picking, mycophilia
In these times of decreasing traditional ethnobiological knowledge, an
increasing number of studies deal with its transfer, both within tribal
communities and in modern, “western” societies. Studies on traditional eth-
nobiological knowledge usually report its inter-generational loss (e.g., Benz
et al. 2000; Eyssartier, Ladio, and Lozada 2008), and only very rarely its main-
tenance (Zarger and Stepp 2004). However, still not a single article on the
issue of ethnomycological knowledge transfer can be found in the scientific
literature apart from one conference abstract (Garibay-Orijel and Valencia
Address correspondence to Łukasz Łuczaj, University of Rzeszów, Department of
Ecotoxicology, Werynia, 36-100 Kolbuszowa, Poland. E-mail: lukasz.luczaj@interia.pl
319
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320 Ł. Łuczaj and Z. Nieroda
2010), in spite of the fact that fungi supplement nutrition in many areas of
the world, particularly in eastern and southern Europe, Africa, the Himalayas,
eastern Asia and Mesoamerica (Boa 2004; Arora and Shepard 2008).
Mushrooms, although they contain small amounts of proteins, fats and
digestible carbohydrates, have a very low caloric content, comparable to
wild green vegetables. Furthermore they are rich in many macro- and
microelements (e.g., Kiger 1959; Turner, Kuhnlein, and Egger 1987; Breene
1990; Leon-Guzman et al. 1997; Ereipej and Al-Raddad 1999; Caglarirmak
et al. 2002; Sanmee et al. 2003). They also have a high essential aminoacid
index, containing a favourable proportion of essential aminoacids, similar
to meat (Crisan and Sands 1978). The list of nutritional studies on mush-
rooms was compiled by Boa (2004), who emphasized that the constituents
of an edible fungus are not necessarily a good guide to nutritional value, as
the digestibility of different components varies, analytical methods are not
always reliably used in testing and the use of different techniques limits the
comparison of results from different studies. In spite of the points mentioned
by Boa, we can conclude that the consumption of mushrooms can signif-
icantly improve the nutritional and medicinal value of food in many rural
areas of the world. Mushrooms are also examples of nutraceuticals (i.e.,
foods with medicinal value), both according to traditional healing systems
(particularly in Eastern Asia) and in the light of the new findings concern-
ing the immunostimulatory role of fungal polysaccharides (Wasser and Weis
1999; Reshetnikov 2001; Zhou et al. 2009).
The high cultural importance of fungi is very characteristic for northern
Slavic cultures (including Polish). Slavic nations are examples of mycophy-
lous cultures, in contrast to mycophobic countries such as Britain, where
mushrooms are not so widely eaten (Wasson and Wasson 1957; Marczyk
2003). Mushrooms in Poland are not only consumed, they are also widely
known, recognized, talked about (Marczyk), and even frequently depicted
in children’s illustrations (Łuczaj 2009).
Polish ethnographic literature contains extensive data on their use. For
example, The Polish Ethnographic Atlas contains a few maps devoted to the
gathering of fungi species (maps 312– 315 in Gajek 1981), Marczyk (2003)
wrote a review of the place of mushrooms in Polish folk superstitions and
beliefs, and Bartnicka-D ˛abkowska (1964) mapped the folk names of a few
dozen of the most common mushroom species.
Wild mushrooms are frequently present in Polish countryside cuisine.
They are usually used either fresh or dried as ingredients of sauces and
soups, fried in batter or pickled. Throughout the twentieth century storing
techniques have changed—at the beginning of the twentieth century mush-
rooms were dried or, more rarely, lacto-fermented, later pickling became
popular and lacto-fermenting nearly disappeared. At the turn of the twen-
tieth and twenty-first centuries the freezing of shortly boiled mushrooms
became popular (Lehr 2000; J˛edrusik 2004; Kujawska and Łuczaj 2011).
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Collecting and Identifying Edible Mushrooms 321
Edible mushrooms, although very common in Polish cuisine, are not
considered an important nutritional resource. Their low caloric value has
been widely realized by the inhabitants. In some areas of Poland, an expres-
sion was used for people who looked anemic—that they “had been fed
with mushrooms.” They are generally valued for their taste and aroma.
