BULLETIN OF THE PUGET SOUND MYCOLOGICALSOCIETY
Number 334, September 1997
Electronic Edition is published monthly, September through Juneby the
Puget Sound Mycological Society
Center for Urban Horticulture, Box 354115
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
(206) 522-6031
Agnes A. Sieger, Editor
Dick Sieger, HTML Editor
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Tuesday September 9, at 7:30 PM at the Center for UrbanHorticulture, 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle
We are in for a culinary treat! Jerry Traunfeld, award-winningchef of the famous Herbfarmrestaurant, will tantalize us at the September meeting with acouple of new mushroom dishes (something everyone wants) created inhis own inimitable style. Chef Traunfeld has been a featured chefin nearly every major culinary publication and was nominated forthe James Beard Award as “Best American Chef” this year.Simply Seafood Magazine named him “Seafood Chef of theYear.”
Ordinarily, Chef Traunfeld would be creating nine course dinnerson a night like this. But as The Herbfarm rebuilds from a firewhich destroyed the restaurant in January 1997, Chef Traunfeld wasable to come and demonstrate his culinary mastery for us. We aredelighted to welcome him! This is a rare and probably unrepeatableopportunity, so be sure not to miss it!
Along with Chef Traunfeld’s culinary creations, we’llsee this year’s Annual Mushroom Exhibit poster, hear about newplans for the show, and sign up for the different committees. Bringyour taste buds and your calendar!
If your last name begins with the letters M–R, please bringa plate of refreshments for the social hour.
CALENDAR
Sep. 27–28 Field trip
Sep. 30 Basic ID class
Oct. 1 Intermediate ID class
Oct. 7 Basic ID class
Oct. 8 Intermediate ID class
Oct. 11 Field trip
Oct. 14 Membership meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH
Oct. 18–19 Annual Exhibit, CUH
PSMS EXHIBIT Charles Pregaldin
Though summer has only lately arrived in Seattle, judging byweather alone, by the calendar autumn is almost here. Tofungomaniacs, autumn means two things: mushroom season and the PSMSAnnual Exhibit. This year’s exhibit will be October 18 and 19at the Center for Urban Horticulture.
The show, which is not only the biggest event of thesociety’s year but is also the largest wild mushroom exhibitin North America, provides a unique opportunity for both thededicated mycophile and the occasional pot hunter to find in oneplace hundreds of mushroom species, far more than a singleindividual could expect to encounter in many seasons ofhunting—all of them identified and carefully displayed andlabeled. There’s no better way to increase your knowledge ofthe Kingdom Fungi.
It also gives members an opportunity contribute to theclub’s activities, to meet other members, and to explore newareas of interest, such as cultivation or cooking. The show wouldnot be possible without the efforts of the many society members whodo the hundreds of tasks necessary to produce an event of thismagnitude, and most would agree that they have a good time at it.Volunteers are needed for all areas, and volunteering need notentail a large commitment of time or effort. Many people can spareonly a few hours, or even one hour.
The September membership meeting (September 9) will be youropportunity to sign up for whatever committee(s) you’d like tohelp out with. But if you can’t make the meeting, don’tdespair: the committee chairs (see the list below) will be happy tohear from you by phone, letter, fax, e-mail, telegram, messenger,smoke signals, jungle drums, mental telepathy, or any other meansof communication available to you. If you’d like to fill oneof the vacant committee chairs, let me know.
