BULLETIN OF THE PUGET SOUND MYCOLOGICALSOCIETY
Number 350, March 1999
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
This month is the Annual Meeting and Survivors’ Banquet,held Saturday, March 13. Directions are in the printed edition ofthe February Spore Prints. See you there!
CALENDAR
March 13 Survivors’ Banquet and Annual Meeting
March 15 Board meeting
March 19 Spore Prints deadline (a week early)
April 10 Field trip
May 22–23 Spring Foray—reserve this date
BOARD NEWS Agnes Sieger
Doug Ward reported that he had inventoried the field-tripequipment; he donated a camp stove and purchased needed items.Irwin Kleinman is drawing up the spring field trip schedule. Atleast some field trips will be on Sundays instead of Saturday.We’re hoping to get a field trip to Paul Stamets’
THE EARLY MOREL Agnes Sieger
On March 30, we will hold our annual pilgrimage to pay tributeto the first mushrooms of the spring season, Verpa(Ptychoverpa) bohemica. Often called the early morelbecause of its timing and superficial resemblance to the truemorels, Verpa bohemica fruits from late February throughApril, depending on the season. In the Pacific Northwest, it isassociated with cottonwoods, oftenfruiting right around the drip line of mature trees “when thecottonwood leaves are the size of a mouse’s ear.” Onceyou learn to recognize the cottonwood, a tall, dark, poplar-liketree with wrinkled bark that grows in damp river bottoms throughoutwestern Washington, you can spot your hunting ground from afar.Finding your quarry amid the debris of the previous fall, however,isn’t that easy.
Verpa bohemica is a medium-sized (3–8 in. tall),tanish mushroom with a wrinkled, bell-shaped cap which is attachedonly at the top, forming a skirt over the stem. The stem is long,at first whitish to cream in color and becoming tan with age, andfilled with cottony fibers.
In contrast, true morels have pitted, not wrinkled, caps thatare attached to the stems at the bottom (or in some cases part wayup); their stems, while hollow, are empty.
Unlike other verpas, and most large ascomycetes, Verpabohemica has only two spores per ascus instead of eight. For that reason, modern taxonomistshave split it into its own genus, Ptychoverpa. What eachascus lacks in numbers, however, it makes up for in size; thespores are huge.
Although considered a good edible by many, this mushroom causesgastrointestinal upsets and loss of muscular coordination in somepeople and should be approached with caution. Many field guidesrecommend parboiling it and throwing away the water and eating onlysmall amounts at a time. The effects may be cumulative, sodon’t pig out on it several days in a row, even if it is theonly edible mushroom out at the time.
SPRING FIELD TRIPS
Our first field trip is a half-day excursion on Saturday, April10, to look for Verpa bohemica. The schedule for the rest ofthe spring field trips will be in the April SporePrints.
General Instructions:
The meeting time at field trips is 9:00 AM at the chosen site.Please bring a basket, knife, wax paper, compass, whistle, water,lunch, and a dish to share if you wish to join the potluck. Wearwarm clothes. Include rain gear in your car or pack and wear hikingshoes or boots. Feel free to bring your friends, family, and
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, as decided on by the participants in the morning. Thepotlucks are always delicious, fun, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
PSMS FIELD TRIP HOSTING—A CALL FOR YOUR HELP! Brian Luther
Here’s a great opportunity for everyone, no matter if a newmember or old, to get involved and really help where help isneeded. If you’ve always wanted to do something to contributeto PSMS, but didn’t really know how to get involved, this isyour chance! This is a call for your help, only this yearthere’s a new twist and benefit to hosting. Read on fordetails!
