Agnes A. Sieger, Editor
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Joanne Young
PSMS would like to thank the Nature Conservancyfor lending us the digital projector used to show Dr. BryceKendrick's CD-ROM at April's monthly meeting. To see more of Dr.Kendrick's photos, go to "The Fifth Kingdom" on-line at http://www.pacificcoast.net/~mycolog/fifthtoc.html.
We have a new vice-president/program chair. Heis someone well known to you and vastly overqualified. Find out whoat the next meeting.
It is almost certain that the Annual Exhibitwill be held this year at Sand Point, in the Brig! Dates areOctober 14 and 15. The great news is that Ron Post and Ben Woo willco-chair. Ben Woo is a founding member of PSMS and its firstpresident. An architect, now retired, Ben has chaired at least tenAnnual Exhibits for PSMS. We are fortunate to have Ben and Ron backagain, especially with the interesting challenges of a newlocation!
CALENDAR
May 6 field trip
May 9 Membership meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH
May 12_14 PSMS/Key Council/USFS mushroomsurvey
May 13_14 field trip
May 15 Board meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH BoardRoom
May 20_21 field trip
May 23 Cultivation meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH BoardRoom
May 26 Spore Prints deadline
May 27_28 field trip
June 3 field trip
BOARD NEWS Agnes Sieger
Jim Berlstein presented information on theBreitenbush 2000 Conference scheduled for October 26_29. He hopesthe conference will be a good mix of science and general interest.Every effort is being made to keep the cost below $250.
Education Chair Colin Meyer is planning classesfor summer and fall. We still needs hosts for the American Riverand Bridge Creek field trips. Colin and Corey have updated the Website and deleted obsolete information. They need a volunteer toredesign the graphics. A rough draft of the PSMS membership rosterwas passed around for perusal.
Ron Post has agreed to co-chair the AnnualExhibit with Ben Woo. The Exhibit will be held at Sand Point onOctober 14_15. Lynn Phillips, Patrice Benson, and Colin Meyer willprepare a preliminary PSMS budget. Sites were discussed for a fallforay. The summer picnic will be Sunday, July 23, at Shelter 5 inSeward Park. Mary Lynch has offered to chair a ConservationCommittee.
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Tuesday, May 9, at 7:30 pm at the Center forUrban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle
A farewell program will be given by two valuedPSMS members, Jim Berlstein and Dr. Denis Benjamin, whounfortunately will soon be moving on to other climes.
Jim Berlstein will move to Berkshire County inwestern Massachusetts this summer to begin teaching, havingrecently received his teaching certificate after studying atSeattle Pacific University. Jim will show his beautiful mushroomphotos, one of which you will recognize as the model for the 1999exhibit poster. He showed his photos at the exhibit slide showswhen few of us were free to attend. He has been our programstand-in for two years, ready to fill in on short notice if one ofour scheduled speakers was unable to appear.
Denis Benjamin is leaving for Ft. Worth, Texas,to become Director of Laboratories at Cook Children's Hospital,after holding the same position at Seattle's Children's Hospitaland Medical Center for 26 years. He wrote Mushrooms: Poisons andPanaceas, a treasure filled with mycological history, science,and anecdotes. Denis is a popular Northwest storyteller and givescooking demonstrations at the Herbfarm. Two great treats. Be surenot to miss them!
Would members whose last names begin with theletters P_T please bring a plate of refreshments for the socialhour?
Mushroom Growers Travel Opportunity
Joanne Young
Several weeks ago PSMS was contacted by aninternational private voluntary organization funded by the U.S.Agency for International Development. ACDI/VOCA, or AgriculturalCooperative Development International/Volunteers OverseasCooperative Assistance Program, is looking for volunteers forseveral mushroom cultivation projects in Russia.
Many of VOCA's projects are volunteer, wherethey recruit qualified personnel who donate their time and travelabroad for 2_3 weeks at a time to assist in a number of technicalcapacities. The assignments are completely voluntary. VOCA doescover all expenses, including airfare, hotel, drivers, translators,etc., plus a daily per diem for meals and incidental expenses.
Currently, their Russia program is experiencinga large number of requests for mushroom specialists in a number oftechnical areas, including production, compost preparation, tunnelconstruction, etc.
If you have technical expertise to share andthis sounds intriguing, please feel free to contact Kirill Reznikat the e-mail address or phone number below.
Kirill Reznik, Project Coordinator, ACDI/VOCA
50 F Street, NW, Suite 1075
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 383-4987, (202) 783-7204-fax
KReznik@acdivoca.org
Details of some of their current projects willsoon be posted on the PSMS members e-mail news list that Colin Meyeris setting up.