Their important role in traditional cooking is maintained by the fact that
a large proportion of Christmas Eve dishes contain ceps (Boletaceae mush-
rooms), used mainly for stuffing dumplings and flavoring sourbread soups
(Moszy´
nski 1929). Mushrooms are also considered difficult to digest and so
avoided in evening meals, while most parents limit their intake by younger
children, especially toddlers.
As large amounts of mushrooms are consumed each year, cases of
mushroom poisoning are relatively frequent (Bielski and Sikorski 1993).
Most deaths are caused by the consumption of Amanita phalloides (Vaill.
ex Fr.) Link (death cap) confused with Russula and Agaricus species.In
Poland, poisonings by A. phalloides constitute 90%–95% of mushroom-
related deaths (Ferenc et al. 2009). In order to avoid this, the media often
produce special programmes and articles devoted to correct mushroom
identification (e.g., Barysz 2007). According to the law, only mushrooms
belonging the official list of species may be sold, and every person sell-
ing mushrooms in public is obliged to produce an identity card on request.
The list contains 42 taxa, including a few cultivated East Asian species and
most traditionally collected species (Rozporz ˛adzenie 2008). Other species
can be used but not sold to the public (e.g., in markets or as preserves).
The commonest edible taxon not included in the list is the genus Russula,
due to its similarity to Amanita phalloides. A few rarer edible species are
protected by law (e.g., Sparassis crispa [Wulf.] Fr. and Dendropolyporus
umbellatus [Pers. ex Fr.] Jul.), although most mushroom pickers do not
realize this.
Lessons devoted to edible and poisonous mushrooms appear here
and there in school nature textbooks (e.g., Kły´
s and Sulejczak 1999;
Chrzanowska-Szwarc 2005; Chmura n.d.). Until 1999 a special lesson on
mushroom identification was obligatory in the fifth grade (11-year-olds).
After 1999, when the name of the subject was changed from “biology” to
“nature,” teachers have had more freedom in the choice of material, some of
them mention the topic when talking about forest habitats, however there
is no formal obligation to talk about edible and poisonous mushrooms.
According to the methodological supervisor of nature and biology teachers
for the Podkarpacie region, Dr. Małgorzata Podolak (pers. comm., March 1,
2011), teachers either do not mention the topic or spend a maximum of an
hour on it.
Another source of knowledge about edible mushrooms are the numer-
ous edible fungi identification guides available in every bookstore. Many
internet websites devoted to mushrooms have sprung up, including one of
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322 Ł. Łuczaj and Z. Nieroda
the largest and most comprehensive photographic websites in the world
devoted to edible fungi created by Snowarski (1997–2011; in Polish and
English). This website even supplies readers with up-to-date maps of occur-
rence of mushroom fruiting bodies in the country. As collecting mushrooms
is a vivid part of folk traditions a large part of the knowledge about them
is transmitted via family. Unfortunately no one has ever studied explicitly
the process of transferring knowledge about edible mushrooms in Polish
society. Hence we wanted to answer the following questions:
1. Which are the main vectors of knowledge about edible mushrooms
(school versus media versus family, men versus women)?
2. Are there any intergenerational and gender differences in the number of
taxa of mushrooms collected?
3. Are there any intergenerational differences in the names of mushrooms?
4. What is the age when children learn to recognize mushrooms?
METHODS
The study was done in three villages, Czudec (2,900 inhabitants), Pstr ˛agowa
(2,500) and Nowa Wie´
s (870), all in the Carpathian Foothills in southeast
Poland (Podkarpackie region, Strzy˙
zów area). The social, economic, and
environmental conditions of the studied villages are very typical for the
Polish Carpathians. The potential natural vegetation is made up of mixed
broadleaved forests of Tilio-Carpinetum type (dominated by Carpinus
betulus)andDentario glandulosae-Fagetum forests (dominated by Fagus
sylvatica and Abies alba).The climate is cold temperate, relatively humid
(mean annual temperature 7◦C, mean July 19◦C, January –4◦C, rainfall ca.
800 mm with no regular dry season). The landscape is hilly, densely inhab-
ited, with a rich mosaic of built-up areas, arable lands, grassland and forest.
A large proportion of inhabitants can be classified as chłopo-robotnicy
(i.e., peasant-workers)—people who own small farms, but supplement
their income with regular jobs in adjacent towns. The whole Podkarpackie
region is one of the most archaic areas of Poland in terms of the state of
preservation of traditional folk-lore (Ruszel 2004).