Field trip hosting is not only a strong tradition with PSMS, buta really important part of a smooth and organized outing, andit’s a rewarding experience to get involved in. The lastcouple years we’ve had trouble finding people willing tovolunteer as hosts, but I’m convinced that there’s a lotof you out there (out of hundreds of members) who are just waitingfor a way to help. No special experience is needed, just thewillingness to lend a hand and meet a lot of great people as well.Also, there’s no reason that hosting responsibilitiescan’t be shared or divided between two or more separatevolunteers, for example, one group picking up the supplies and adifferent group taking them back at the same field trip.
As hosts you need to pick up the field trip supplies in your caror truck, which can be several boxes of stuff (coffee pots, Colemanstove, picnic supplies, maps, etc.) but is not overwhelming. Thentake it to the field trip site as early as possible, set everythingup, and serve as a greeter, making everybody feel good thatthey’ve come to the right place. Coffee will need to be made,and maybe a jug or two of OJ or some other kind of juice broughtas well as some continental breakfast type goodies, allowing for atleast 40 people. You will be reimbursed for any money you spend onfood or necessary supplies. I’m going to make some new sign-upsheets which can be left on a table for people to fill out whenthey arrive.
All field trip locations will have picnic tables at a minimum,and normally a nice shelter as well. Having everything set up onthe tables by 9:00 in the morning or earlier would be great,because people start to pour into the field trips right about thattime. Normally an identifier or two are already at the site and aresetting up nearby; also sometimes people camp the night before, soyou’ll have plenty of help to unpack in the morning and packthe supplies back up in the evening after potluck dinner. Ifit’s a two-day field trip, then most everything can just beleft out overnight in the shelter. Field trips are a great way tomeet people and definitely the best way to learn about mushroomsfirst hand, and, of course, the big potluck at the end of the daybeckons one and all and makes for a terrific social time.
The good news this year is that someone has decided to donate$10 of gas money to each field-trip host (one gift per field trip,which can be divided if more than one host shares the burden) forthe entire spring field-trip season, as a pilot program andincentive. Wow, what a deal! This is purely a private gift from aconcerned member and does not come out of the PSMS budget. Pleasecall me or send me an e-mail to volunteer for field trip hosting.Let’s get involved in our great mushroom club and have a goodtime as well. So, what do you say?
How about scheduling? Well, the complete spring PSMS field tripschedule is not ready yet, but you’ll be able to select fromfield trips in April, May, and possibly into June (depending onthis year’s conditions). Also, we’ll work on having thefield trip supplies in one central location (CUH most likely) forpickup and return.
Please call me and I can at least get your name on theLet’s Go Hosting and Have Fun List. Thank you!
CULTIVATION GROUP Ed Foy
The Cultivation Group will meet again at noon on Sunday, March7. We will inoculate pasteurized straw with both grain and sawdustspawn of Hypsizygusulmarius purchased from Fungi Perfecti. See the printededition of Spore Prints for registration information if youwish to participate. Space is limited, and a donation of $5.00 isrequested to help defray costs. The group welcomes members who wishto exchange information and learn how to grow gourmet mushrooms athome.
DERIVATION OF FUNGUS NAMES Spores Afield, ColoradoMycological Society
Agaric: from Latin “Agaricum” andthe Greek “Agarikon,” called after Agaria, a town inSarmatia where it grew abundantly.
Fungus: from the Latin “fungus,” acognate or derivative of the Greek “sphoggos” (sponge).The Romans used the term for certain varieties only, not for fungias a whole.
Morel: from a Teutonic word represented by OldHigh German “morhila,” from which the modern German“morchel” is derived.
Mushroom: various hypotheses as to itsderivation. (1) from French “mousseron,” generallyconsidered to be from “mousse” (moss) because the speciesgrows in moss or short grass, or is soft. (2) from acombination of the Welsh/Old British “maes” (a field) and“rhum” (a thing that bulges out). (3) from theFrench “mousche” (from the Latin “musca”), afly.
Puffball: a corruption of “puck” or“pouk”ball; “puck” is of Celtic origin andmeans elf, hobgoblin, or demon.
