Volume 14, Part 4, November 2000

Use of Psathyrella cf. hymenocephala (Coprinaceae)as a spice in Haiti

ALEXANDRA PAULl & BRIAN AKERS2

'Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458

"Department of Plant Biology, SlUC, Carbondale, IL 62091-6509, USA

Ethnobotanical studies conducted in Haiti revealed that dried mushrooms, called 'djon djon' inCreole are gathered in the wild and used as a spice in a number of food preparations throughoutthe country. Previous taxonomic investigations of the constituents of Haitian 'djon djon' had beenunable to resolve the identity of this mushroom and it was thought to be a mixture of species fromclosely related genera. Possible explanations for this confusion are given. We propose that 'djondjon' contains a single species, Psathyrella cf. hymenocephala in the Coprinaceae.

Keywords: Psathyrella cf. hymenocephala,Coprinaceae, Haiti, ethnobotany, 'djon djon'.

Ethnobotanical investigations conducted in Haitiin 1992, 1993 and 1995 revealed that the use ofmushrooms as a spice is a ubiquitous feature ofHaitian culture. Any festive occasion in Haiti islikely to include the preparation of 'du ri ak djondjon', rice with mushrooms. This popular dishinvolves the use of mushrooms that arecommonly sold dry, by volume in markets or insmall plastic bags in western style stores. Lessfrequently, dried mushrooms are finely groundand sold as a powdered black spice. A number ofindividuals, including farmers, housewives, cooks,voodoo priests and leaf doctors, were interviewedabout their uses of mushrooms. The responsewas unanimous. Throughout Haiti and regardlessof social role or social status, mushrooms werecalled 'djon djon', and used in a number of foodpreparations. All mushrooms, both inedible andedible, could be referred to as 'djon djon'. In someinstances, an epithet is added to specify whichkind of mushroom, e.g. 'djon djon lait' (Zanoni etal., 1989), is in question. The origin of the term'djon djon' is unclear; it may derive from theFrench word champignon.

Mushrooms are picked by hand, whenever theyare available, usually after rain, sun-dried (see Fig1) and sold to merchants who gather largeamounts and redistribute the sun-dried materials.When asked how they found the mushrooms,collectors stated that they usually grow on deadtrees or on the roots of trees and often reappear in

the same place. They are harvested repeatedlyfrom the same location. The mushrooms fromdifferent collectors are mixed and sold or cleanedand then sold. The cleaning process involvesremoving plant matter, rocks, soil, and mushroomspecies which are not eaten.

'Djori djon' preparationPreparation of mushrooms for cooking takesmany forms. Some individuals remove the stalkprior to cooking and others do not. The driedmaterial is then either boiled, or soaked in boiledwater which has been removed from the heat. Itis soaked or boiled until the water becomes dark,apparently the result of the suspension therein oflarge numbers of the mushroom's dark-colouredspores. As soon as the water is darkened, the potis removed from the heat and the liquid may be

Fig 1 Mushrooms are hand-picked and sun-dried in an open area ona clean surface, in this case a plantain leaf.

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Fig 2 A riee dish has been prepared by boiling the rice in waterobtained by soaking the mushrooms and draining the dark liquid.

used at once or allowed to cool and used later.The mushroom parts can be strained and theliquid used as a substi tu te for water in rice dishes(see Fig 2) or in corn meal dishes 'mais moulin' .Use of the strained liquid to replace water in thepreparation of rice with green peas was the mostcommon application. However, some individualsstated that they left the mushroom parts in theliquid and used the liquid/mushroom mixture tocook meats.

Fig 3 Dried basidioearp of Psathyrella ef. hymenocephalawith remnants of membranous partial veil on stip e (scalebar = 1 em).

Two eld erly women said that they could nolonger eat m eals prepared with 'djon djon 'because it gave them stomach aches. They alsoindicated that some people are allergic to themushrooms themselves. This reaction ismanifested by sw ellin g in the hands and asloughing off of skin, leaving patches of whiteskin as it heals. They explained that people whowork a lot with the dried material such as streetvendors occasionally develop this reaction.

