1 T M, May/June 2005

V 46:3 M ⁄ J 2005 ..

In this issue:President’s Message .................... 2

Forays and Announcements ........ 3

Fungi in the News ......................... 5

Limerick ........................................ 8

Mushroom Shapes & Colors ......12

Book Reviews .............................14

Mushroom of the Month ............16

Our very first venture into theWisconsin woods along the banks ofthe Mississippi River is coming upsoon. NAMA’s 2005 Annual Foraywill be held at the University ofWisconsin at La Crosse, July 21–24,with Dr. Tom Volk as Host Mycolo-gist. Plans include at least one or twoworkshops and some fascinatingtalks on subjects both internationaland unusual.

Tom will introduce us to the localflora and fauna of the region andenlighten us on the fungi thataccompany them. Among some ofthe presenters are Dan Czederplitz,sharing with us his experiences col-lecting fungi in Belize, a novelsession on indoor air quality thatshould be of great interest, and BrittBunyard’s mysterious Agaricus pseu-dopollination topic. Walt Sundbergwill be offering his popular “handlens anatomy” on demand, and BartByuck, the Russula problem-solver,will return to us from France.Heather Hallen will bring us up todate on Amanita toxins, and ex-president Gary Lincoff will, as usual,have something up his sleeve. Dr.Andrew Methven will serve as

Principal Mycologist, and AdeleMehta once again will keep track ofour collections as Recorder.

We are eager to see the fabu-lous old-growth American chestnutforest. Tom’s students will likelyshare their expertise on the treeswith us as well as assist with otherforays. It will be a real opportunityfor us to see firsthand what it takesto be a mycological student thesedays.

We will b housed in a singledormitory with both a kitchen andsocial room. There is a reducedregistration charge for those of uswilling to bunk on the upper twofloors. Although there is no airconditioning in the dorms, fans areavailable for a small fee. Theaverage July high temperature in LaCrosse ranges between the lowerand mid eighties, absolutely balmyfor those of us from lower latitudes.If you prefer off-campus accommo-dations, they are listed below.

This promises to be one of ourvery special forays, not only for theunusual non-glaciated habitats we

Summary of MushroomPoisonings in 2004

by Michael W. Beug, Ph.D., Chair,NAMA Toxicology Committee

In 2004 members of the ToxicologyCommittee reviewed and ofteninvestigated reports of 148 humanspoisoned, including 40 children andadolescents. We also receivedreports of 51 dogs stricken by eatingmushrooms.

For the first time in severalyears there were four reports ofhuman deaths—three confirmedand one possible—from mush-rooms. We feel that this was due tothe fact that the mushroom seasonin the western half of the UnitedStates was exceptional, with recordfruitings of many species.

In addition, the hurricanes thataffected the Southeast brought lotsof rain during mushroom seasonthere. With a record abundance ofmushrooms and an increased inter-est in the harvest of edible wildmushrooms, there was an asso-ciated increase in the total numberof poisonings.

On to Wisconsin!

“We Told You So!”

Continued on page 13

Story continues on page 9. Morephotos on pages 2 and 15.

Amanita virosa, photo courtesy of JohnPlischke III

Chlorophyllum molybdites, photo courtesyof John Plischke III

2T M, May/June 2005

The Mycophile is published bimonthlyby the North American MycologicalAssociation, 6615 Tudor Court,Gladstone, OR 97027-1032.NAMA is a nonprofit corporation;contributions may be tax-deductible.Web site: www.namyco.orgIsaac Forester, NAMA PresidentP.O. Box 1107North Wilkesboro, NC 28659-1107<mycoCPA@aol.com>

Judy Roger, Executive Secretary6615 Tudor CourtGladstone, OR 97027-1032<ExecutiveSec@namyco.org><judyr@hevanet.com>

Britt Bunyard, Content EditorW184 N12633 Fond du Lac AvenueGermantown, WI 53022<bbunyard@wi.rr.com>Judith Caulfield, Production Editor927 Lansing DriveMt. Pleasant, SC 29464<jpendle@cchat.com>

NAMA is a 501(c)(3) charitableorganization. Contributions to supportthe scientific and educational activi-ties of the Association are alwayswelcome and may be deductible asallowed by law. Gifts of any amountmay be made for special occasions,such as birthdays, anniversaries, andfor memorials.Special categories include

Friend of NAMA: $500–900Benefactor: $1000–4900Patron: $5000 and up

Send contributions toJudith McCandless, Treasurer330 Wildwood PlaceLouisville, KY40206-2523<judithmc@iglou.com>

Moving?Please send your new address,two weeks before you move, to

Ann BornsteinNAMA Membership Secretary336 Lenox AvenueOakland, CA 94610-4675<Membership@namyco.org>

Otherwise—you may not be gettingyour newsletter for a while. Eachissue, several Mycophiles arereturned as undeliverable because ofno forwarding address on file. NAMAis charged seventy cents for eachreturned or forwarded newsletter.

P R E S I D E N T ’S M E S S A G E

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the struggle that the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) is having with defining what constitutes an “expertwild mushroom identifier.” The need for such a definition arose due torestaurants that buy “wild” mushrooms from other than “approved” sources(meaning those of us who go into the woods and gather them).

