Agnes A. Sieger, Editor
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Joanne Young
Impossible as it seems, summer is almost here. Spring has been beautiful, and given us some spectacular days for mushroom collecting. Thanks to Brian Luther, Mike Lovelady, DV Corey, Colin Meyer, and all the other field trip hosts and identifiers who worked to make the spring field trips so enjoyable.
The fungal survey at Lake Wenatchee May 12_14 was a great success. Amateur and professional mycologists from PSMS and the Pacific Northwest Key Council, along with Forest Service botanists, joined forces for a weekend of collecting and DOCUMENTIng fungal species. Ten species on the NW Forest Plan Survey and Management "rare" list were collected along with dozens of other spring species, adding considerably to what is known about regional diversity. It was an extremely enjoyable and fascinating weekend for everyone involved. We thank Forest Ranger Mick Mueller for his vision in planning this fine example of public/private cooperation. He hopes to expand the project with a additional survey this fall.
Congratulations to Colin Meyer, PSMS Education Chair, for being selected to join the Pacific Northwest Key Council! Colin was nominated and approved as a new member of Key Council at the PSMS/Key Council survey at Lake Wenatchee.
The new membership roster is now at the printer and will be ready for the June meeting. Many thanks to Jean Chin for all her hard work designing the roster, and putting up with endless updates and amendments.
It wasn't magic that made refreshments appear at the end of our meetings, it was Magda & Marsi DiGiovanni! For four years, the DiGiovannis have been quietly taking care of all the beverages and snacks we enjoy at our meetings. Now they wish to retire. Thank you, Magda and Marsi, for taking care of us for so long, and for being so generous and reliable!
We need a new person or couple to take care of goodies at the monthly meetings! This means coming a little early to meetings, making punch, or other beverage, setting out the plates of refreshments that members have prepared, and keeping stock of supplies. PSMS reimburses for all expenses. Call Joanne.
June 13 will be our last monthly membership
meeting for this season. Mid July, Francis Ikeda is planning a PSMS
picnic, and then we'll meet next in September. Until then, have a
wonderful
summer!
CALENDAR
June 13 Membership meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH
June 19 Board meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH
July 23 Picnic, Seward Park, shelter #5, 1:00 PM
August 14 Board meeting, 7:30 PM, CUH
August 25 Spore Prints deadline
September 12 Membership meeting
BOARD NEWS Agnes Sieger
The total income for the annual banquet was $2050; the expenses were $2025. Education Chair Colin Meyer is reserving classrooms and contacting teachers for fall ID classes. Both the Swauk Creek and Bullfrog Flats field trips were well attended. Corey has been cleaning up and organizing the web site. The joint PSMS/Key Council/Forest Service survey was a great success. The Forest Service is very pleased and would like to do another in the fall. The roster is ready to be printed and mailed. A motion was passed to increase admission to the annual exhibit from $5 to $7 for general admission and from $2 to $5 for students/seniors; children under 12 continue to be admitted free. The potluck summer picnic will be Sunday, July 23, at Seward Park Site No. 5. Karen Mendell has booked the Kiwanis camp on Lake Quinault for a fall foray and is working on finding speakers, a mycologist, cooks, etc. A motion was passed to set up a $2000 grant for a deserving mycology student; another motion was passed to award $1000 of the grant to graduate student Brandon Matheny to attend the NAMA Foray and for other mycological-related expenses to be used during this calendar year. .A group called Friends of Seward Park is starting a survey of botanical species in the park, but they would also like to survey fungal species and need knowledgeable volunteers. Ramona Owen will do the June Spore Prints mailing, as Doug Ward will be out of town. Doug will also be relinquishing management of the membership data base after January 1.
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Tuesday, June 13, at 7:30 PM at the Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle
For our June program, long-time PSMS member Coleman Leuthy will introduce Aphyllophorales, the order that includes tasty chanterelles, beautiful annual tube fungi like the yellow-orange Laetiporus sulphureus, and handsome perennial conks that grace our ancient forests.