The field study was done in autumn 2007, by the second author who
lives in one of the villages (Pstr ˛agowa). Two groups of people took part
in the study: 176 primary school children (class IV-VI; e.g., 10–12 years
old) and 213 adults aged 40–80. The questionnaire was distributed among
children in three local schools and was filled in during lessons—in Czudec
(74 children), Pstragowa (55) and Nowa Wie´
s (47). Adults (73 from Czudec,
71 from Pstr ˛agowa and 69 from Nowa Wie´
s) aged 40–80 (most aged 40–55)
were studied. They were selected, partly using the snowball technique,
and partly through stopping people on the street and asking them to
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Collecting and Identifying Edible Mushrooms 323
fill in the questionnaire. A questionnaire was used asking the following
questions:
●Which edible mushrooms have you collected?
●At what age did you learn to recognize your first species of edible
mushooms?
●Who taught you this or how did you find out?
●What feature(s) did you learn to recognize it by?
●What was the first species of mushroom you learned? (This question
occurred only in the questionnaire for adults, as it was added later.)
●Which mushrooms did you collect before you were 16, and stopped
collecting later? (This question was only for adults.)
These questions were accompanied by a few questions about gather-
ing wild edible plants (Nieroda 2009), which are not analyzed in this paper.
Unstructured short interviews were performed, while collecting question-
naires about the use of mushrooms (e.g., How do you use mushrooms?
What role do mushrooms play in your life?).
Local names of mushrooms were linked to scientific names during con-
versations with selected respondents using photographic edible fungi field
guides. As collecting edible mushrooms is a culturally significant activity,
local names had very precise meanings, usually corresponding to a myco-
logical genus, and no cases of names extending beyond a genus (e.g., to
name the whole family) were found, in fact an opposing tendency was
found - local folk taxonomy, similarly to most of Poland, distinguishes folk
taxa within a genus. For instance Leccinum is often divided into two groups
(“brown ones” and “red big ones”). Also local people know that there are
two species of Suillus, one growing under larches, another under pines,
though no separate names are applied. The diversity of Russula species is
realized by many respondents, but, again, not expressed by names (green,
brownish and bluish capped species with white gills are sought after; red
capped species, e.g., Russula emetica [Schaeff.] Pers., black capped species,
e.g., R. nigricans [Bull.]Fr.,and badly smelling species, e.g., R. foetens Pers.
ex Fr. are avoided).
The cultural picture of wild mushroom gathering was also supple-
mented by observations from other villages in the same part of the
Carpathians (Strzy˙
zów and Krosno—powiat administrative units). Since
1996, the first author of the article (based 25 km from the studied vil-
lages) has been regularly collecting mushrooms in the surrounding area,
including lesser known edible species, and has showed them to mush-
room pickers of all ages (including groups of children) encountered in the
woods. He has also run workshops for school children (both indoor and out-
door). Responses gathered during these activities, concerning mushrooms,
which are collected, and those which are avoided, local dishes and general
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324 Ł. Łuczaj and Z. Nieroda
attitudes, have formed important additional information helping to interpret
the results of the questionnaire.
RESULTS
Respondents eagerly answered the questions. As mushroom picking is
commonly practised by nearly everyone, they had no problems with giv-
ing precise answers. Adults, on average, reported collecting one species
more than children (average of 4.9 versus 3.9 species, Mann-Whitney U
test, p>.05). The fungi from Boletaceae, from genera Boletus, Leccinum,
Xerocomus and Suillus were the most commonly collected. There were four
taxa of fungi known and collected only by adults plus one species, which
used to be collected in the past and is not collected any more. There was no
taxon gathered exclusively by children (table 1). The total list of mushrooms
collected by adults is 17 folk taxa, by children—13. As some of the folk taxa
contain several biological species (e.g., in the genera Leccinum, Suillus and
Russula), the actual number of scientific species used is probably double
this, as we identified at least 28 separate species, but further, more difficult
to distinguish species (e.g., from the genera Russula, Armillaria, Boletus
and Leccinum), could be added to the list if a longer study, documented
by voucher specimens identified by a mycologist specializing in the above
mentioned genera, were performed.
