Mushrooms & Fungi of La Saladita — Guerrero, Pacific Mexico

Almost nothing is documented here — and that matters.

Fungi records for coastal Guerrero are among the most sparse biodiversity data we have on this site. Between iNaturalist and GBIF, fewer than a handful of observations exist within 50 km of La Saladita for the entire period 2000–2025. That is not because fungi are absent — it is because almost no one has looked.

This page exists to publish whatever has been recorded and to invite more observations. The exact count appears below once the live data loads.

No mycological survey of this coastline exists in any major database. Fruiting season peaks Aug–Oct when the rainy season tapering saturates soil and leaf litter. Three microhabitats: tropical dry forest (dead wood after first June rains), mangrove/lagoon edge (wetter year-round, distinct communities), mycorrhizal dry-forest roots (almost entirely undocumented). iNaturalist/GBIF: near-blank slate. Absence of records = absence of observers, not species.

Expected fruiting window

When fungi fruit

Based on tropical dry forest phenology and the regional rainy-season calendar — not from sufficient observational data, which barely exists for this corridor. Peak fruiting is expected August through October. The shoulder months (July and November) are plausible but uncertain.

Jan

—

dry

Feb

—

dry

Mar

—

dry

Apr

—

dry

May

—

dry

Jun

🌧

rains start

Jul

🍄

possible

Aug

🍄

fruiting

Sep

🍄

peak

Oct

🍄

peak

Nov

🍄

late

Dec

—

dry

Expected peak (Sep–Oct)

Likely fruiting (Aug)

Possible / shoulder

Dry season — unlikely

Caveat: this calendar is based on regional climate phenology, not from sufficient local observational records. It reflects what should be true given the seasonal cycle — not what has been confirmed in the data.

Most recorded fungi

Common at Saladita

Fungi (kingdom)Common · Year-round · 53 records
Trametes sanguineaCommon · Year-round · 26 records
Hexagonia hydnoidesCommon · Year-round · 21 records
PolyporaceaeCommon · Year-round · 21 records
AgaricalesCommon · Jul–Sep · 21 records

Frequency from effort-normalized GBIF + iNaturalist (667 records, 220 species, 2000–2025). September fruiting peak is validated as real — not November tourist-effort artifact. Polypore bracket fungi (Trametes, Hexagonia, Ganoderma) are the most reliably recordable group.

Data context

Most species are Rare in the database

25 of 30 documented species have <0.5% of total records and are classified Rare by frequency — not because they are ecologically rare, but because fungi are systematically under-photographed outside peak fruiting windows. The September–October window is when most new species records will be added. Every observation you submit to iNaturalist in rainy season builds the permanent baseline.

Field guide

Photo field guide

Mushrooms you'll encounter

Bracket fungi (year-round on dead wood)

Yesca roja Cinnabar Polypore Pycnoporus sanguineus Bright orange-red, common

Cola de pavo Turkey Tail Trametes versicolor Banded, leathery

Pezuña / Reishi del bosque Artist's Conk Ganoderma applanatum Large flat shelves on trees

Hongo de hendidura Split Gill Schizophyllum commune Tiny, on every dead branch

Lentinus peludo Hairy Lentinus Lentinus crinitus Funnel-shaped, hairy stipe

Trametes sangrante Bleeding Trametes Trametes sanguinea Stains red when cut

Cup fungi & oddities

Copita anaranjada Tropical Orange Cup Cookeina sulcipes Bright orange, on rotting wood

Copita peluda Hairy Cup Fungus Cookeina tricholoma Goblet-shaped, fringed rim

Estrella de tierra Rounded Earthstar Geastrum saccatum Star-shaped opening

Oreja de Judas Wood Ear Auricularia auricula-judae Edible, rubbery, on dead wood

Wet-season agarics (Aug–Oct)

Orejón rosa Pink Oyster Mushroom Pleurotus djamor Edible, fan-shaped

Hongo de paja Paddy Straw Mushroom Volvariella volvacea Edible, on rotting straw

Marasmius rojo Red Marasmius Marasmius haematocephalus Tiny, bell-shaped, parachute

Apagavelas / Barbas de chivo Shaggy Mane Coprinus comatus Edible young; dissolves into ink

Know-before-you-touch

Parasol verde Green-spored Parasol Chlorophyllum molybdites Most-poisoned MX mushroom — looks edible, isn't

Tintero Common Ink Cap Coprinopsis atramentaria Toxic with alcohol (disulfiram-like)

Hongo matamoscas Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria Iconic red-with-white-spots; toxic

Photos via iNaturalist (CC-licensed). The dry forest behind Saladita is mostly bracket-fungus country year-round — turkey tails, split gills, and bleeding polypores on every dead branch. The agarics (true mushrooms) come up Aug–Oct after the rains start. Never eat a wild mushroom from a photo ID alone — Chlorophyllum molybdites is the most-poisoned mushroom in Mexico precisely because it looks like the edible parasols.

Field guide

What has been recorded

Loading documented taxa from iNaturalist and GBIF…

How to contribute

Every observation you submit builds the baseline for this region. Fungi are probably richer here than the data suggests — they just haven't been photographed.

Apps to use:

iNaturalist — submit from anywhere; community ID helps reach species level
Seek — iNaturalist's camera app with live on-device ID

What makes a useful fungi photo:

Cap top (full view, with scale if possible)
Cap underside / gills or pores
Stem — full length, base if visible
Habitat context — what is it growing on? Wood, soil, dung, roots?
Multiple angles in one observation beat a single shot

Best time to look: Late rainy season — September and October. Arroyo margins, fallen logs, and the dry-forest edge just inland from the beach are the most likely microhabitats.

Where to submit: Record location as accurately as possible. GPS accuracy matters for rare-fungi mapping. iNaturalist's research-grade standard requires two agreeing identifications.

Do not eat wild fungi without expert identification

This page does not provide any guidance about edibility. Many mushrooms in tropical dry forest environments are toxic, and misidentification based on visual appearance or photographs alone is dangerous. Never consume any wild mushroom unless a qualified mycologist has made a physical identification. The iNaturalist community can assist with identification — that is not the same as safety verification. There are no safe shortcuts to foraging wild fungi.

Live iNaturalist data

Recent observations

iNaturalist fungi observations within 50 km of La Saladita, from the last 180 days. Because data is extremely sparse, the window is intentionally wide. Most years this widget will show zero or one record.

Loading recent fungi records…

Methodology & sources

iNaturalist: iNaturalist Observations API — taxon_id=47170 (kingdom Fungi), 50 km radius from 17.5897°N, 101.4317°W, quality_grade=research+needs_id. Both research-grade and needs-ID observations are included because research-grade alone is too sparse to be useful.
GBIF: GBIF Occurrence Search API — taxonKey=5 (kingdom Fungi), bounding box 17.14–18.04°N, -101.90–-100.96°W (~50 km rectangular approximation), years 2000–2025, hasCoordinate=true.
Seasonal calendar: Based on tropical dry forest phenology and the regional precipitation cycle for coastal Guerrero, not derived from the observational record (which is too sparse to infer seasonality). The Aug–Oct peak is a climate-based inference, not an empirical finding.
Edibility guidance: None provided, by policy. Fungi identification from photographs alone is unreliable, and this page is not a foraging resource.
Species counts: The climatology artifact is regenerated periodically by running scripts/build_mushroom_climatology.py. The live sightings widget queries iNaturalist in real time on each page load.

Data last refreshed: —

Climatology artifact generated: —

Mushrooms & Fungi
of La Saladita.