A retired chemistry teacher, Coleman is a past president of PSMS, was a student of Dr. Stuntz, and has long tenure in The Mountaineers. In addition to being a expert botanist and amateur mycologist, he's been a climber, skier, and hiker. He is a skilled photographer and has entertained and enlightened us with mushroom, flower, and travel slides. He hosts mushroom and wildflower classes for The Mountaineers naturalists at his cabin near Leavenworth, and is the author of the Lactarius key for the Pacific Northwest Key Council. Since his retirement, he has traveled widely to out-of-the-way places, photographing mushrooms and flowers.
Would members whose last names begin with the letters U_Z, please bring a plate of refreshments for the social hour?
Tall Timbers Survey Patrice Benson
On May 12-14, 2000, 45 volunteers from the Pacific Northwest Key Council and PSMS joined forest service botanists, foresters, and friends at Tall Timbers Ranch near Lake Wenatchee to participate in the second survey of forest managed by the Wenatchee Ranger District. The purpose of the survey was to define fungi and their habitats in different parts of the district to aid foresters in managing public lands.
Under the direction of Mick Mueller, ranger and forest botanist with the Wenatchee Ranger District, we found at least 10 examples of different fungi that were on the Forest Service "rare" list. Fungi on this list need to be protected, and the areas where these fungi are located are managed prudently, much like spotted owl habitats. These specimens are documented and preserved in the Wenatchee herbarium under the direction of Mick. In addition to the 10 rare species, we documented over 100 species of other fungi We also enjoyed participating in identification, good meals, and lots of mushroomer camaraderie.
Evening activities included a slide show Friday night of fungi and plants expected in the area, and a wonderful talk and slide show Saturday night by Brian Luther. His subject material included the history of Leavenworth, mycologists of the Pacific Northwest, fungi, postcards relevant to the subjects presented, cultivation of rare poppies, and a trailer fire (did I forget anything?), The weather was beautiful, the cell phones didn't work, and at one time 13 people were crowded into the Sieger camper (not a huge space), as I was cooking morels.
Another tool new to mushroom hunting is the GPS, or Global positioning System. We used these devices to mark exact locations of fungi sites as well as a means of staying found. Also present at the ranch the same weekend were members of the Northwest Mushroomers from the Bellingham area for their annual Morel Madness weekend. All in all, 75 mushroom lovers were collecting; and those were just the ones officially registered at Tall Timbers.
We felt good about having fun and helping all at the same time. A word to the wise: VOLUNTEER!
PSMS SUMMER PICNIC Fran Ikeda
When: 1:00 PM, Sunday, July 23
Where: Seward Park Shelter #5
Directions: Go to the west side of Mercer Island and swim across the lake or, from Seattle, take I-5 to I-90, get off at exit 3 (west side of Lake Washington), go south on Rainier Ave S. about 3 miles, and take a left onto S. Orcas St., heading east. South Orcas Street ends at Seward Park after intersecting Lake Washington Blvd. S. Once in the park, proceed up the hill to the first parking lot on the right. Shelter #5 is nearby. (PSMS signs will, I hope, lead the way once you are in the park.)
Food: Please bring a potluck salad, side dish, or dessert to share. Bring your own meat to barbecue, buns, sauces, eating utensils, and sunscreen (hopefully). Drinks, plates, cups, and charcoal will be provided by PSMS.
Facilities: Shelter, tables, grills, restrooms, kids' playground, tennis courts.
Activities: Walks through or around Seward Park, swimming, Frisbee catching, kite flying, boating (a public boat ramp is nearby), bicycling, mushroom hunting (no guarantees).
29 Pines Field Trip Brian Luther
If you missed this field trip up the Teanaway Valley on May 20, you really lost out, because everybody found morels. Not everyone can boast of an overflowing collecting basket, but anyone who knows Mike Lovelady sort of expects it by now. He definitely set an example for others to strive for.
Thirty-eight people signed in, and because of Harold Schnarre and Mike Lovelady's hosting, everyone felt welcome; their
efforts were appreciated by all who attended. This field trip site has no shelter, and so we were lucky it was warm weather, although overcast. But sometime later in the afternoon we did get a slight sprinkle.
Forty-seven species of fungi were displayed and identified thanks to Harold Schnarre and Larry Baxter, and my daughter Arnica helped to write some of the cards (until getting permanently sidetracked playing with Larry's kids, Whitney and Heather). Besides morels (Morchella elata), other good edibles found included Calbovista subsculpta, Boletus edulis, Ramaria rubrievanescens, R. magnipes, Gyromitra montana and a couple different species of Suillus. Interesting finds included Helvella leucomelaena, a species of Scutellinia (yet to be studied microscopically) and a number of small fire pit or burn site fungi, such as Peziza praetervisa, Myxomphalia maura, and several others not yet identified.