WANTED: Website Graphic Designer
Do you have an eye for style? D.V. Corey andColin Meyer have been organizing and updating the information onthe / website for awhile and would like a hand coming up with acool design. If you feel you qualify, please e-mail Colin at
Cultivation Group Meeting Colin Meyer
Cultivating mushrooms is a fun activity andpopular among PSMS members. In the recent past, the cultivationgroup has been very informal, and the general membership has notalways been informed of the meetings. In addition, our residentcultivator has moved away from the area and can no longer performregular workshops.
It is time that PSMS had a formal CultivationGroup, with pre-announced meetings and activities, that all membersare welcome to attend. For anyone interested in helping out withthis group, please attend the organizational meeting at the CUHBoard Room, May 23 from 7:30_8:30 PM. Cultivation expertise is notnecessary.
For more information, please contact me at
[Ed. Note: Please check with Colin or the PSMS Web site to confirm the time andplace.]
NEW FEDERAL FOREST PRODUCTS LAW
Mycological Society of San Francisco messageboard
A last-minute rider regulating non-timberproducts on national forest land was attached to a federal budgetbill, HR3194, that has already been signed into law. The basic ideais that every district in every national forest will be required tocharge money for the collection of any non-timber forest product,and that the fees gathered must be sufficient to support the permitprogram within the individual district. Before you panic, however,note section (e)(1):
(e) WAIVER AUTHORITY
(1) PERSONAL USE - The Secretary of Agricultureshall establish a personal use harvest level for each forestbotanical product, and the harvest of a forest botanical productbelow that level by a person for personal use shall not be subjectto charges and fees under subsections (b) and (c).
(2) OTHER EXCEPTIONS - The Secretary may alsowaiver the application of subsection (b) or (c) pursuant to suchregulations as the Secretary may prescribe.
The full text of the rider can be found on thePSMS Web site
(/).
Fungi and biological control of animalparasites Anders Tunlid et al., via Fungifama,
So. Vancouver Island. Myco. Soc., April2000
Nematode worms are a large problem in animalproduction all over the world. Often the worms live in the animal'sgut and cause disorders such as diarrhea, with resulting weightloss and consequent economic loss. At present nematodeinfections are controlled largely with the use of anthelminthicssuch as ivermectin, which are given to animals as a curativetreatment. However, the frequent use of anthelminthics causes theparasites to develop resistance to the drugs, and there isincreasing public concern about chemical residues in animalproducts and in the environment.
One approach to developing alternative controlstrategies is biological control using natural enemies ofnematodes. One group of such enemies is nematophagous fungi. Duringthe past few years, Professor Peter Nansen and colleagues at theCenter for Experimental Parasitology in Copenhagen havedemonstrated that such fungi can be used to control parasiticnematodes found in the gastrointestinal tracts of cattle andhorses. Many of these nematodes have a life cycle with stagesliving inside the host and other stages living outside the host inthe dung and surrounding grass.
Control using nematode-trapping fungi,particularly Duddingtonia flagrans, is achieved by feedingthe animals chlamydospores of the fungus. Some of the sporessurvive passage through the digestive system and are deposited inthe animals' feces. The fungus germinates and forms traps that caninfect and kill free-living stages of parasitic nematodes.
Camp Long, March 25 Mike Lovelady
It was a nice day for a field trip. The sun wasout, birds were singing, and the feeling of spring was in the air.A group of
twenty or so showed up. We drank coffee, atedonuts, and socialized for a while. Then we walked to an oldcottonwood tree. I gave advice on how to find, identify, andcollect Verpa bohemica, with a warning about the possibilityof gastrointestinal upset and/or loss of muscular coordination. Thefield trip was a success. We found a dozen or so Verpas. The kidshad fun finding the slime gelatin globs of salamander eggs that arealways plentiful in the Camp Long pond at this time of year. One byone we went our ways.
MacDonald State Park, April 2 BrianLuther
Fortunately we had good weather for thistraditional half-day trip to the cottonwoods in Carnation. I gavean introduction to Verpas, including the usual cautions aboutedibility, and Patrice Benson demonstrated correct collectingmethods. Maybe 20 or so people showed up, but only a few saw thesign-in sheet, so the actual number is unclear. Everybody seemedglad to be out for a brief time to bond with nature, and mosteveryone found at least a few Verpas, etc.
Special thanks to our guides for the day,including Patrice Benson, Mike Lovelady, and Steven Bell. We got asurprise visit from Dick Sieger, who had just gotten back from amonth-long trip with Agnes to Europe. We didn't recognize him atfirst, because he was dressed like a downtown banker and lookedrelaxed and tanned. He recounted some of their favorite places anddining experiences. Perhaps we can get Dick and Agnes to puttogether a slide program of their European adventures sometime?