I received a call from the FDA about a year ago and was asked to definean “expert wild-mushroom identifier.” That was a tough one. The only thingthat I knew for sure was that being president of NAMA did not make you an“expert.” Over the years I’ve learned that there’s much more I don’t knowabout identifying mushrooms than what I do. Anyway, I struggled with thisquestion and decided my input would only confuse the matter more.

How would you define an “expert wild-mushroom identifier”? Maybethat would be a good contest, to see who could come up with an answerthat would satisfy all of the agencies which will eventually becomeinvolved. The focus now has shifted away from a definition and onto therestaurants to obtain “specifications” about the mushrooms being boughtand the qualifications of the identifier. The FDA and other agencies are inthe process of developing a brochure to provide more guidance. Luckily, Iknow the chef at a local restaurant who will take, without question, my“wild” mushrooms and prepare them for me (but just for me or mycompany). Will I soon have to provide him with pages of information aboutthe mushroom and myself? Probably so.

If you haven’t registered for the Wisconsin foray in July, don’t wait toolong. The foray is shaping up to be a great one and a new experience forNAMA members as we have never had a national foray in Wisconsin.Thanks again to Tom Volk for offering to host the foray and to all of thoseworking with him to make it a success. —Ike

A) Volvariella volvaceae, the paddystraw mushroom, growing wild inmulch. B) Volvariella pusilla.C) Volvariella volvaceae, the paddystraw mushroom, commerciallycultivated and canned. (All photoscourtesy of John Plischke III)

A

B

C

See Summary of Mushroom Poisonings,beginning on page 1.

3 T M, May/June 2005

F O R A Y S & A N N O U N C E M E N T S

Eagle Hill Field SeminarsSteuben, Maine

The Eagle Hill Field Seminars areset in the woods with good facilities,great food, fantastic teachers, and avery intensive teaching program.Along with numerous other ecologyseminars, this year’s scheduleincludes five of interest to myco-philes:May 29–June 4Lichens and Lichen Ecology—Dr. David RichardsonJune 12–18Taxonomy and Biology of Disco-mycetes—Dr. Donald H. PfisterJuly 10–16Crustose Lichens of Coastal Maine—Dr. Irwin M. BrodoJuly 17–23Ground–inhabiting Lichens:Cladonia, Stereocaulon, and otherGenera—Dr. Stephen ClaydenAug 28–Sept 3Mushrooms for Naturalists—Dr.Rosalind Lowen and Dr. LawrenceLeonard

For further information see the website www.eaglehill.us or email themat <office@eaglehill.us>.

Delta Institute of NaturalHistoryBowdoin, Maine

Three courses for mycophiles:

July 16–18Lichens, with instructor Irwin Brodo.August 7Edible Wild Plants and Mushrooms,with instructor Russ Cohen.September 23–25Mushroom Identification fromAgaricus to Xylaria, with instructorGary Lincoff.

For more information or toregister, contact Delta Institute of

Natural History, 219 Dead RiverRoad, Bowdoin, ME 04287;www.vfthomas.com/deltahome.htm;or phone (207) 266-5748.

NAMA Annual ForayUniversity of Wisconsin–La CrosseJuly 21–24

I hope everyone’s heard by now!If not, loads of details can be foundin this issue, the Mar./Apr. ’05 issueof T M, or from theNAMA Web site. Don’t forget: ourHost Mycologist, Tom Volk, hasrequested that those arriving earlyplease respect the area and notcollect within 20 miles of La Crosse.

Three Exotic Mexican Forays

The Copper Canyon MushroomExpeditionJuly 24–31

The Tlaxcala Mushroom ForayAugust 28–September 4

The Veracruz Fungi ExplorationOctober 16–23

For details see the Mar./Apr. ’05 issueof T M, contact the tourorganizers, Erik and Gundi, at<gundi@mexmush.com>, or visitwww.mexmush.com.

Mycological Society ofAmerica / MycologicalSociety of JapanUniversity of Hawaii–HiloJuly 30–August 5

The Mycological Society of America(MSA) and Mycological Society ofJapan (MSJ) will meet in a jointconference on the University of

Hawaii at Hilo campus from July 30to August 5, 2005. This will be thefirst time the two societies havemet together, and it will be anoccasion to celebrate the 50thanniversary of the MycologicalSociety of Japan. Field trips, sympo-sia, and poster sessions will discussall aspects of the importance offungal interactions with plants andanimals around the world andespecially with humans.

Special sessions will revealnewly described Hawaiian mush-rooms and other fungi, as well asthe most recent technology on howto grow mushrooms commerciallyand how to extract unique pharma-ceuticals from fungi. The Japanesewill bring new and exciting infor-mation on medical and industrialmycology occurring in Japan. Themeetings will provide an idealatmosphere for American andJapanese scientists to exchangeideas and technology and to forgecollaborations for the future.

For more information, contact<fungus@hawaii.edu> and supplyan e–mail address where futuremeeting announcements can besent, or visit the MSA Web site atwww.msafungi.org.

Samuel Ristich ForayAugust 11–14

In August of this year, NEMF2005—the 11th Annual SamuelRistich Foray—will transform theMont Alto campus of the Pennsyl-vania State University into Mush-room Heaven.