When gender was taken into account there were no significant differ-
ences between girls and boys, but there were some differences between
men and women, as significantly more adult women collect honey fun-
gus (Armillaria mellea) and chanterelles (Catharellus cibarius) than men
(table 1). For all commonly collected Boletaceae species there were no
significant generational differences between children and adults. However,
a significantly larger proportion of adults collected Macrolepiota, Russula,
Lactarius and Agaricus (p<.05).
Every child and adult stated that they knew how to recognize at least
a single species of wild edible mushroom. There was a significant differ-
ence between the mean age of learning the first mushroom in children and
adults (6.7, SD =1.6 and 9.7, SD =3.3 respectively; Mann-Whitney U test,
p<.0001), which suggests that children today are learning mushrooms
earlier than they were a couple of generations ago. There was no signif-
icant difference between girls and boys (Mann-Whitney U test, p=.77),
however there was a small but significant difference (Mann-Whitney U test,
p=.04) between adult men and women—men learned to recognize mush-
rooms earlier (mean =9.3, modal age =8) than women (mean 10.1, modal
age 10).
The species which were reported as the first taxa people learned to rec-
ognize were usually Boletus edulis, Leccinum, Cantarellus cibarius, Russula,
Xerocomus or Suillus (table 2).
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TABLE 1 Mushrooms Gathered Nowadays
% % % Children % % % Adults
Local name English name Scientific name Girls Boys S1 together Women Men S2 together S3
prawdziwek /
borowik /
grzyb
prawdziwy
Porcini (cep) Boletus sect. Edules,
mainly Boletus edulis
Bull.: Fr.
73 81 ns 77 76 78 ns 77 ns
kozak A kind of cep Leccinum spp. – all
species (at least 4
species are used, L.
aurantiacum (Bull.)
S.F. Gray is most
prized)
65 69 ns 67 63 59 ns 61 ns
podgrzybek A kind of cep Xerocomus spp. – all
species (mainly X.
badius (Fr.:Fr.) Gilbert
and X. subtomentosus
(L.:Fr.) Quélet; also X.
chrysenteron (Bull.)
Quélet is collected but
viewed as inferior)
57 46 ns 51 52 34 ns 44 ns
ma´
slak Slippery jack Suillus spp. – all
species, mainly S.
luteus (L.:Fr.) Roussel
and S. grevillei
(Klotzsch) Singer
44 42 ns 43 53 41 ns 48 ns
kurka Chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius
Fr.
38 34 ns 36 58 36 .022 49 .07
kania Parasol
mushroom
Macrolepiota procera
(Scop. ex Fr.) Sing.
32 24 ns 28 45 37 ns 41 .02
goł ˛abka /
goł ˛abek /
jarz ˛abek
Russula spp. – (at least
5speciesareused)
23 26 ns 25 45 36 ns 41 .007
(Continued)
325
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TABLE 1 (Continued)
% % % Children % % % Adults
Local name English name Scientific name Girls Boys S1 together Women Men S2 together S3
opie´
nka /
podpinka
Honey fungus Armillaria spp. 25 23 ns 24 44 21 .004 34 .07
pieczarka Field
mushroom
Agaricus spp. – only
specimens from
pastures
12 10 ns 11 31 40 ns 35 <.001
rydz Saffron milk
cap
Lactarius sect. Deliciosi
spp. (mainly L.
salmonicolor L. Heim
& Leclair)
5.2 6.1 ns 5.7 22 27 ns 24 <.001
podciecz A kind of cep Boletus erythropus (Fr.)
Krmbh.
5.2 7.1 ns 6.2 5.1 11.2 .09 8 ns
g˛aska Blewitt Lepista nuda (Bull.)
Cooke
0 2 1.1 2.5 9.5 5.6
smardz Morel Morchella sp. 0 1 .6 4.2 3.1 3.8
sitówka A kind of Cep some unidentified
Boletaceae
0 0 0 5.1 2.1 3.8
krówka – Lactarius volemus Fr. 0 0 0 5.1 2.1 3.8
gronówka – Dendropolyporus
umbellatus (Pers.: Fr.)
Jul.
0 0 0 3.4 3.2 3.3
purchawka Puffball Lycoperdon sp. 1.3 3 2.3 .8 1 .9
kołpak – Rozites caperatus (Pers.)