TaxonomyIn the past there has been some question as tothe taxonomic identity of the species used(Deveraux, 1981; Gelin, 1990). Alphonse (1981)sent one sample purchased in a market in Port-au-Prince to "la Station Botanique [of] l'EcoleNationale Superie ure Agronomique deMontpellier" . This sample was identified asbelonging to the genus Drosophila, which issynonymous with Psathyrella. A second samplecollected at Damien was sent to the NationalMuseum of Natural History of Paris. This secondsample was said to "st rongly resemble tropicalPsilocybe of which there exists a large number ofspecies in South and Central America" (Alphonse1981: 15). These two taxonomic identificationsled Alphonse to conclude that the 'djon djon 'which is sold in markets comprises a mixture ofgenera. Gelin (1990) performed his owntaxonomic analyses and concluded that therewere four species of Drosophila (Psathyrella), onespecies of Inocybe and one species ofCantharellus that were sold as 'djon djori '.Cantharellus species enjoy a reputation as fineedible fungi in many cultures, and aretraditionally known by the common name"chant erelle" in Europe and North America .Their possible exploitation as a food item in Hai tihas not been confirmed in our study but shouldnot be considered unlikely. Inocybe species , onthe other hand, are often poisonous, with nospecies known to be good for food and notraditions of usage as such in any culture to ourknowledge.

Our investigations, based on a dried samplepurchased at Petion-Ville market, (Fig 5,collection label number: SlUe Paul 96/06-01/001)consisting of several hundred individuals, and ourprevious experience with 'djon djon' revealed onlyone species in use. This sample proved to beidentical with another purchased collection,

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10,P.I t

B

c

Micromorphological charactersBasidiospores (Fig 4) 6 - 9 x 4.5 - 5.5 urn; ellipticalto ovoid to subreniform, smooth, hilar appendixmarkedly inconspicuous, wall thick (0.4 [Lm),germ pore at apex circa 1.5 [Lm broad,conspicuous ; cigar brown in KOH. losing allcolour in concentrated sulphuric acid. Basidia20-21 x 9 [Lm, clavate , apices rounded ,tetrasterigmate, smooth, thin-walled, hyaline inKOH. Cheilocystidia 23 - 32 x 9 - 12 [L m,subcylindric to vent ricose t o slightly utriform,apices broadly rounded, smooth, thin-walled,hyaline in KOH, abundant. Pleurocystidia notobserved. Pileipellis (Fig 4) cellular, elementsvesiculose, up to 45 urn in length and diameter,ovoid to ellipsoidal to subglobose, inflated or

Fig 4 Micromorphological features. A Che ilocys ti dia, BBasidiosp ores, C Vesiculose cells of pileip ellis ; note clampconnection.

veil. Lamellae close, indistinctly adnate to almostfree, dark chocolate brown in age with sporematuration. Stipe up to 5.5 em in length and upto 3.5 mm in diameter, whitish to straw-coloured,glabrous, sometimes bearing a thin, membranous,poorly formed annulus (Fig 3).

previously studied and determined by one of usas Psathyrella cf. hymenocephala (Akers andBoncy, 1993). In addition, at least one otherHaitian collection, studied by Richard Homola(pers. comm.) was likewise identified asPsathyrella hymenocephala or a very similarspecies. At a casual glance, its shape, size, andcolour are not inconsistent with Psilocybe butthese features are among the least decisive foridentification. This may suggest that the samplesobtained by Alphonse were not in fact a mixtureof genera, but simply that there was a differenceof opinion about two collections in the samegenus from two different sources. The importantfeatures of our collection rule out Psilocybe andclearly indicate a Psathyrella species , inagreement with the other French report. Thisdetermination is based on the spore colour (ashade of chocolate or cocoa brown), the type ofmicromorphology of the pileus cuticle orpileipellis (vesiculose cells), the non -deliquescingnature of the fruit-bodies (eliminating the genusCoprinu s) and, most conclusively, the fact thatthe spores undergo a total loss of colourationwhen treated with concentrated sulphuric acid.