The potluck was small, but wonderful, with three dishes standing out as being exceptionally tasty: Mike Lovelady's a cream of sautéed morel soup (yum!), Luis Felix's paté or spread for bread with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and fresh garlic (outstanding!), and Larry Baxter's rhubarb crisp (made from home grown rhubarb). After dinner, some went home and others stayed for a big campfire, with some people spending the night. The day ended up being everything you'd hope for on a field trip: good weather, good collecting, good company, and good food.
Swauk Creek Field Trip
Forty-one members gathered on Saturday, May 13, for the outing at Swauk Creek Campground. We had a good mix of new and veteran members. The weather was mostly sunny but cool. Almost everyone found at least a few morels, but no one found them in great abundance. Several new members (and one veteran who shall remain nameless) found their first morels. Most of the morels were found at the campground elevation or lower, so we were probably just a few warm days early. Because of the rather cool evenings, the consensus was to skip the potluck, but we did enjoy the roaring fire and hot coffee.
Since the expert identifiers were involved with the Wenatchee project that weekend, the identification of collected specimens was somewhat curtailed by the limited expertise of hosts Doug and Theresa Ward and Ed Kiniry, but the some species were identified:
Boletus edulis, Lycoperdon sp., Calvatia gigantea (softball size), Morchella sp., Peziza sp. (probably P. repanda or P. sylvestris), Agrocybe praecox, Cortinarius sp., Gyromitra gigas, Gyromitra esculenta, Russula brevipes, Naematoloma fasciculare, a probable Caloscypha fulgens, and Verpa bohemica.
MAY MYSTERY MUSHROOM Colin Meyer
Tom and Sue Jones live in Federal Way, near the intersection of I-5 and Highway 18. On the way to the freeway each day, they noticed some large, conspicuous mushrooms growing in a new office building development on Weyerhaeuser land. They'd never seen them before, and brought some into the May PSMS membership meeting for identification, as is traditional at meetings.
The mushrooms were massive and cespitose (with their stems growing together). Their caps, fully opened, were more than 20 cm in diameter and were white to beige. The surface texture was silky smooth with lumps or ripples. The gills were white, with a swoop, and attached to the stipe, with a notch near their attachment. The stipe (or stem) had small, dark brown scales or warts along the entire surface, like a Leccinum. It was up to 4 cm in diameter, mostly even, with a bulb at the base and solid inside. There were no signs of a universal or a partial veil. The young mushrooms had an inrolled margin, like a Paxillus. The mushroom's odor was sweet and pleasant, reminiscent of almonds or anise.
The area was logged last year, and several office buildings were built. Some landscaping was done around the parking lots, and topsoil may have been brought in. The landscaping was spread with bark dust, and the mushrooms grew from the bark dust. Tom described "whole fairy rings" and strange clusters that looked like "someone had dripped pancake batter and it grew into mushrooms." No specimens were found in the surrounding, undisturbed areas.
At the meeting, people crowded around with interest. A flurry of names rang out. Pleurotus? Lactarius? Russula? Tricholoma? Leucopaxillus? No one could even put it into a genus, let alone identify it to species.
A few members, including myself, brought samples home to look at further. Not having much luck, I decided to bring it to Lake Wenatchee fungal survey at Tall Timbers sponsored by the Forest Service. There was just as much confusion there. Still, no one could put even a generic name on the mushroom. It was theorized that the younger specimens were an entirely different mushroom. However, razor blades flashed out, and soon the mushroom was being scrutinized under several mycologists' microscopes. It was reported that the spores were amyloid (reacting to Melzer's reagent, a common mounting medium for fungi) and weren't smooth but had decoration. Brandon Matheny noticed a unique cystidium (sterile cell) on a gill wall. It was shaped like a lance and had incrustations at the tip. He knew that this was indicative of a certain genus, Melanoleuca. This was quite controversial, as the typical Melanoleuca found in this area is much smaller and has a dark gray cap. Brian Luther checked for signs such as clamp connections which would have suggested that the mushroom was a Leucopaxillus. In the end, he verified Brandon's theory.