Situated in the 85,000-acreMichaux State Forest, the school islocated near to a wide variety ofhabitats that ensure some of thebest mushroom picking in south–central Pennsylvania. NEMFfungiphiles will channel the area’s

Continued on page 4

4T M, May/June 2005

tremendous diversity of mushroomsinto a spectacular display in theGreat Exhibition Hall (a.k.a. theschool gym).

Your hosts—the Eastern PennMushroomers (who hold theirannual Helen Miknis Foray at thissite every year), the New JerseyMycological Association, and theWestern Pennsylvania MushroomClub—will do their best to ensure amost enjoyable shrooming experi-ence.

In addition to mycologicalinterests, your family members willfind a multitude of recreationalopportunities, including eleven golfcourses and easy travel to severalimportant Civil War battlefields(Gettysburg, Antietam, and Harper’sFerry). Chambersburg, PA, Waynes-boro, PA, and Hagerstown, MD,offer a variety of accommodationsnearby, should dormitory living notsuit your style.

There will be lectures andworkshops all day Friday andSaturday, as well as many forays tochoose from. Each Northeast Forayis unique, with its own strengthsand distinctions.

This year we’ve worked hard tocompile an exceptional facultyroster. Popular, eminent, andfriendly mycologists who’ve beenregular guests of honor at priorNEMFs include Sam Ristich (ourmycological patron), Doug Bassett,Ernst Both, Glenn Freeman, GaryLincoff, Rosalind Lowen, WaltSturgeon, Rodham Tulloss, JohnPlischke III, and Tom Volk.

Less familiar faces (to some)include two renowned Europeanmycologists—Roy Watling (appointedan M.B.E. by the Queen of Englandfor his broad contributions to mycol-ogy) and Bart Buyck (Curator ofCryptogamy at the National Mu-seum in Paris, and world expert onRussula)—as well as Roy Halling(Curator of Mycology at the NewYork Botanical Gardens, and cur-rently specializing in Boletes), andColeman McCleneghan (Pholiota

specialist, and chief mycologist atthe 2004 NAMA).

And we haven’t even listed thearray of dedicated experts from thethree host clubs, or the Mont Altoprofessors who will introduce us tothe local flora!

This year’s foray will be limitedto 200 participants, on a first-come,first-served basis. There is nomembership requirement. Early-birdregistration (before July 1st) saves$30. For registration form andadditional information email theregistrars John or Cheryl Dawson at<nemf2005@suscom.net> or callthem at (717) 846-1225.

Telluride Mushroom FestivalTelluride, ColoradoAugust 18–21 This year is the 25th anniversary ofthe annual Telluride MushroomFestival—designed for peopleinterested in edible, psychoactive,and poisonous mushrooms—will beheld in Telluride, CO, August 18–21,2005.

The festival includes mushroomlectures, forays, hands-on identifica-tion and cultivation workshops,mushroom poetry, and a mushroomparade that runs down the mainstreet of Telluride and featuresfestival participants dressed asmushrooms, spores, and otherelements of the mycological world. The Festival’s annual MushroomCook-off Feast features chefs fromTelluride’s top restaurants, who willprepare mushroom dishes to bejudged by festival faculty. Thewinning chef will receive a chef’shat adorned with mushrooms, andfestival goers will dine on themushroom dishes. Experienced guides will leaddaily fungus forays in the forestssurrounding Telluride, generallyproductive of a wide variety of wildmushrooms, particularly ediblespecies like chanterelles and porcini. Nationally recognized authoritieson mushrooms will present lecturesand workshops: Gary Lincoff, pastPresident of NAMA, on “Mushroom

Identification”; Paul Stamets,President of Fungi Perfecti (www.fungi.com), on “Medicinal Mush-rooms”; Manuel Torres, author, on“The Use of Visionary Mushroomsand Plants in the Americas”; and Dr.Emanuel Salzman, cCo-editor ofMushroom Poisoning, on “MushroomPoisoning.”

Complete information about theFestival program, registration,lodging, and travel is available onthe Festival’s Web site: www.shroomfestival.com; or writeFungophile, attn. Mushroom Festi-val, P.O. Box 480503, Denver, CO80248-0503; or call EmanuelSalzman, MD at (303) 296-9359 or(303) 296-1524.

28th Clark Rogerson ForayMoodus, ConnecticutAugust 25–28

The foray will be held at Cave HillResort, in Moodus. Foray expertswill include Gary Lincoff, RozLowen, Sam Ristich, Sandy Sheine,and Leon Shernoff. For details seethe Mar./Apr. ’05 issue of TM or contact Don Shernoffat (914) 761–0332 or <donshernoff@yahoo.com>.

Foray Newfoundland andLabrador 2005

Gros Morne National Park,NewfoundlandSeptember 2–5

Labrador Straits, coast of the lastfrontierSeptember 6–9

The Humber Natural History Societyis the host of the 2005 Newfound-land and Labrador Mushroom Foray.The foray is held at Killdevil Lodgein Gros Morne National Park, aUNESCO World Heritage Site. Exoticboreal mushrooms, excellent guestand local faculty, full scientificprogram, friendly people, stunningnatural settings, determinations

Forays and Announcements,cont. from page 3

Continued on page 10

5 T M, May/June 2005

F U N G I I N T H E N E W S

Greetings from Wisconsin, wherethe weather has finally begun towarm (in time for the morel season,hopefully) and where conditions willcontinue to improve until we hit acrescendo around mid July. Just intime for the Annual Foray, where Ihope to see all of you!