The correct species name is a matter of lesscertainty. What seems clear is that it is P.hymenocephala (Pk.) Smith, or a species verysimilar thereto. Smith (1972) indicates that P.hymenocephala seems to be at the centre of acomplex of species, each of which differs from itin small ways, diverging radically in differentdirections . In addition, there is the problem inthat many of the Psathyrella species which havebeen described are very poorly known. Thespecies concepts for some are based on isolated,single collections , not always in very goodcondition for study. There are a few well-knownspecies, and then a host of more enigmatic ones.Nevertheless, we believe the Haitian 'djon djon'to be very close to, and perhaps identical with,P. hymenocephala, based on the followingfeatures.

Macromorphological characters of driedbasidiocarpsPileus circa 1-2.5 ern broad . broadly convex toconical to campanulate, cuticle finely atomate,dull ochraceous to dull yellowish brown, deeper atthe disc, with fine radial striations, flesh thin,margin entire to rimose, sometimes bearingappendiculate remnants of a membranous partial

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slightly deflated, smooth, hyaline in KOH. Clampconnections present.

DiscussionBased on the absence of pleurocystidia and thepresence of appendiculate remnants of a thin,membranous partial veil, this species is placed insubgenus Candolleana (Romagnesi) Smith,following Smith's treatment of the genus (1972).It has slightly smaller cheilocystidia than P.hymenocephala, but otherwise matches thedescription of that species rather closely.

It is possible that morphological similaritieswith other species of small dark mushrooms inthe Bolbitiaceae and Coprinaceae mayoccasionally lead to contamination of the driedpreparation. Apart from possible misidenti-fications, this may help explain why researchersin the past have identified members of generasuch as Psilocybe, and Inocybe as well asPsathyrella in similar mixtures (Alphonse 1981:Deveraux 1985; Gelin 1990). It is also possiblethat there are regional and/or seasonal variationsin the components of this mixture with closelyrelated members of the genus Psathyrella beingincluded whenever they are available. SomeHaitian interviewees stated that there wereseveral kinds of edible 'djon djon' that weremixed and used in food. This indication isconsistent with identifications from otherresearchers of genera such as Cantharellus, whichis widely known as a good edible fungus, and sodifferent from Psathyrella morphologically thatthe possibility of confusion between the twocannot be realistically entertained.

Although all of our samples indicated thepresence of only one species, Psathyrella cf.hymenocephala, more extensive studies andcollections of fresh and dried specimens

throughout the nation are needed to further ourunderstanding of fungi used as food in Haiti andtheir taxonomy. Some studies, in addition toresponding to academic questions, might benefitlocal collectors and those who are attempting tocultivate this economically important mushroom.Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that thisfungus, in spite of its economic importance, hasnot been domesticated and is still gatheredexclusively from the wild.

AcknowledgementsThe funds for this research were provided in partby the Center for Environmental Research andConservation, Columbia University, Center forTropical Conservation and Development at theUniversity of Florida and the JulifloraFoundation. We would like to thank Will andValerie McClatchey, Emily Berrouett, Helen andAlexandre Paul, Molly Lorton, Valerie Saintil andDr James Kimbrough for their assistance.

ReferencesAkers, B. P., & Boney, F. (1993) An edible Psathyrella

species from Haiti. Inoculum 44; 24 (Abstract).Alphonse, M. E. (1981) Les champignons comestibles

d'Haiti, Facult.e d' Agronomie et de MedecineVeterinaire, Universite d'Etat d'Haiti, Port-au-Prince,Haiti.

Deveraux, B. (1985) Essai des quelques mediumsfavorables a la culture du 'Djon Djorr'. Faculted'Agronomie et de Medecine Veterinaire, Universited'Etat d'Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Gelin, J. R. (1990) Essai descriptif et systematique sur leschampignons comestibles d'Haiti. Faculted'Agronomie et de Medecine Veterinaire, Universited'Etat d'Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Smith, A. H. (1972) The North American species ofPsathyrella. Memoirs of the New York BotanicalGarden 24: 1-633.

Zanoni, T. A., Hyvert, G., Mejia, M. M. & Laurent, C.(1989) Usos y nombres comunes de plantas en unazona rural de Haiti. Moscosoa 5: 116-133.

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The next issue of the Mycologist will include articles on:

Useful Fungi of the World: Mu- Erh and Silver Ears

Fungi with a sense of time

Polysphondylium aureum, a new Dictyostelid

Termitomyces mushrooms - a tropical delicacy