Twenty-three species of fungi were collected anddisplayed, including 10 gilled mushrooms, 6 polypores, and 7Ascomycetes. A couple of the beautiful Scarlet Cups (Sarcoscyphacoccinea) were found, and the surprise of the day was anunusual spring fruiting of the Gilled Bolete (Phylloporusrhodoxanthus).
Special thanks to Mike Lovelady for bringing thecoffee and to the other trip leaders for contributing goodies.
A NOSE FOR FUNGI Mycolog
Humboldt Bay Myco. Soc., Jan. 2000, via Fungifama,
South Vancouver Island Myco. Soc., March 2000
A two-yearstudy by the Mayo Clinic of 210 sinusitis sufferers found thatmore than 90% of the cases were caused by an immune system responseto a common fungus, AspergillusThe researchers attributed the discovery to improved techniques fortesting for fungus in mucus samples. Aspergillus is amicroscopic Ascomycete closely related to Penicillium.
HAMBURGER STROGANOFF WITH MORELS
Hope's Mushroom Cookbook, by Hope Miller
1 garlic clove, minced
2/3 cup chopped onions
2 Tbl margarine
1 lb extra lean ground beef
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Morels (up to 1 cup fresh
or 1/4 cup dried andreconstituted)
Butter or margarine
Sauté garlic and onion in margarine untiltender. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Add sour cream andmushroom soup. Simmer until hot. Add morels to mixture; simmer afew minutes more. Serve over noodles.
The FOWM Chanterelle Taste-Off
David Pilz, October 23, 1999
via Fungfama, So. Vancouver Island Myco. Soc., April2000
Introduction and Methods: At this year'sForay of Western (professional) Mycologists (FOWM), we had anopportunity to test chanterelle taste preferences. Prior to theFOWM our Oregon weather had been dismally dry for over three weeks.Nevertheless the FOWM, participants succeeded in finding threespecies of chanterelles: C. formosus,C. subalbidus, and what we are presuming wasC. cibarius v. roseocanus from Engelmann spruce forestsat higher elevations. The dryness of all specimens eliminated watercontent as a complicating factor in comparisons of taste.
All three collections were chopped into piecesof about 1 cm cubed or less and sautéed in copiousquantities of olive oil with a pinch of salt. The cook did his bestto standardize ingredients, heat, and cooking time. All threebatches were cooked in iron skillets and placed side by side on adish. The three species of chanterelles were labeled with a circle,a square, and a
triangle to avoid prejudicing tasters with rankssuch as A, B, C or 1, 2, 3.
Tasters were then asked to rank the threeentries according to preference. Ties were allowed and commentsencouraged. Symbols were tallied by ranks and then the counts byrank were multiplied by the following preference weights: favoritepreference = 3; second favorite preference = 2; least favoritepreference = 1.
Results: And the winnerwas—Cantharellus subalbidus [the circle]: rank 1= 11, rank 2 = 5, rank 3 = 6. Score: (3´11) + (2´5) +(6´1) = 49. The close second was Cantharellus cibarius v.roseocanus [the square]: rank 1 = 8, rank 2 = 9, rank 3 = 5.Score: (3´8) + (2´9) + (1´5) = 47. And our poorlittle loser was Cantharellus formosus [thetriangle]: rank 1 = 3, rank 2 = 10, rank 3 = 9. Score: (3´3)+ (2´10) + (1´9) = 38.
Methodological critiques: The trial hadno replication or blocking. Sample sizes were limited anddisappeared quickly. Chunk size may have influenced how much of theolive oil was absorbed and how crispy the piece became (butsamplers either choose pieces randomly or some intentionallycontrolled for uniform chunk size).
The value weights applied to the ranksconstitute an arbitrary scale, The distance between ranks 1 & 2may be greater than between 2 & 3. Future trials might betteruse a scale of 1_10 in addition to ranking .
The types and quantities of wine previouslyconsumed may have affected the taste resolution and biases ofsamplers. Some samplers associated the symbols used to label thespecimens with certain flavor qualities, hence negating the attemptto assign valueless labels for blind testing. `The circle implies asmooth rounded quality," one sampler described at length with manyhand gestures. (Sorry, I didn't note what type of wine thisindividual was drinking.)
Interesting observations: Almost everyonecommented that they were surprised that they really coulddistinguish differences in taste when sampled side by side. (Thesequence of tasting was not standardized.)
Even though most liked C. formosusthe least, some liked it the best, describing it as having a "nuttyflavor' they preferred. An individual from Denmark and another fromthe Netherlands both commented that the "square" (C. cibariusv. roseocanus) tasted most similar to C. cibariusfrom Europe. All agreed the "experiment was a smashingly goodidea," and enjoyed the comparisons.
Acknowledgments: My thanks to Larry Evansand Eric Danell for the taste test idea and to the many individualswho disagreed about chanterelle flavors for motivation to conductthe test.