P. Kar s t . $
00 0 .81 .9
Notes. Significance of difference between two categories (pvalue of the chi-square test): S1: girls versus boys, S2: women versus men, S3: children versus adults; ns:
p>.1.
$: collected outside the studied villages.
326
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Collecting and Identifying Edible Mushrooms 327
TABLE 2 The First Taxon Adults Learned When They Were Children
Women Men Together
Taxon n=118 n=95 n=213
Boletus edulis 32 30 62
Leccinum spp. 25 22 47
Russula spp. 15 8 22
Cantharellus cibarius 16 6 22
Xerocomus spp. 10 5 15
Suillus spp. 6 6 12
Agaricus spp. 2 9 11
Armillaria spp. 4 3 7
Macrolepiota procera 2 3 5
Lactarius section Deliciosi 1 1 2
Morchella sp. 1 1 2
Boletus erythropus 1 0 1
TABLE 3 Mushrooms Which Adults Ceased to Collect after the
Age of 16
No. adults
Taxon n=213
Macrolepiota procera 24
Agaricus spp. 18
Russula spp. 17
Leccinum spp. 16
Cantharellus cibarius 11
Suillus spp. 11
Boletus edulis 11
Lactarius sect. Deliciosi 8
Xerocomus spp. 5
Armillara spp. 5
Morchella sp. 5
Dendropolyporus umbellatus sp. 3
Boletus erythropus 2
Lycoperdon spp. 1
Paxillus involutus Fr. (Fr.) 1
Among the species that the adults used to collect when they were
children Agaricus spp. and Macrolepiota procera were most frequently
reported (table 3). The decrease in gathering of these species was attributed
by respondents to the disappearance of pastures—a favorable habitat of
these taxa.
Both sexes and various generations of the extended family took place in
the knowledge transfer. Male relatives, particularly the father, were slightly
more frequently reported as the first teachers (table 4). Media and school
were only mentioned by a couple of respondents.
The names used by children and adults were nearly identical.
Mushroom names used nowadays as official Polish names in field guides
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328 Ł. Łuczaj and Z. Nieroda
TABLE 4 First Teachers of Mushroom Identification in Two Age Groups: Children Aged 10–12
and Adults Aged 40–80 (Data Given in Percentages)
Children Adults All
Girls Boys together Women Men together together
n=77 n=99 n=176 n=118 n=95 n=213 N=389
Father 61.0 47.0 53.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 38.0
Mother 53.0 30 40 14.0 15.0 14.0 26.0
Family 3.9 3.0 3.4 36.0 26.0 32.0 19.0
Grandmother 13.0 14.0 14.0 5.9 6.3 6.1 9.5
Grandfather 12.0 12.0 12.0 3.4 6.3 4.7 8.0
Pictorial field guide 5.2 7.0 6.2 3.4 1.0 2.3 4.1
Uncle 5.2 8.0 6.8 0 3.2 1.4 3.9
Brother 5.2 4.0 4.5 1.7 5.3 3.3 3.9
Colleagues 0 0 0 4.2 3.2 3.8 2.1
Sister 1.3 1.0 1.1 .8 4.2 2.3 1.8
Aunt 2.6 2.0 2.3 1.7 0 .9 1.5
School 1.3 1.0 1.1 .8 3.2 1.9 1.5
Myself 0 0 0 1.7 1.0 1.4 .8
TV 1.3 0 .6 0 0 0 .3
No answer 0 0 0 .8 0 .5 .3
dominated (e.g., podgrzybek—Xerocomus spp.,ma´slak—Suilllus spp.,
goł ˛abek/gołabka—Russula spp., kania—Macrolepiota procera, kurka—
Cantharellus cibarius, pieczarka—Agaricus spp., rydz—Lactarius section
Deliciosi, only Boletus erythropus and Leccinum spp. were usually named
using a local designate (podciecz and kozak respectively). Armillaria spp.
is named using the official opie ´nka and the local podpinka designates inter-
changeably (more often the former).Some adults used the traditional local
name jarz ˛abek for Russula spp., but no children mentioned this name.