More on the Deadly JapaneseSugihiratake Story: Clues to Causeof Mystery Brain FeverYou may recall reading in the lastissue of T M (Mar./Apr.‘05) about some recent deaths inJapan following a rare “brain fever”of kidney patients after the con-sumption of wild mushrooms. Thedeaths were a mystery, as thecause—a kind of oyster mushroomknown locally as sugihiratake, or“Angel Wings”—has long beenconsumed there as a safe ediblespecies.

A recent report in the Japanesenewspaper Yomiuri Shimbun mayprovide clues that lift the veil on thismystery. Tomihisa Ota, a scientistspecializing in natural productschemistry at the School of NaturalSciences and Technology ofKanazawa University, has foundthat when mice are injected with anextract of the sugihiratake mush-room, they suffer a toxic reactionthat causes kidney failure. Notexactly the effect you want yourwild mushrooms to have on yourbody!

The research team, led byProfessor Ota, obtained the extractby heating sugihiratake gathered lastautumn in Tohoku and HokurikuPrefectures (Japan) to 90° C for 30minutes. The team injected micewith one milligram of extract pergram of body weight. Seven of theten mice injected died within 24hours. The mice are suspected tohave died of shock caused bydamage to red blood cells and kidneyfailure. The toxic effects were notseen in extracts heated to boiling(100° C).

Interestingly, the mushroom isoften prepared by boiling in misosoup, which may provide a detoxify-ing effect. According to Prof. Ota, atoxic sugar protein that is notdestroyed by heating the mushroomto the temperature of miso soup wassuspected of being contained in themushrooms or in organisms at-tached to them. It is possible that thetoxic substance enters the blood-stream, destroys red blood cells, andproduces a toxic effect, Ota said.

The sugihiratake mushroom isprobably better known in NorthAmerica by its scientific name,Pleurocybella porrigens. If thatdoesn’t ring a bell, look for picturesof this mushroom within this issue.

Speaking of MushroomPoisonings: NAMA MembersInform about PoisonousMushroomsThe most ambitious project everattempted to inform poison controlcenters about poisonous mushroomshas been undertaken by OrphanMedical in conjunction with fourNAMA members. The result of thisproject is a 2005 calendar meant fordistribution to poison control centersacross the country.

The calendar shows manypoisonous mushrooms with whichpeople might get in trouble, and it ishoped that this information will helpcenters to be more aware of thesemushrooms. A brief description isincluded with each picture. Theprogram organizer, John Trestiall,had four pictures used in the calen-dar; Taylor Lockwood had one; BillRoody had one; and John PlischkeIII had 17. Thanks, by the way, toJohn Plischke for this information.

Anyone wishing to learn moreabout the calendar or how to obtainone should contact the WesternPennsylvania Mushroom Club,Toxicology Chair, at 1-888-8-.

Don’t Pick Up Hitchhikers—Especially the Fungal Type!Speaking of NAMA members, Irecently saw a blurb in Inoculum[56(2):15] submitted by our own JimTrappe regarding an “ImportantNotice” sent by the State FarmInsurance Company to policyholders. This term was included:

“The following is added to Whenthe Physical Damage CoveragesDo Not Apply: THERE IS NOCOVERAGE FOR LOSS TO ANYVEHICLE DUE TO FUNGI. THISAPPLIES REGARDLESS OFWHETHER OR NOT THE FUNGIRESULT FROM A LOSS THAT ISPAYABLE UNDER ANY OF THEPHYSICAL DAMAGE COVERAGES.WE WILL ALSO NOT PAY FOR ANYTESTING OR REMEDIATION OFFUNGI, OR ANY ADDITIONALCOSTS REQUIRED TO REPAIR ANYVEHICLE THAT ARE DUE TO THEEXISTENCE OF FUNGI.” (Capitalletters, italics, and boldface appearas in the original.)

Jim goes on to muse about thedamaging affects of overpoweringodors from overripe truffles!

I think our readers, during thismorel season, should be careful notto overload their cars with too manymushrooms. Rather than riskdamage your auto’s suspension—which won’t be covered by insur-ance—leave some mushrooms forthe next guy!

And Speaking of Jim Trappe . . .Check out the Jan./Feb. issue of

Audubon (mine came after the lastissue of T M had goneto press) which features a handsomephoto of Dr. Trappe in his naturalhabitat: standing in the middle of aforest in the Pacific Northwest andholding a truffle rake. By the way,he’s also holding a truffle.

The story, “The fungus amongus,” features those in the pursuit of

Continued on page 6

6T M, May/June 2005

the Oregon truffle as well as thosewho swear by its culinary prowess.The North American TrufflingSociety gets a plug, as do the restau-rants that serve up this delectablesporophore. Unfortunately, unscru-pulous hunters are overharvestingthe truffle because it has become sopopular—and forests may be ruinedin the process.

For those wishing to try thismushroom in your own kitchen (andresiding hundreds of miles fromOregon, as do I), call (888) 465-3247and a Eugene-based company calledMycoLogical Natural Products willFedEx “eco-friendly” Oregon trufflesright to your door!

