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Andorran ethnomycology: culinary uses and beyond

Canòlich Álvarez-Puig,T. Garnatje,Manel Niell,A. Gras,Joan Vallès

Published 2025 in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

ABSTRACT

This study compiles ethnomycological information from Andorra, which, in general terms, has remained unexplored compared with plants. Andorra (468 km2; ca. 88,000 inhabitants) comprises seven parishes and 37 villages, with the tertiary sector as the main economic engine. In general, it has a Mediterranean mountain climate with Atlantic influence in the North, an altitude ranging from ca. 900 m a.s.l. to 3000 m, and vegetation stratified by altitude, which is characteristic of the Pyrenees. This study aims to enhance ethnomycological knowledge in Andorra by documenting the uses and vernacular names of wild mushrooms (WMs), quantitatively analysing this insight, and identifying species for future nutritional analyses. Semi-structured individual or collective interviews were conducted with informants selected via the snowball sampling technique. Oral consent was obtained from all 131 informants (born between 1914 and 1975), and data were recorded in the research group database. The obtained data were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. Fifty taxa belonging to 23 mycological families were reported in this study. The interviewed informants provided 1,172 use reports (URs) of 42 useful taxa, with culinary uses being the most reported, with 1,142 (97.44%), followed by 21 (1.79%) other uses and nine (0.77%) medicinal uses. Marasmius oreades (Bolton) Fr., Boletus sect. Boletus L., Lactarius sect. Deliciosi (Fr.) Redeuilh, Verbeken & Walleyn, Gyromitra esculenta Pers. ex Fr., and Sparassis crispa (Wulfen) Fr. were the most cited wild edible mushrooms (WEMs) in Andorra. In addition to individual uses, 152 fungal mixtures (four used for medicinal purposes and 148 for culinary uses) were identified in this study. Information about poisonous mushrooms was collected for a total of 11 taxa. For 98% of the taxa (49), a total of 155 vernacular names were documented. The informant consensus factor (FIC) obtained for our interviewees was 0.96, the ethnomycoticity index (EMI) was 2.10% for the studied area, and regarding vernacular names, ethnomyconymy index was 2.45%. This study enriches existing ethnomycological knowledge through ethnobotanical prospection, revealing the diversity of vernacular names and uses of WMs in Andorra. Several taxa with strong traditional use but lacking nutritional data were identified as candidates for further research and potential food innovation.

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