Exhibit Chair, Charles Pregaldin
Arts & Crafts, Cindy Kerr
Black Light
Book Sales, Ron Post
Brochure, Agnes Sieger
Clean-up, Lynn Phillips
Construction, Robert English
Cooking, Patrice Benson
Cultivation, Ed Foy
Decoration
Feel & Smell, Dennis Krabbenhoft
Habitat Display
Hospitality
Identification, Brian Luther
Labelling
Membership, Bernice Velategui
Microscopy, Brandon Matheney
Moss Collection,
Mushroom Collection, Russ Kurtz
Poster Design, Marilyn Droege
Publicity, DV Corey
Receiving, Coleman Leuthy
Parking/Security
Signs, Marilyn Droege
Slide Show, Joy Spurr
T-Shirt Design, Marilyn Droege
Ticket Sales, Lorraine Dod
Tray Arrangement, Marian Maxwell
Tray Transport, Coleman Leuthy
Tray Tours
BOARD NEWS Agnes Sieger
PSMS insurance will be switched from Ohio Casualty to AmericanState. Irwin Kleinman has used some of PSMS reserves to purchase aTreasury Bill for the Society. The 1998 Exhibit will be the weekendof October 10. (This year’s is October 18–19.) Field TripChair Mike Lovelady needs field trip hosts. Marilyn Droege showedsketches of posters for the fall exhibit and was authorized toproceed with production and printing. Dan Cory proposed expandingthe voice mail system, and the board agreed to an indefinite trial.Corey will submit a mail box tree to members for their review overthe summer.
MUSHROOM ID CLASSES Brandon Matheny
Basic Mushroom ID Class
A Basic Mushroom ID Class will be held this fall at the Centerfor Urban Horticulture. This class will introduce participants tothe macromorphological features of gilled and nongilled fungi andwill include information on the ecology of fungi, collecting andcooking edible mushrooms, and recognizing toxic look-alikes.Participation in the PSMS weekend field trips is stronglyrecommended.
Mushrooms Demystified, 2nd Ed., by David Arora is therequired text. The New Savory Wild Mushroom byMcKenny/Stuntz/Ammirati is highly recommended. Both books can bepurchased at the September program with a discount if you are aPSMS member, at commercial bookstores, or at the first classsession.
Cost of the class is $30. Size is limited to 24participants.
Intermediate ID Class
An Intermediate ID Class is scheduled for six sessions at theCenter for Urban Horticulture. This class will emphasize analysisof macro- and micromorphological features to aid in determinationof taxa. Class routine will consist of a lecture for the first hourand lab work in the second hour. Microscope slides, cover slips,and reagents required for determination of specimens will beprovided. Required texts include How to Identify Mushrooms toGenus VI: Modern Genera by Largent and Baroni and How toIdentify Mushrooms to Genus III: Microscopic Features byLargent/Johnson/Watling. Both texts can be purchased at theSeptember program or at the first class session. A few copies areavailable through the PSMS library.
This class costs $35 and is limited to 15 participants.
UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS Mike Lovelady
General Instruction: Unless stated otherwise, the meetingtime at field trips is 9:00 AM at the chosen site. Please bring abasket, knife, wax paper,compass, whistle, water, lunch, and a dish to share if you wish tojoin the potluck. Wear warm clothes. Include rain gear in your caror pack and wear hiking shoes or boots. Feel free to bring yourfriends, family, and sociable dogs.
From 9:00 to 9:30 or 10:00 AM, we check in, have munchies, and talkabout the mushrooms we’ll be searching for and the area aroundthe camp site. We then head out to hunt in small groups.Identification is from noon to 4 PM. Potluck time is between 4 and6 PM, decided on by the participants in the morning. The potlucksare always delicious, a lot of fun, and a great time to catch up onsocializing. We highly recommend them!
The 2-day field trips can be attended one or both days. Meetingtime is 9:00 each morning, with a potluck breakfast on Sunday forinterested parties.
CLASSES AND SEMINARS
Mushroom Class: Susan Libonati-Barnes,“Edible Mushrooms and Their Poisonous Look-Alikes,”Tuesday, October 21, from 7–9 PM at the Burke Museum,University of Washington. $15. For more information or to sign up,call the Burke at 543-5591.
Seminar: Michelle Seidl will run a mushroomseminar for PSMS members at Friday Harbor November 8–10. About$20/day. Look for details in the next Spore Prints.