More News from the Old-GrowthForests of the Pacific NW: Medici-nal Mushrooms May CounterSmallpox and Similar Viruses

Recent in vitro tests demonstratethat a specially prepared extractfrom Fomitopsis officinalis is highlyselective against viruses. Fomitopsisofficinalis is a wood conk mush-room, known for thousands of yearsas “Agarikon.” It is extinct or nearlyso in Europe and Asia but is stillfound in the old-growth forests ofthe American Pacific Northwest. Itmay provide novel antiviral drugsuseful for protecting against pox andother viruses.

That is the forecast of mycolo-gist Paul Stamets, owner anddirector of the research laboratoriesof Fungi Perfecti of Kamilche Point,WA. For the past two years Stametshas prepared more than a hundredstrains of medicinal mushroomextracts for testing by the NationalInstitute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases (NIAID), part of theNational Institutes of Health and theU.S. Army Medical ResearchInstitute of Infectious Diseases(USAMRIID), in their joint bio-defense antiviral screening program.The results to date promise break-throughs on this biomedical frontier.

Dr. John A. Secrist III, Vice-President of Southern Research

Institute´s Drug Discovery Division,who oversees an NIAID contract toevaluate potential antiviral drugs,notes that “Several of Stamets’smedicinal mushroom extracts haveshown very interesting activityagainst pox viruses in cell cultureassays performed through NIAID,and we are hopeful that they willalso prove effective in the animalmodel systems. The number ofdifferent classes of compounds thatshow promising activity is small, sofinding something new would be ofgreat benefit to the scientific com-munity.”

In fact, of more than 200,000samples submitted over severalyears, only a handful are slated foranimal testing each year. In the pastyear, approximately ten samplesshowed activity warranting approvalfor animal testing; of these, two arefrom strains of Agarikon discoveredby Stamets. Moreover, Mr. Stamets’ssamples are the only natural prod-ucts extracts tested through thisprogram that have demonstratedvery active anti-pox activity.

The NIH/USAMRIID screeningprogram tests the mushroom ex-tracts against viruses that could beweaponized, including the virusescausing yellow fever, dengue, SARS,respiratory viruses, and pox viruses.Of the Agarikon samples submittedto date, several showed potentactivity for reducing infection fromvaccinia and cowpox, which are inthe same family as the smallpoxvirus.* These extracts show activityagainst vaccinia and cowpox by twodifferent viral evaluations, demon-strating the reproducibility of theresults. Stamets has filed severalpatents, both U.S. and international,on the antiviral properties of mush-rooms in the Fomitopsis family.However, only compounds derivedusing Mr. Stamets’s proprietary,patent-pending methodology for cellcultures show activity; simpleextracts from the woody conks (suchas tea or infusions) are not active.Harvesting these rare conks fromthe forests will not provide therapeu-tic benefits and could impair thereproduction of the fungus.

While several strains of extractgenerated strong anti-pox activity,other strains were less potent. Thisunderscores the importance ofconserving mycodiversity. Morepotent strains may yet be discovered.

As for F. officinalis, this mush-room was first described 2000 yearsago as an anti-inflammatory medi-cine by Dioscorides, the Greekphysician in his text Materia Medica.

“The ecological niche for theseunique mushrooms is increasinglyjeopardized as humans destroy old-growth habitats,” commentsStamets. “As this happens, the poolof available strains will be furtherreduced. Acquiring as many strainsas possible should be an interna-tional priority so that preventive orcurative medicines against pox andrelated viruses can be developed.Personally, I believe we should besaving our old-growth forests as amatter of national defense.”

[The text above was a pressrelease from Paul Stamets datedMarch 24, 2005, and was edited forlength and clarity.

* Vaccinia is the virus that wasused historically to vaccinate againstsmallpox, or variola virus; it is thesource of the word “vaccine.” It waslong believed to be cowpox virus—“vacca” comes from the Latin wordfor “cow”—but it is now thought toactually be a hybrid between the twoviruses, cowpox and smallpox. It isalso worthwhile to remind everyonethat smallpox was eradicated fromhumanity decades ago—the last casewas in 1978—and the only samplesknown to exist are kept “under tightsecurity” in freezers in the US andRussia.—Ed.]

More on Mushroom Extracts . . .Touted as natural immunity boost-ers, mushroom extracts havethousands of years of anecdotalevidence to support their use, butonly recently have they been put tothe test in the laboratory. Everymonth I come across dozens ofstudies published on this very topic.Most findings remain buried in

Fungi in the News,cont. from page 5

Continued on next page

7 T M, May/June 2005

research journals, but a few make itinto the mainstream media.

A blurb in Men’s Health (April2005) mentions a new University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles (UCLA)study which showed that a reishimushroom extract was able toinhibit the formation of bloodvessels that feed tumors. “Themushroom approaches are promis-ing,” says Andrew Vickers, Ph.D., aresearcher at Sloan-Kettering.However, the scientist cautions,“what’s effective in the lab does notnecessarily help patients.”

Beneficial Fungi Could HaltHopper HordesMost of the time I’m featuringstories in the news where fungi aremade out to be the bad guy when itcomes to diseases of plants. Youmay recall many such stories onnewly emerging diseases likesoybean rust and sudden oak death.Well, this time I have good newsabout some fungi that may somedaybe the savior of crop plants.

A recent press release from theAgricultural Research Service of theU.S. Department of Agriculturedescribes two fungi that mayrepresent a natural solution to theproblem of millions of grasshoppersleaping across parts of the westernUnited States each summer. Bothare like a fatal case of athlete’s footto insects, producing infectiousspores that hoppers can pick up ontheir feet.