Toadstool: various hypotheses. (1) toad andstool. From the animal. Toads were regarded as poisonous. From theAnglo Saxon. Stool from its shape. (2) from the Icelandic“tad” (dung). This is Webster’s derivation.(3) from the Norse “tutna” (to swell or be blownup). (4) from Saxon “tod,” meaning bunch, cluster orbush. Stool from its shape.
MYCORRHIZA CONFERENCE Steve Trudell
condensed by Susan Goldhor from the Fall 1998 issue of Mushroom,The Journal of Wild Mushrooming (via the Boston Myco. ClubBulletin, December 1998)
The Second International Conference on Mycorrhiza was held in Swedenin July 1998. Steve perceived five main themes at the conference:(1) interactions of mycorrhizal fungi with organisms other thantheir partner plants, (2) practical applications of mycorrhizae forhuman benefit, (3) ecological community studies, (4) effects ofhuman disturbance and global change on mycorrhizal associations,and (5) biochemistry and subcellular structure and function. Thefirst four of these themes are summarized in the followingparagraphs
Interactions of Mycorrhizal Fungi with OtherOrganisms
Mycorrhizal fungi are important components of ecosystems andinteract with a broad array of organisms besides their plantpartners (of which each fungus may have several). A large number ofpresentations dealt with mycorrhiza/bacteria interactions. In somesituations, helper bacteria may facilitate or even be necessary forthe formation of mycorrhiza; in others, the presence of mycorrhizalfungi promotes the growth of bacteria. Fruiting bodies ofchanterelles and truffles contain millions of bacteria, and it maybe that substances produced by these bacteria are responsible forthe resistance to rotting that these fungi show. Anotherinteresting mycorrhizal-bacterial topic is the complex interactionsbetween mycorrhizae and nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Practical Applications of Mycorrhizae for HumanBenefit
Humans have an infinite capacity for assuming that the naturalworld is there to serve them. Among our species’ schemes formycorrhizae are using them in less developed nations as a means ofenhancing the growth of agricultural crops without the use ofcostly and energy-intensive fertilizers and pesticides, and usingthem to restore land degraded by human activities such as logging,mining, and industrial pollution. (Many mycorrhizal fungi canprotect plants from the toxic effects of metals in soil and may beable to break down polluting organic compounds.) And, of course,growing mycorrhizal fungi as crops.
Ecological Community Studies
The same DNA techniques that help catch criminals have allowed theidentification of the mycorrhizal fungi on plant root specimens,which has allowed workers to study the diversity of fungi indifferent communities. It seems that communities of mycorrhizalfungi are highly diverse (contain many species), but often theabundant fruiters within that community make up only a smallproportion of the below-ground fungus populations. This indicatesthat, in most cases, collecting ectomycorrhizal mushrooms does notgive an accurate indication of the mycorrhizal picture belowground.
Effects of Human Disturbance and Global Change
Steve says here, “To me, there are two clear results fromthese studies. First, continued application of nitrogen fertilizersreduces the abundance and diversity of mycorrhiza. This suggeststhat the amounts of fertilizer being applied in many areas need tobe reduced if we want to retain or regain the many benefits of themycorrhizal community. Second, mycorrhizal fungi vary widely in howthey respond to human and natural disturbance. This tells us thatwe have to figure out which fungi are in an area before we canpredict the outcome of a particular type of disturbance. Allmycorrhizal fungi definitely are not the same!”
Abstracts of talks and posters will be available at the ICoM-2web site http://www-icom2.slu.se/ fora year, so log on and learn!
GRACE BEFORE A MUSHROOM FEAST Frances Heard
Spores and Stipes, North Idaho Myco. Assoc.
We thank Thee, Lord, for recent rain,
That made our mushrooms grow again.
Forgive the callused folks who pray
For sunshine each and every day.
Protect the heedless soul who eats
Muscaria or red boletes.
And make us mindful that we need
Avoid the deadly sin of greed.
Amen