Because of incomplete surveying and publishing of fungi is this area of the world, it remains an unknown species. It closely matches the description of a European species, Melanoleuca verrucipes or "warty stem." The literature even describes M. verrucipes as having a sweet, anise-like odor. One difference was that the European species was listed as having a maximum cap diameter of 10 cm. Size is often a poor character to identify by.
It is a mystery where this mushroom came from. It may have been in the soil for years, and the disturbance caused it to fruit. If that is the case, why isn't it reported from other sites of disturbance? It may have been imported with the topsoil, or bark dust. Topsoil and bark dust are commonly used all over, but reports of this mushroom are not common.
The moral: Don't be shy to bring in mushrooms for identification. You, too, may make a rare find such as this one.
Fall Identification Classes Colin Meyer
Basic ID: The Basic ID class will run for six 2-hour sessions. The focus will be on recognizing some of the common edible and poisonous mushrooms as well as an introduction to the use of dichotomous keys. The required text will be Mushrooms Demystified, 2nd Ed., by David Arora. The New Savory Wild Mushroom by McKenny/Stuntz/Ammirati is highly recommended. Both books will be available at the membership meetings and the first day of class for purchase at a discount.
Intermediate ID: For members who are somewhat familiar with mushrooms, there will be an Intermediate ID class offered. The focus of this class will be using dichotomous keys to identify mushrooms. Required texts will be Mushrooms Demystified, 2nd Ed., by David Arora and How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus, I: Macroscopic Features, by David Largent. This class will also consist of six 2-hour sessions.
Each class costs $35 and is limited to 20 participants.
For more information, e-mail cmeyer@helvella.org or phone (206) 722-6687.
WEB SITE REMINDER Colin Meyer
Here is a reminder that PSMS has an e-mail list for members to communicate with each other. Once subscribed to the list, you can send and receive e-mail messages from other members. Any message that you send to the list will automatically be delivered to everyone else that has subscribed. The purpose of the list is to discuss PSMS business and other mycological subjects. Some good uses of the e-mail list are to find or offer ride sharing to PSMS events, or to ask for assistance with identifying a mushroom. For instructions on how to subscribe and post messages see http://www.psms.org/members/mailing_list.html
A Morel STORY Inga Wilcox
I was driving along a narrow forest road. On both sides was up a bank and I could easily see what was growing among the evergreens. All of a sudden I noticed morels, big, beautiful specimens. I stopped the car and got out, wishing I could hide the car but there was no way. Wow, what a find, lots of morels, 10 inchers, and getting bigger as I moved into the woods. I was in morel heaven.
Then I noticed other pickers behind me; they had seen my car on the road and were also picking those beautiful morels. By then the morels I was finding were at least two feet tall and nine inches wide! As the others came nearer and nearer, I moved faster and faster, picking quicker and quicker, holding those huge morels in my arms. I was shouting, "They're mine! They're mine!" And I woke up.
We regret to report the death of noted amateur mycologist Herb Saylor of the San Francisco Bay area from a heart attack on Friday, May 19. Herb was loved and respected by all and he will be sadly missed. .
A US FOREST SERVICE WORKSHOP Dick Sieger
The USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station invited PSMS to participate in a workshop in Lynnwood, one of seven workshops in the Northwest and Washington, D.C. Participants were asked to suggest what kinds of research might be needed for sound forestry management in the next 20 years and how the agency might focus its resources.
The PNW Research Station has an annual budget of 40 million dollars to provide research for mangers of public and private forest and rangeland in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. For example, it recently completed a study of the 76 million acres in the Columbia basin that are managed by the USFS and BLM. The study provides information about biophysical and
social systems. (We have a copy on CD-ROM in our PSMS library.)
I met with some 40 people—university and USFS scientists, economists, representatives from timber companies and associations, a state senator from a logging district, and a member of the Sierra Club.
These are the proposals I found especially interesting:
Surprisingly, the consensus was that modern forestry leans heavily on social science. People as well as trees must be nurtured.
Let's hope that in the future, killing trees and selling wood won't be the only way to solve forestry problems. And let's hope that decisions will be based on science, not cash.