Mushrooms are frequently used in various dishes in the studied villages,
mainly in summer and autumn (freshly after collection) and at Christmas at
traditional Christmas Eve dishes. They are eaten mainly fried in sauces and in
bigos (a dish of meat, cabbage and mushrooms), boiled in soups, and pick-
led (with vinegar, salt, sugar, bay leaves and allspice). Pickled mushrooms
are served with bread and sausages as a side dish for breakfast, supper or at
parties. Most species are used interchangeably in sauces, soups and pickles,
apart from Macrolepiota and Russula, which are only used fried, coated in
batter. Only Boletaceae species are dried for winter. Some transformations in
the use of mushrooms have appeared as freezing for winter use has become
popular and new dishes are introduced. For example boiled and minced
mushrooms (mainly Armillaria) are used as topping for toast (zapiekanka)
or home-made pizzas. Before freezing the fungi are usually boiled briefly
and drained.
The majority of mushrooms are used by the members of the families
who gather them. It is not uncommon to give someone a jar of pickled
mushrooms as a present. Small amounts are sold in local vegetable markets,
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Collecting and Identifying Edible Mushrooms 329
usually by poorer people, those without steady jobs. There are no companies
in the area who buy mushrooms for the food industry, in contrast to some
lowland areas with pinewoods, where rich populations of chanterelles and
ceps occur and are bought on a large scale. In the lowlands collecting mush-
rooms and selling them for cash is a popular occupation. Also in the Beskid
Niski Mts and the Bieszczady Mts (south-east from the study area) some
agritourist farms have started buying mushrooms, mainly Lactarius section
Deliciosi,and selling them as pickles in Warsaw (Łukasz Łuczaj personal
observation). Lactarius spp. are rare in the lowlands, and attain relatively
high prices in Warsaw. Their populations underwent a mysterious decline at
the end of the twentieth century, which lasted for about 20–30 years, and
they have now reappeared in larger quantities in the studied region, which
will probably bring the price down in the future.
Roadside mushrooms sellers are not observed in the study area. The
nearest roads where this practice can be observed are over 60 km away
(selling Boletaceae and chanterelles). These are the section of the route
between Tarnobrzeg and Rzeszów, and the road between the Polish bor-
der crossing in Barwinek and the Slovakian town of Svidnik. In the latter,
Roma inhabitants specialize in selling mushrooms (Łukasz Łuczaj personal
observation).
There are considerable annual fluctuations in the availability of par-
ticular species. Full moon periods (apart from rainy days) are considered
the most conducive to larger mushroom occurrences. The mushroom sea-
son usually begins at the end of June or in July, with the collection of
chanterelles or ceps (spring occurring morels are very rare). The largest
amounts of mushrooms are collected in September, when most species are
available. The season finishes in October, when mainly honey fungus and
saffron milk caps are collected.
The history of poisoning cases has not been studied. However, minor
fungi poisoning and the fear of poisoning were sometimes mentioned. This
is one of the reasons most people stick to a few species, which they learned
to recognize in their childhood. Boletaceae mushrooms are considered the
safest, as no deadly poisonous species from this family are found in the
region (apart from a few bitter species causing minor digestive problems).
Mushrooms with gilled caps are considered suitable for collecting by more
experienced pickers, and some people would refuse to eat pickled gilled
mushrooms presented by someone else for fear of poisoning (usually each
species of mushrooms is pickled separately). Mushrooms are never stir-fried
or eaten raw. They are boiled or fried for a long time (usually at least
15 min.). Particular attention is paid to honey fungus preparation. The fungi
of this genus are usually first boiled for a short time, or at least hot water
is poured over them before the main cooking or frying. Honey fungus is
also occasionally confused with Pholiota squarrosa (Müll. ex Fr.) Kummer,
which causes minor poisonings.
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330 Ł. Łuczaj and Z. Nieroda
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The presented results reveal the high importance of vertical, post-figurative
knowledge transfer, sensu Mead (1978). Both extra-family and co-figurative
knowledge transfer play minor roles, at least in the initial stage of learning.
It may be suspected that some horizontal transfer of knowledge appears
later among older children and adults. However, as children aged ten to
twelve know nearly the same number of mushroom types as adults, it may
be suspected that most of their knowledge originates from within the family
and the further process is based mainly on deepening knowledge about
identifying the species people learned in childhood, rather than looking for
new species to use. This conclusion is supported by the interviews.
