Agnes A. Sieger, Editor
Membership Meeting
Tuesday, February 13, 2001, at 7:30 PM in the Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle
Our speaker this month will be Maggie Rogers, who will speak on ``Hunting Mushrooms Without Getting Wet.''
How can you do this? Maggie will coach you on finding the best in mushroom books, journals, and publications of myco-organizations that will keep your mind sharp and your feet dry. Maggie attends national and international mushroom meetings and forays, bringing back swatches of new myco-ideas and photos of beautiful activities. A long-time member of the North American Mycological Association, she can tell tales not often heard. Proprietor of Fungal Cave Books, ``previously owned mushroom books,'' she scouts for out-of-print mycological resources, and is also the co-editor of Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming, now in its 19th year. Have YOU contributed to it?
CALENDAR
Feb. 13 Membership meeting, 7;30 PM at CUH
Feb. 19 Board meeting, 7;30 PM , CUH Board Room
Mar. 9 March Spore Prints deadline (Note
late date.)
Remember to use our new address, e-mail and
phone number (page 4).
Mar. 24 Survivor's Banquet and Annual Meeting, 6:30 PM, CUH
Election Election Election
This year we are voting for a Vice-President, Secretary, and five Trustees. Please read the following profiles carefully and mark your choice on the enclosed ballot. Return your ballot to ``PSMS Election,'' 3214 Byron St., Seattle, WA 98144. A ballot box will also be available at the February meeting. Each family membership is entitled to two votes, and each individual membership to one vote.
Secretary
Brandon Matheny
After serving on the PSMS Board a number of years, I'm happy to continue my involvement by running for Secretary. I have experience as Education Chair and as Co-Chair of the Annual Exhibit in 1999. I'm currently in my third year in graduate school at the UW working toward a PhD in agaric systematics.
Vice-President
Karin Mendell
Since joining PSMS in 1998, I've served as Book Sales Chair twice and the past year as a Trustee. Now with your support, I will serve as Vice-President, scheduling speakers for our monthly meetings. PSMS is a terrific organization. I love the field trips, the forays, and all the great folks I've met. Thanks!!
Trustees
Colin Meyer
I joined the society in fall 1998. I have served PSMS as a Board Member for two years, and as the webmaster and Chair of Education for one year. I created an e-mail listserver for members to communicate with each other. I'd like to encourage interest in education and amateur science in PSMS.
Steve Dally
Since I joined PSMS last summer, I have been overwhelmed with the wonderful world of mushrooms. I have met so many friendly and knowledgeable people, always ready to share their enthusiasm and experience. I am now looking for the opportunity to give something back to this group by serving on the board.
Micala Root
Searching for chanterelles was my introduction to mushrooming. Finding those golden coins littering the forest floor was a thrill. The search for my first bolete led me to PSMS. Although the bolete still eludes me, the education and fellowship of PSMS have made me want to become and remain an active member.
Matthew J. Ironside
I think it is our group's diversity that is one of our strong points. Whether your interest in fungi is agricultural, educational, environmental, recreational, or scientific, or if you just plain like to eat 'em, it seems PSMS has a place for you. If I find myself on the board, I would see my job as one to help maintain that diversity.
Ramona Owen
Born in Micronesia, Ramona is a graduate student in medical anthropology, a solo parent, and works for a biotech firm. She served as board member/secretory for an after-school enrichment program and has helped develop community mental health programs. She and her daughater have been PSMS members since 1991.
Marian Maxwell
A member since 1978. I have chaired tray arrangement for the show since 1983 and once served on the board for two years. Since I look old enough to BE a mushroom in this picture, my family thought it would convince you to vote for me. In reality, I will take this position seriously.
Juli Pettingill
While living in Florida, I took a quirky course called ``Mushroom and Man.'' The professor often waxed poetic about Pacific Northwest mushrooms. After moving here in 1993, I've enjoyed the education and companionship provided by this wonder club. Besides mushrooms, I value good times, creative expression, and diversity.
Pacita Roberts
As a longtime member of the society (since 1983), I've had the privilege of meeting many fantastic people, and have enjoyed their camerderie in the many aspects of mycological pursuits. I now hope to have the opportunity to con-tribiute to this Society, which has been a soucrce of intellectual and scientific endeavor as well as just plain fun.
Patrice Benson
I would like to continue working for PSMS as a trustee. I am involved with I.D., education, and culinary pursuits that I love to share with others at PSMS. I can put my past experience as President and trustee to use working for the society as a board team member.
David Hunt
I have never met a mushroom that I did not admire! Having collected and eaten mushrooms for more than 30 years, to my knowledge without harm to myself or others, I am deeply indebted to the past and present members who have been my guides. Now, as I approach my dotage, I look forward to serving others as a member of the Board.