Stefan T. Jaronski, an insectpathologist with the AgriculturalResearch Service, is studying thesefungi and other microbes in hopes ofkeeping soaring hopper populationsin check. He works at the agency’sNorthern Plains Agricultural Re-search Laboratory in Sidney, Mon-tana.

During outbreaks, which areoften driven by droughts, grasshop-pers can gobble up valuable crops,forage, and ornamental plants,costing millions of dollars in dam-age. One fungus, Beauveria bassiana,is already registered in the UnitedStates for the control of a variety ofinsects. Once grasshoppers pick up

its spores on their feet and otherbody parts, the fungus grows quicklyinside their bodies, usually killingthem within a week. Recently,Jaronski found that an effective wayto deliver the B. bassiana spores andmake them attractive to grasshop-pers is to mix them with raw canolaoil. Black and strong-smelling, theraw oil contains higher concentra-tions of the fatty acids that theinsects find irresistible. It’s alsocheaper than using refined, store-bought canola oil.

Jaronski envisions the mixtureof canola oil and fungal spores beingsprayed on targeted strips of range-lands from the air or on the ground.Because the oil attractant lureshoppers to the strips from a widedistance, only small amounts of thefungal spores are needed.

The other fungus, Metarhiziumanisopliae var. acridum, is muchmore host-specific than Beauveria,affecting just grasshoppers and theirclose relatives. Jaronski’s lab hasfound that Metarhizium is veryinfectious in most American grass-hoppers and the Mormon cricket,which also causes destructiveoutbreaks. Coupled with the rawcanola oil carrier, it could alsobecome a valuable tool for control-ling grasshoppers.

Tsunami FungusFrom the New Scientist [185(2485):6–11] comes word of a rare butpotentially deadly fungal infectionthat could go undiagnosed in theareas most affected by the SoutheastAsian tsunami because many of thelocal labs capable of detecting ithave been destroyed.

A 56-year-old man who returnedto Australia from Sri Lanka afterbeing injured by the tsunami wasfound to have a rare fungal disease,called mucormycosis. This disease,also known as zygomycosis, is afungal infection of the sinuses,brain, or lungs that occurs primarilyin people with immune disorders. Itis caused by common fungi fre-quently found in the soil and indecaying vegetation. Most individu-als are exposed to these fungi on a

daily basis, but people with immunedisorders may be more susceptible toinfection.

Conditions most commonlyassociated with mucormycosisinclude diabetes mellitus, chronicsteroid use, metabolic acidosis,organ transplantation, leukemia/lymphoma, treatment withdeferoxamine, and AIDS. If notdiagnosed in the early stages ofdisease, mucormycosis has anextremely high mortality rate evenwith aggressive surgical interven-tion. Death rates range from 25% to80% depending on the site involvedas well as the underlying immuneproblems. But if properly diagnosed,the infection can be treated withcheap antibiotics, says DavidMeddings, a World Health Organiza-tion medical officer working in thedisaster zone. He hopes the casewill alert local health workers to thepossibility that other survivors mayhave been infected.

Protect Your Clothes with . . .Fungi?Science News reports that scientistsin Austria have created an enzymetreatment to protect wool clothesfrom shrinkage. Wool fibers arecomposed of keratin proteinsbundled into microfibrils. The fibrilsare wrapped in a natural scalycuticle. When wool is washed, thescales interlock, preventing thefibers from moving freely. Thisinterlocking prevents the fabric fromretaining its original size.

There already are shrink-proofing treatments for wool, butthey rely on chlorine-based chemi-cals to remove the cuticle and, as aresult, generate wastewater that canbe harmful to the environment.

Angelika Erlacher and her col-leagues at the Graz University ofTechnology in Austria decided to findan environmentally friendly route tounshrinkable wool. The team dis-covered an enzyme in the soilfungus Beauveria brongniartii thatdegrades wool fibers. To ensure thatthe enzyme wouldn’t attack the

Continued on page 8

8T M, May/June 2005

protein fibrils, the researchersattached it to a large polymer thatcan’t penetrate the cuticle. Theythen soaked the fabric with thepolymer-enzyme complex and, afterit had partially degraded the cuticleand smoothed it out, washed awaythe complex. After subjecting theirshrink-proof wool textiles to severalwashing cycles, the scientists foundthat the treated wool didn’t looseany of its volume and was virtuallyindistinguishable from unwashedtextiles. In contrast, untreatedfabrics with the same wash regimenwere reduced to about half theiroriginal size.

When the Crops Tend the FarmerLeaf-cutting ants are the farmers ofthe ant world. But unlike realfarmers, the leaf-cutters raise onlyone crop: a strain of fungus particu-lar to each colony. A study publishedin the journal Science [307(5710):741–45] reports that researchershave figured out why: differentstrains war with each other, forcingthe ants to grow just one.

Leaf-cutting ants have beencultivating fungi for millions ofyears. The benefits are mutual: Antsnourish the fungi with pieces ofleaves and defecate on them toprovide other nutrients. In turn, thefungi flourish and are carried farand wide by virgin ant queens whenthey leave to build a new colony. Buteach colony deals with only onestrain of fungus, and scientistsdidn’t understand why or how thiswas.