The utilized number of fungi taxa is similar to that reported by other
folkloristic studies from the twentieth century (e.g., Dekowski 1968, 1973;
J˛edrusik 2004; Marciniak 2008), which suggests that the use of mushrooms
is still culturally important. For example, in the Kozienice Forest (Central
Poland) 27 species were utilized in the mid-twentieth century (Dekowski
1973) and in the Łowicz region 26 species were eaten commonly and
eight more by some families (Dekowski 1968). Only the consumption of
Paxillus involutus (Batsch ex Fr.) Fr. and Gyromitra esculenta (Pers. ex
Fr.) Fr. in Poland stopped almost completely after a late-twentieth cen-
tury campaign emphasizing its toxic potential. In the studied area, similarly
to the rest of Poland (Bartnicka-D ˛abkowska 1964), very few names exist
for poisonous mushrooms (e.g., muchomor—for Amanita-looking species,
psiak—for small unknown mushrooms). Large changes in mushroom names
may already have occurred by the beginning of the twentieth century, as
even older respondents use many local names not indigenous to this area
but disseminated by media and field guides.
We may wonder what the number of mushrooms collected in the area in
the nineteenth century was, in times of frequent famines and no field guides.
Tync in his study from 1891 (published from manuscript in 1994) reported
the use of 22 folk species in an area of the Carpathian foothills only some
50 km from the study area—a number only slightly higher than the number
reported in this study. From the review of ethnomycological literature in the
work of Boa (2004) we can conclude that seventeen edible taxa listed by
informants in the study can be classified as an example of strong mycophilia.
A similar number of edible taxa is used in other mycophilous regions of the
globe. For example in a study in Oaxaca in Mexico 22 folk taxa belonging
to 37 scientific species were listed by 95 respondents (Garibay-Orijel et al.
2007). The number of species sold in some large markets in Mexico is higher.
For example in a market in Ozumba 60 species of mushrooms are sold
throughout the year (Pérez-Moreno et al. 2008)—a number identical to the
number reported from a Polish market (in Pozna´
n) from the beginning of
the twentieth century (Szulczewski 1996).
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Collecting and Identifying Edible Mushrooms 331
Knowledge about mushrooms is the domain of both sexes, although
men are slightly more involved in the practice of gathering. This is in
contrast to plant gathering, which in Poland has been performed mainly
by women and children. Only hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) gathering
shows a similar pattern of slight male domination (Łuczaj 2008). A par-
allel study on gathering wild plants in the same three villages showed a
stronger role for women, and a larger decrease in gathering, compared to
gathering mushrooms (Nieroda 2009). It is however usually the case that
only women prepare the mushrooms, as cooking is still mainly a female
domain in the countryside. There are numerous exceptions to this rule,
particularly in the case of men living on their own, and the processing of
mushrooms collected by men themselves is not unusual, though rarer than
handing the mushrooms over to the wife. The dominant role of women
in food and medicinal plant gathering seems to be a rule (Ruddle 1993;
Ertug 2003; Dannigelis 2003; Price 2006; Wayland 2001; Voeks 2007), so it is
interesting that the gender specializing of mushroom gathering in Poland
has a more unisex character than plant gathering—a female domain. It
can be hypothesized that mushroom activity is more similar to hunting,
usually a male domain, than collecting berries or herbs, as the appear-
ance of fungal fruiting bodies is temporal. A strong element of chance
is thus introduced, making mushroom gathering more exciting, similar in
character to collecting marine foods. Possibly connected to the extent of
male involvement in gathering mushrooms, it has a highly competitive
character—mushroom pickers compare their finds in the forests and neigh-
bours usually boast how many prawdziwki (Boletus edulis, highest prized
species) they found.
It is not clear why adults reported a higher age at which they learned to
recognize mushrooms than that for contemporary children. Developmental
acceleration cannot be an explanation. In the past, children started guarding
grazing cows from an early age, and they spent much more time out-
side than nowadays, so they had more opportunities for learning directly
about nature. Some adults may just not remember exactly when they started
learning mushroom recognition. This is probably also why they more often
mentioned “family” as the first source of knowledge about fungi, instead of
specifying a particular family member.
