The interest in mushrooms and fungi in Zaragoza province has various aspects, ranging from gastronomic to recreational.
In the territory there are several associations and specialized centers dedicated to the conservation and dissemination of these species.
Whether from a gastronomic, scientific or recreational point of view, mycological tourism in Zaragoza province has an exceptional canvas. From nature photography to scientific research, Zaragoza is a captivating scenario full ofmycological jewels waiting to be found by good observers. A universe, the mycological, in which its thousands of varieties of mushrooms and fungi are studied for pharmacological purposes (not in vain penicillin, which has saved so many lives, comes from the fungus Penicilinum), perform essential functions within the trophic chain, and are highly prized for lovers of gastronomy. Although it is true that a limited number of mushrooms and fungi are really edible, all of them are worthy of observation and study.
Mycological tourism in Zaragoza province has experienced a resurgence in recent years. “Since the pandemic shut us down, we now appreciate nature tourism more,” explains Jesús Lamata, president of the San Martín de Moncayo Mycological Association. “Every day we notice more and more visitors, not only for mycology, but also for the routes and cycling in general,” he points out. Nature in Zaragoza province is attracting more and more recreational interest, which adds to the scientific and informative interest: enthusiasts come to it both for the search for mushrooms and for hiking, cycling and bird watching; and scientists “come to make studies and photos of plants in Moncayo. Being a natural park has a lot of biodiversity and many aspects to contemplate and have fun,” says Lamata.
Rebellón, robellón, níscalo or mízcalo..
Mushrooms and mushrooms in Zaragoza province
Mycological tourism is growing, both in its gastronomic side as well as the one oriented to the study of mushrooms and fungi, although it is the interest in their culinary qualities that has more acceptance. However, according to Lamata, there are only about fifty edible species that are suitable for commercialization, since “there are other edible species that, due to their similarities with toxic species, are not recommended for commercialization. In bars, restaurants or gourmet stores there are about eight or ten species, at most about fifteen”, he assures.
In Zaragoza province there are associations and spaces, like the Mycological Center San Martín del Moncayo, where the person fond of the mycological universe is taught the fundamental questions to be introduced in this discipline. “We always explain to people the value or environmental functions that fungi fulfill in nature, which is what science studies. Fungi perform functions that are not in any other living thing. From the scientific point of view, they are studied in many fields: in forestry, in pharmaceuticals… in fact, penicillin comes from the fungus Penicillinum. In forestry, they are studied in the sense of how they affect, positively and negatively, the environments in which they are found: forests, agriculture… For example, fungus-related diseases can bring down a harvest. A few years ago, in the parks there was a plague of a mushroom in the poplars, Armillaria mellea, a parasitic fungus that can kill the tree,” explains Jesús Lamata.
A user of the virtual reality glasses of the San Martín del Moncayo Mycological Center.
“Then there is nature photography, which is a very attractive field because of the shapes and colors that mushrooms have: there are umbrella-shaped mushrooms, others shaped like sticks, branches, balls or even spherical,” he points out. “The red mushroom with white dots is the most striking because of its color, but if you look closely, there are mushrooms a little smaller than those that are striking because of their viscosity or the smell they give off,” Lamata explains.
The mushrooms and fungi of Zaragoza province
In Zaragoza province you can find a multitude of species of mushrooms and fungi. Among the most popular is known as níscalo, rebellón, robellón or mízcalo, a mushroom whose name varies from one territory to another. In addition to this, the thistle mushroom “is very well known, very sought after,” he says, or the “macrolepiotes, of which the macrolepiota procera is, for me, the only edible one. There are people who take almost all the macrolepiotas without distinguishing and it is convenient to distinguish the macrolepiota procera, which is edible”, he warns.
In addition, in Zaragoza province there are abundant gray and yellow trumpets, which are of the craterellus family; spring mushrooms such as the perretxico, which is the calocybe gambosa; morels, of the morcella genus, which are spring mushrooms and are difficult to find,” he says. And from the point of view of pharmacological interest, in the region there is also the Lucidon ganoderma, interesting, Lamata explains, for its antioxidant components.
Macrolepiota procera
Associations and specialized centers
In Zaragoza province there are several centers, museums and associations specialized in everything related to mycology. Among them is the Mycological Association San Martín de Moncayo, presided by Jesús Lamata, who manages the Mycological Center San Martín del Moncayo. A space located in the town of San Martín de la Virgen del Moncayo that has both an exhibition area and a virtual trail that visitors can follow with virtual reality glasses, thanks to which “you can walk a twelve-kilometer trail in twelve minutes”, says Lamata. This center, which is open on weekends in spring and autumn, also organizes gastronomic days, which this year have reached their twentieth edition.
Gastronomic days in San Martín de la Virgen del Moncayo.
This town in the Comarca del Moncayo is one of the municipalities where gastronomic tourism occupies a relevant space. Another of them is Isuerre, a town in the region of Cinco Villas that houses a Mycological Museum that uses the latest technologies to explain, in a pleasant and educational way, everything related to the world of mushrooms and fungi. A projection room, informative and informative panels and an interactive panel to differentiate edible mushrooms from poisonous ones are part of the resources available.
Mycological Museum of Isuerre. Photo: www.isuerre.com
As explained on the website of the municipality, visitors who come to the museum can take advantage of the visit to observe the local fauna, as well as the spectacular night skies of Isuerre, ideal for stargazing. The Mycological Museum of Isuerre also organizes mycological days, which are extended to various towns in the Cinco Villas region.
Mycological Days of the Cinco Villas.
In Zaragoza province there are more associations dedicated to the study of fungi and mushrooms, such as the Centro Micológico Cesaraugusta, which dedicates its efforts to channel and promote the interest that exists in the territory for the scientific study of fungi and mushrooms, as well as their medical and gastronomic applications, among others. The Centro Micológico Cesaraugusta has a program of activities until the end of the year throughout the province of Zaragoza.
Calocybe gambosa
Finally, the town of Orcajo, located in the Campo de Daroca, collects a natural singularity that only occurs in this area of the province, and that gives its name to the Mycological Association El Pinsapar de Orcajo. “The name ‘El Pinsapar’ has its origin in the Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo), a rare species whose main habitat is the Moroccan Rif, having been reduced in the Iberian Peninsula to the mountains of Grazalema and Ronda. In our town is developed from a repopulation carried out in the early twentieth century, but it is the case that their adaptation is such that has the best development of pinsapo forest throughout the peninsula,” they explain on the website of the association. A group that was born with the aim of “the conservation of nature, to achieve a sustainable mycological practice and appropriate to the environmental needs of our environment,” they say.
Morcellas
This association also organizes conferences, such as those hosted by other towns in Zaragoza province as Pomer, in the Comarca del Aranda, which this November has celebrated its 21st edition of its Mycological Days of Pomer.
An application for mycology lovers
As a result of this interest and mycological richness of Aragon, MicoAragón was born three years ago, a platform aimed at collectors and mycotourists in which the Mycological Parks of Zaragoza province are integrated. Within the project is the Interfungi application, aimed at any type of public interested in mycology that wants to contribute to the knowledge and orderly management of the mycological resource of Aragon. The operation of the application is very simple and is based on providing observations on the fruiting of the main edible wild mushrooms collected by amateurs and mycotourists in Aragon.
