Dried Haitian mushrooms purchased
in Flatbush, Feb. 24,
2001.
A species name for djon-djon is
uncertain, although some suggestions as to a match with existing species have
been made by field mycologists who have looked at dried specimens. The
possibilities include Psathyrella cf. hymenocephala, in subgenus Candolleana,
and P. cf./aff. coprinoceps, P. atricastanea and P. subhymenispora, in subgenus
Psathyrella. These identifications have apparently been made without the
benefit of details on macroscopic characteristics of fresh specimens, and
without complete environmental information such as locale, habitat, substrate, growing
season and preferred weather. The type locality for P. hymenocephala, for
example is the Adirondack Mts. in New York State in hardwood debris. It
may be a stretch to assert the same species grows in Haiti on substrate believed
to include debris of plaintain or banana trees, wild citrus and Cecropia (trumpet trees).
While djon-djon are collected and consumed in Haiti,
they also have significant international market distribution. In addition
to the quantities sold by vendors in Flatbush, djon-djon have been reported in
markets in Canada and the West Coast of the United States where there are
Haitian communities. Recipe link no. 3 on the home page of this site
connects with a food site in Italy. Puerto Rican mycologist Ángel M.
Nieves-Rivera, in an article titled, "Origin of Mycophagy in the West
Indies,"* reported djon-djon being sold in markets in Gaudeloupe and
Martinique. And finally, although no wild mushrooms are known to be much
used in Dominican Republic, Dr. Tom Zanoni, a research associate in ethnobotany
at the New York Botanical Garden, wrote in a personal communication that he
recently learned that djon-djon-like mushrooms are collected and used in
cooking in Dominican Republic, especially in Duverge, along the frontier with
Haiti.
The definitive reference for Psathyrella in North America is
Alexander H. Smith's monograph. In the dried djon-djon I have examined,
spores measure 7-8.5 X 4-5.5 µ;
spore surface is smooth. Pleurocystidia are lacking; the pileus is
glabrous. Also, an annulus is lacking, at least on the specimens that I
examined. Recently I isolated dried button-stage specimens from two
different batches which clearly showed appendiculate margins. Finally, a
significant percentage of stems in all batchs contain hardened clumps of the
soil from which they were collected, confirming that djon-djon are
terrestrial. These characteristics generally point in Smith's monograph to
subgenus Candolleana, or to series Atricastaneae of subgenus Psathyrella. Also to subsection
Flocculosae of subgenus Pannucia, but which is ruled out on lack of
well-developed outer or
partial veil.
In subgenus Candolleana, P. hymenocephala seems to be the
best match with the mushrooms I purchased in Flatbush based on spores and
cheilocystidia among other important features. In subgenus
Psathyrella, the choices are P. atricastanea, P. subhyalinispora,
or P. coprinoceps. P. atricastanea and subhyalinispora probably are
ruled out on the basis of spore color in KOH: djon-djon spores are, to my eye,
tobacco brown in KOH, contrary to what they should be (hyaline) to be recognized
as either of these two. P. coprinoceps may exhibit approximately correct
spore color, but certain other characteristics exclude it.
Of the batches of mushrooms that I purchased in Flatbush each contained foreign
matter, including twigs, a wood chip, stones, etc. -- which is typical for
collections of wild mushrooms. In addition, specimens were isolated that
differed in substantial ways from the general run of dried fruiting
bodies. For example, while the djon-djon characteristically lack
pleurocystidia, at least one specimen that I looked at under the microscope
showed abundant pleurocystidia. Another specimen showed longer spores,
and different cheilocystidia than the djon-djon's clavate to utriform
cheilocystidia.
*Inoculum: Newsletter of the Mycological Society of America, vol.
52(2), April 2001.