It must be emphasized that the presented data on the sources of eth-
nomycological knowledge concern its beginnings, thus further horizontal
transfer of knowledge among peers was not studied. According to Garibay-
Orijel and Valencia (2010) horizontal transfer can be an important factor in
preventing the loss of traditional ethnomycological knowledge. As previ-
ously mentioned, basic knowledge about the commonest taxa is acquired
by children, but this knowledge can be enriched by learning to recognize
one or a few more rarer species in the adulthood, at least in the case of
some individuals.
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332 Ł. Łuczaj and Z. Nieroda
Some methodological limitations of the questionnaire method should be
emphasized. Gathering statements that people can recognize certain mush-
room species does not necessarily mean that they can do it, it may just
prove that they know their names (“passive knowledge”). This can be an
important issue in the case of children, even though effort was made to pre-
vent children copying the content of the questionnaires among themselves.
However high expertise in mushroom picking in the Podkarpacie region
was personally observed by both authors.
The discrepancies between the lists of mushrooms collected by adults
and children are surprisingly small. This is an argument for the conclusion
that mushroom picking is an important family activity and is learned very
early. Such similarity between the ethnobiological knowledge of children
and adults, concerning wild foods, is observed in other places when gath-
ering wild food is still practiced (e.g., in rural Thailand; Setalaphruk and
Price 2007).
School has surprisingly little influence on mushroom gathering knowl-
edge. It is probably mushroom-picking field guides, used in many houses,
that shape the present practice of mushroom gathering more than school
or electronic media. From our observation we hypothesize that they do not
introduce new species, as people are very conservative about the species of
mushroom they collect. Kalle and Sõukand (2010) hypothesize that ordinary
people, even in modern societies, prefer knowledge given personally, by
other people, rather than identification guides. This is particularly true for
mushrooms due to the toxicity of some species. However, field guides are
still influential, in that they tend to cause unification of mushroom names
throughout the country.
The question arises to what extent freelisting using a written
questionnaire—a quick way to obtain quantitative data—enabled us to
obtain a full list of utilized taxa? From the in-depth interviews done in other
villages of the same mountain range (25 km south from the study area)
by the first author, only two more utilized taxa, Sparassis crispa (Wulf.)
Fr. and Hydnum repandum L., were found.The former is quite rare and
may not occur in the study area, and the latter, though common, is used
rarely and is partly a covert taxon—many people who use it do not know
its name. Thus the omission, if it occurred, is probably not larger than
two species.
People in the studied region, as in most places in Poland, collect a
high number of fungi species. They, however, do not gather for consump-
tion many species reported as edible by Polish field guides, in spite of
the fact that they are very common in the study area. These are, in par-
ticular: Amanita rubescens (Pers. ex Fr) S.F.Gray, Cantharellus tubiformis
Fr.Fr, Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) Wetstein and Laccaria amethystina
(Huds.) Cooke. Thus even in strongly mycophilous societies there is a
cultural bias towards some edible species, and avoidance of others.
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Collecting and Identifying Edible Mushrooms 333
Although there are numerous ethnographic publications containing
information on the use of wild mushrooms in local cuisines, there are very
few ethnomycological publications, which could enable cross-cultural com-
parisons of various parts of Europe. Hopefully, parallel studies from other
countries can give us a broader picture in the future.
Although the set of species collected has remained largely the same
over the last several decades, the forms of preserving and cooking mush-
rooms, as previously mentioned, have changed. Further transformations can
be predicted, due to the popularity of new spices, recipes and the spread of
ethnic cuisines among rural inhabitants. Already after our field study, in 2009
and 2010, a wave of popularity of a dish called rydze po cyga ´nsku (“Gypsy
style saffron milk caps”),swept suddenly through the region via women’s
magazines and culinary websites. The mushrooms in this recipe are fried
with onions, red peppers, and tomato concentrate (or tomatoes), sugar, salt,
and spirit vinegar, and often heavily spiced. Then they are sealed in a jar
for future use. The ingredients correspond to a Hungarian dish called lecso
(Polish leczo), which has become popular in the region over the last decade,
together with the cultivation of red peppers and courgettes (zucchini). This
is one of a series of changes, which have accompanied the preparation of
traditional recipes in the region (e.g., lacto-fermented cucumbers, tradition-
ally made with dill, garlic, and horseradish, in some houses now have hot
chilli or curry powder added to them).
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