Evolutionary biologist MichaelPoulsen and fellow researchers atthe University of Copenhagen,Denmark, took a crack at the mys-tery by observing the fungus gar-dens of 18 ant colonies. When theyplaced ant feces from one colonyonto the fungus of another, thefungus became discolored and grewslower. In addition, when ants fromone colony were fed fungi fromanother, their feces caused a similarreaction on their own fungi. This did

not happen when they were fedfungus from their own garden.These findings led the researchers tosuspect that compounds specific tothe foreign fungus were inhibitingthe growth of the in-house fungus.

“This makes it necessary thatants rear clones of the same fungi,”says Poulsen. Otherwise, thecompetition would stunt fungalgrowth and reduce the ants’ foodsupply. So in terms of farming, saysPoulsen, it’s really the fungus that’srunning the show.

“This is a great advance,” saysUlrich Mueller, an evolutionarybiologist at the University of Texasat Austin. “We usually think of amutual relationship as one in whichboth partners gain and there is nointernal conflict. But this paperelegantly shows there can be arelationship even with the conflict.”

And now, a quick scan of thepages of Mycological Research . . .

The year 2004 marked the 100thanniversary of the founding of theFungal Diversity Center in theNetherlands, heralded as the “oldestcollection of living fungi in theworld.” Mathew J. Ryan and DavidSmith provide a timely review[108(12): 1351–62] of these valuablefacilities around the globe, titled“Fungal genetic resource centers andthe genomic challenge.” Their articleconsiders the impact of such centers,the current roles of fungal geneticresource centers, the mechanismsused to preserve organisms in astable manner, and the range ofresources that are offered forgenomic research.

The same issue has a studylooking into the plight of an Austra-lian mycophagous marsupial knownas the bettong. Vernes et al. [108(12):1438–46] have found that fire-relatedchanges in the biomass of hypo-geous sporocarps can pose direconsequences for the little mammal.Interestingly, the bettong is anendangered marsupial that inhabitsthe woodlands of northeasternAustralia and is quite fond of fungi.In fact, the furry mycophile utilizesat least 35 hypogeous species that

comprise 33% to 67% of its diet,depending on season and habitat.

Wei, Yao, Wang, and Pegler[108(12): 1458–62] describe a newlydiscovered species of Termitomycesmushroom from China, with a keyto allied species. The “new” specieswas collected from Chinese freshproduce markets where it’s beenfound for years as a choice wildedible!

Get Involved!Michael Kuo (you may have

visited his fabulous Web site, www.mushroomexpert.com) is workingon a project with Nik Money andRodham Tulloss to determine thedistribution of Amanita thiersii. Thisshaggy white species is found inlawns and was originally describedin Texas. Over the past two decades,the mushroom appears to be spread-ing northward and eastward.

If anyone has seen this species,you can assist in ongoing researchby contacting Dr. Kuo at<cystidium@yahoo.com>. Inciden-tally, Michael has a book entitledMorels coming out in October 2005.For a sneak peak, visit his Web site.

Fungi in the Newscont. from page 7

Limerickby Charmoon Richardson

I once met a bolete that spoke.He enjoyed surprising the folk.He’d say “Look over here,”Until one day a deerAte him up—that’s the end of this joke.

Reprinted with permission fromSOMA News (Sonoma CountyMycological Association) and theauthor. For more mushroomylimericks and other fun things, writeto Charmoon Richardson, The WildAbout Mushrooms Co., P.O. Box1088, Forestville, CA 95436, orcheck out her Web site atwww.wildaboutmushrooms.net.

9 T M, May/June 2005

The overwhelming majority ofreports received over the past yearhave again come via the work ofMarilyn Shaw, of Denver, CO. Mostof her reports result from her closecooperation with the Rocky Moun-tain Poison and Drug Center (RMP&DC). She also talks frequently withpeople involved in the poisonings inorder to identify the mushrooms asaccurately as possible, to obtaindetailed information on symptomsexperienced, and to try to determinewhat led to the ingestion.

Hanna Tschekunov providedreports from calls to the FloridaPoison Information Center Network.

Judy Roger investigated mush-room poisoning reports from theOregon Health Sciences University,Oregon veterinarians, and from theOregon Mycological Society Website.Judy regularly went to the site of thepoisoning to collect mushrooms andoften was able to do microscopyfrom the vomitus of the victims topositively confirm most of heridentifications.

Raymond Archambault providedinformation about poisonings in theQuébec area. Additional reports werereceived as a result of concernedindividuals locating the NAMA Website or contacting the author throughhis mushroom Web site (www.evergreen.edu/mushrooms).

All confirmed deaths of humanswere from eating members of the“Destroying Angel” group of Ama-nita. One death reported fromMinnesota was due to ingestingAmanita bisporigera, one fromQuébec due to Amanita virosa, andone death reported from Californiaas a result of eating Amanita phal-loides. These mushrooms containamatoxins.

There may also have been adeath due to kidney failure from aman in California collecting“Boletes.”

Eight dogs died or were euthan-ized after mushroom consumption.In the dog fatalities Inocybe specieswere confirmed in about half of thecases and Amanita species in theother half.