Don & Cathy Lennebacker
We have had the best time this last year. Thanks to all of you, mushrooming has been a real fun experience for the both of us. It has given us the opportunity to combine our favorite activities, camping, hiking, treasure hunting, learning, and making new friends. We attended almost all of the field trips this last year and learned something new each time. After taking both the beginning and intermediate identification classes, we are starting to feel more sure of what we find. Now we would like a chance to give back to you all so if you would kindly give us your votes we would be happy to serve on the board. Because we live in Mukeltio, we would prefer to both serve on the Board.
International Mushroom Banquet: Survive THIS! Patrice Benson
PSMS goes global for this year's Survivor's Banquet. On March 24, 2001, at 6:30 PM, we will gather at the Center for Urban Horticulture for our POTLUCK Banquet. Our goal is to feast on an array of mushroom and other favorite dishes from around the world. So get out your favorite ethnic recipe and plan on attending this fun and affordable feast. We will have some surprise entertainment so get your reservations early. A minimal charge of $5 must accompany your reservation request. Prepare to sign up at the February meeting with payment or mail your name(s) and $5 per person to
Bernice Velategui
2929 76th Ave. SE #504
Mercer Island, WA 98040
Reservations will be limited to 150 participants.
Each diner should bring his or her favorite family or ethnic heritage recipe fully prepared and ready to share. Please bring a copy of your recipe, which will be collected in the recipe box and could be included in Spore Prints or our next cookbook. Please bring a serving utensil and label your dish with your name in case it is left behind. If your offering contains mushrooms, please prepare a tag to place in the dish to notify folks as to genus and species. Please be certain of your identification and thoroughly cook your mushrooms when serving them to others. If your last name begins with
A-H bring an entrée.
I-M bring salad, cut fruit, or bread,
N-Z bring desserts
Dress in costume if you wish and don't forget your favorite wine. Bring your favorite mushroom chachka for display at the mushroom artifacts table. Plates, cups, utensils and nonalcoholic beverages will be provided. Call Patrice Benson, Banquet Chair, at (206) 722-0691 with questions.
Spring Identification Classes Colin Meyer
PSMS will offer Beginning and Intermediate Mushroom Identification classes this spring. The classes will be between four and six sessions each, and be held on weeknight evenings at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Classes will start in April and continue through May. Specific dates will be announced next month. Please contact Colin Meyer for more information at cmeyer@helvella.org or (206) 722 6687.
Microscopy Class Colin Meyer
Judy Roger has offered to teach Beginning Mycological Microscopy to PSMS members once again. She is an excellent, thorough teacher who makes the study of minute details fascinating. This will be a one or two day course, held on a yet to be determined weekend in March. Please contact Colin Meyer for more information at cmeyer@helvella.org or (206) 722 6687.
THANKS!
The PSMS Board wishes to extend its thanks to
Elaine Nonneman, for her $50 donation to the PSMS Ben Woo Scholarship Fund.
Mike Lovelady, resigning Field Trip Chair, for his work during the past year.
BOARD NEWS Agnes Sieger
December - Joanne reports that we made just under $300 on sales of Stamets' book and the raffle; the proceeds will go to the new Ben Woo Scholarship Fund. Dick Sieger agreed to revise he membership form. Karen Mendell suggested that Mike Holbridge may wish to lead the Cultivation Group. Lorraine Dod is working on proposed revisions to the bylaws. Possible candidates were discussed for the upcoming election.
January - Membership renewals are starting to come in. Colin Meyer will be offering beginning and intermediate ID classes in the spring as well as a microscopy class. Mike Lovelady can no longer continue as Field Trip Chair, and we need a new chair. We also still need a hospitality chair and a show chair. This year's Survivor's Banquet will be Saturday, March 24; the theme is an ethic potluck, and we will be entertained by The Polish Singers. Patrice Benson suggested PSMS might want to join Cosco and listed some of the advantages. Lorraine Dod passed around suggested revisions to the PSMS bylaws. Merrill and Gloria Barber offered to do cartoons for the Spore Prints. Mike Mueller with the Forest Service would like a few PSMS people with some ID experience to work with Key Council members on a mushroom survey at Tall Timbers near Leaven-worth the weekend of May 11-13.
NOTE: CHANGE OF SPORE PRINTS ADDRESS
No, I'm not retiring from Spore Prints . I'm just retiring from the UW the end of January and moving to Clallam County between Sequim and Port Angeles. Submissions to the March and all future Spore Prints should be e-mailed to
or snail-mailed to
Agnes Sieger
271 Harmony Lane
Port Angeles, WA 98362
You can also phone me at (360) 452-7284. Do not use the old phone number or the e-mail address at the UW.