LIBRARY DONATIONS
Many thanks to the following people, who have generously donatedbooks to the PSMS library: Margaret Holzbauer, for threeboxes of books that belonged to her and Bob Hanna; DennisOliver, for 80 some books; and Fran Ikeda, forFrank’s books.
MAY 31–JUNE 1 FORAY Russ Kurtz
Approximately 25 members assembled at the lodge. HaroldSchnarre, Millie and Irwin Kleinman, and Mike Lovelady were thegracious hosts. Mike repaired the threshold of the lodge.Twenty-two fungi were identified by Harold Schnarre, IrwinKleinman, and Russ Kurtz
The potluck was great as usual. Most everyone found someedibles, either morels or Boletus edulis. There was not agreat abundance of either. A great weekend—beautiful wildflowers and beautiful scenery.
A big thanks to Mike Lovelady for carrying all of the equipmentfor the weekend in his truck.
SEARCH AND RESCUE RECAP Hannah Nadel
Fungifama, South Vancouver Island MycologicalSociety
Mike Doyle of the Search andRescue Society of BC gave a lively and informative presentationon safety in the woods, just in time for our frantic fall forayseason. He stressed that when we go off on a mushroom hunt weshould (1) let someone know where we are going, and (2) be preparedin case we get lost.
Minimum preparedness consists of carrying a big plastic garbagebag, preferably orange or yellow. If you’re lost and thetemperature drops, just punch and stretch a hole for your face onone side of the bag near a bottom corner, then pull it over yourhead and body. In a sitting position you’ll remain remarkablywarm and dry! The bright color helps searchers find you. You shouldalso carry matches or a lighter in a waterproof container. Otheritems include a whistle (three blasts are the universal signal fordistress), a small flashlight, a mylar blanket, and a smallreflective device for signaling during daylight. Water is also agood idea.
To avoid getting lost, turn periodically to see where you havebeen as well as where you are going. Familiarize yourself with yourpath and remember landmarks. If you’re really serious aboutthis, you might want to mark your path with bright flagging tapeand take it down as you retrace your steps. If you own a compass,use it. Did you remember your map? If you do become lost, it may bebest to stay in one spot. This could increase your chance of beingfound sooner.
Mike also informed us a bit on how searches are conducted. Asmuch information as possible is gathered on the missing person(where last seen, personality, physical condition, etc.). Previouscases have provided the search organizations with likely scenariosfor each type of person, so they then set out to search in the mostlikely spots.
The Search and Rescue Society has data on mushroom hunters, someof it not exactly comforting! Lost mushroom hunters are usually ingood physical condition, 65–70% are in good mental condition,50–60% are not adequately equipped, 45–55% are notadequately clothed, and 90% are found within 5 miles of theirlast known position. Apparently, 30–50% move during the night;66% move downhill if they can, and there is a 50% chance ofdetecting them in bad weather (that is, they take cover and arehard to find). That bit about mental condition—is that ageneral condition or after getting lost? Hmmm.
PORCINI MUSHROOM OIL The Duff, Fungus Federation of SantaCruz
About 12 dried pieces of porcini (Boletus edulis)mushrooms
About ½ C hot water
2 C pure olive oil
Rehydrate mushrooms in water until they are soft. Take mushroomsout and pat dry with a paper towel. Put mushrooms with the oil in amicrowaveable dish and warm slightly for 1 or 2 minutes or untiloil feels warm to the touch. Set aside, uncovered, until oil iscool. When completely cooled, cover and allow to steep in a cooldry place for a day or two. Strain out the mushrooms, if you like,before using.
MAY 24–25 FIELD TRIP Sara Clark
We had a good turnout and a great potluck was enjoyed by theeight hardy survivors of the drizzle/sunshine mix. We identified 25species of fungi. Morels were found in the campground, though notvery many in the surrounding areas. We’re hopeful that therains will bring another flush of morels. Brandon Matheny broughtin the first two Boletus edulis of the season, one of whichwent into the potluck.