GOOD VERSUS
BAD Susan Goldhor
Boston Mycological Club Bulletin ,
December 2000
Good versus bad, black versus white, spy versus counterspy: there seems to be something in our (left versus right) brains that feels comfortable with such embattled dichotomies¾ regardless of the political unrest they may cause. This comfort undoubtedly accounts for the popularity of war, spy, and crime novels as well as that of video arcades, where kids become addicted to a virtual reality of total identification with one side and all out attacks upon another. It's as if we share some deep, physiologically imprinted craving for simple patterns in a world where simplicity is hard to come by, and usually deceptive.
But Nature doesn't play good guy-bad guy games. Nature has only one goal: fitness, and any trait or trick that gets you there, wins. It's only us humans who persist in putting labels onto certain species, so that wolves are noble and hyenas are horrid, while coyotes are ``God's dog'' to some sentimentalists and the scourge of the Southwest (and, now the Northeast) to others. We'd be annoyed if another species classed us all as Hitlers and Milosevichs and entertained to be all thought Mozarts and Mother Teresas.
Even more than coyotes, fungi pose the ultimate challenge for humans who fall into the Manichean trap of the good-evil divide. It's difficult not to form categories, separating the good fungi (delicious, nutritious, medicinal, supporting the forest) from the bad fungi (ugly, rotting, toxic, pathogenic). Goodness knows, I've done it in this column. On the one hand we have penicillin saving lives; on the other hand, witches' broom, black pod rot, and frosty pod rot threatening us with the loss of (gasp) chocolate. Isn't it clear that we have both friends and foes in the fungal kingdom? Well...maybe. And, just to complicate our thinking, there are some real dichotomies in nature, such as predator versus prey, parasite versus host, pathogen versus immune system. Although these are not (from Nature's viewpoint) good versus bad, they do show us ongoing battles, with each side desperately running an evolutionary arms race to gain an advantage over, or at least to match, the foe.
One of the most intriguing articles that I have
seen on this topic appeared in the November 17th issue of
Science (T.S . Sebbhati,
J.T. Engle, W.E. Goldman, Science, 290, 1368, 2000)
on Histoplasma capsulatum. Bruce Klein, in his Perspective
on this article in the same issue (p. 1311) starts out by saying,
``At least 70,000 fungal species inhabit our planet, yet remarkably
few of them cause disease in humans. This happy coexistence may be
set to change, however, as opportunistic fungal species (such as
Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus) and pathogenic
fungi (such as Histoplasma capsulatum) take advantage of
patients who are immunosuppressed whether because of treatment with
toxic cancer drugs or because of a primary infection with, for
example, human immunodeficiency virus. The AIDS epidemic itself has
changed the epidemiology of fungal diseases; for example, the
incidence of cryptococcal meningitis caused by the fungus
Cryptococcus neoformans has increased 1000-fold in New York
City alone.
``Dimorphic fungi¾ the silent majority of pathogenic fungal species¾ exist as either a free-living mycelial (mold) form in soil or as a parasitic yeast form that inhabits cells such as macrophages within a mammalian host. The mold forms are saprophytes that absorb nutrients from dead organic matter in the soil and produce infectious spores. When inhaled by mammals, these spores are induced to undergo a morphogenetic transformation into the yeast form by the warmer temperature of the mammalian respiratory tract.''
``Histoplasmosis, the disease caused by the yeast form of this fungus, is found worldwide and is endemic in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valley of the U.S. where most people are infected by age 20.'' So this is not one of your occasional, odd-ball fungal pathogens.
I think that what I found most fascinating about the research carried out was its spy-versus-counterspy description of the tactics each side uses. When the yeasts enter our bodies, our immune systems do their usual thing and send our macrophages to engulf them. In response to promptings from our T lymphocytes, the host macrophages block the reproduction of the yeasts by sequestering iron¾a useful trick, since it's required for reproduction, not only by yeasts but by bacteria. Now usually, our bodies' next step would be to activate lysosomal enzymes that would destroy the invaders. However, the yeast defense machinery is able to block one of the steps necessary for this activation. Then, in a really cunning trick, they send out a protein into their calcium-poor environment, which mops up free calcium ions and delivers them back to the yeasts. The calcium allows the yeasts to survive under calcium-limiting conditions, while awaiting a temporary weakness of the immune system, which will allow them to grab a little iron and multiply. The mold form of H. capsulatum doesn't make this calcium-grabbing protein, and it cannot survive in a calcium-poor environment; only the yeast form does this.