It is important to note that atleast eleven or twelve Asian immi-grants mistakenly consumed eitherAmanita phalloides or Amanitabisporigera (cases in Oregon, Califor-nia and Minnesota). Several otherpoisonings also involved recentimmigrants from various parts of theworld where mushroom collecting ispracticed. There is clearly a need tofind a way to educate recent immi-grants about dangerous lookalikes tomushrooms that they are familiarwith from their home country.

In one incident seven Koreanimmigrants stated that they thoughtthey had consumed a Volvariella. Inmany Asian countries, the choice“paddy straw mushrooms” (Volva-riella spp.) are abundant. Thesepink-spored mushrooms look verysimilar to the white-spored “Destroy-ing Angels,” especially when theyare young and the pink spores arenot yet in evidence. In addition to adifference in spore color, theVolvariella species lack a partial veil.

In the past Italian immigrantshave consumed Amanita phalloides,mistaking it for the choice edible“Coccora,” another Amanita with adistinct cup-like volva. While usuallyAmanita phalloides is greenish and“Coccora” is yellowish, both can berather white at times. One personwho likes to eat Amanita vaginata gotAmanita phalloides instead.

This past year, at least 22 peoplemistook Amanita pantherina andAmanita muscaria for an amazinglywide range of edible mushrooms.Two couples, one in Washington andone in Montana, ate young Amanitamuscaria, thinking they were eatingpuffballs. Remember—ediblepuffballs are pure white inside andsoft like a marshmallow.

Four people mistook Amanitamuscaria for Matsutake, and twopeople ate Amanita pantherinathinking that it was Matsutake. Ifthey had used their noses to seekout the delightful cinnamon spice/dirty-sock smell of Matsutake, andtheir sense of touch to squeeze theuncrushably dense flesh ofMatsutake, they would not havegone wrong.

A group of six thought that theywere eating “Shaggy Manes”! Oneperson thought that she had “After-the-Rain Mushrooms.” In manycases we have no idea what thevictims thought they were eating.What the 27 dogs thought they wereeating is anyone’s guess.

As usual, Chlorophyllum molyb-dites claimed a significant number ofunwary victims. Indeed, I suspectthat many of the fifteen “unknown”poisonings reported from Floridawere due to ingestion of Chlorophyl-lum molybdites. Since this lawnmushroom is common in warmhumid areas, and since it is big andmeaty with a good flavor and closelyresembles the “Shaggy Parasol,” itfrequently gets the attention both ofyoung children and of adults whoshould know better. The symptomsare always severe gastrointestinaldistress. However, the onset issometimes delayed as long as sixhours, causing real panic in PoisonCenters since delayed onset ofsymptoms is characteristicallyassociated with the deadly mush-rooms.

In the fall of 2004 at leastthirteen deaths were reported inJapan, all associated with theconsumption of Pleurocybellaporrigens, “Angel’s Wing.” All theindividuals who died (of an acutebrain condition) had kidney disor-ders. Since Angel’s Wing is commonin the United States, it is importantto alert mushroom pickers to itspotential danger to people ondialysis, though whether it was themushrooms themselves or somecontaminant in Japan remains to beresearched.

Meanwhile, I have no record ofthis species ever causing a poisoningin North America. I have eaten itoccasionally and have once or twiceserved it to my mycology studentsover the years, but it is not thatgreat-tasting. Just to be safe, it isnow off my list.

In a number of cases, thepoisoning involved a popular ediblespecies. Most of these cases are

Poisonings, cont. from page 1

Continued on page 10

10T M, May/June 2005

backed by photo and voucherspecimens. Information, agreement,and registration forms, reports of2003 and 2004 forays, species lists,and other information are availableand/or downloadable at HumberNatural History Society Web site:www.swgc.mun.ca/hnhs.

Gary Lincoff Mid-AtlanticMushroom ForaySeptember 10

This annual event, billed as the“nation’s largest fall foray,” is hostedby the Western PennsylvaniaMushroom Club. Scheduled presen-tations feature Gary Lincoff, specialguest mycologist Walt Sturgeon,special guest mycologist Dr. ErnstBoth, and several other mycologists,plus a large mushroom-tasting event(last year’s menu included morethan a dozen items!).

The cost for the entire day’sevents is still just $50—what abargain! Children 11 and under arefree!

Registration is limited; the lasttwo years were sold out early, andpeople were turned away. Contactthe WPMC or Dick Dougall (412)486-7504, or by email <rsdme@imap.pitt.edu>; or Glenn Carr(412) 369-0495, or by email<gbrown2carrs@cs.com>.

Forays & Announcements,cont. from page 4

examples of individual food sensi-tivities. However, as in years past,five people became ill after eatingmorels—some in association withalcohol, but some where no alcoholwas involved and the mushroomswere thoroughly cooked.

In some of these cases “FalseMorels,” which I presume to beeither Verpa bohemica or Gyromitraesculenta, are suspected. There isactually a significant commercialmarket for Verpa bohemica andmany people relish eating it! Othersreact strongly to Verpa spp. and/or toMorchella spp.

There were also two reports ofpoisonings from consumption of thechoice edibles Cantharellus formosusand one human and one dog reportfrom Tricholoma nudum. Members ofthe Armillaria mellea complex grow-ing on conifers also caused severalpoisonings. Boletus edulis causedgastrointestinal distress in onecouple. Leccinum manzanitae causedone case of GI distress in Californiaand an unidentified Leccinum wasimplicated in a severe case ofstomach cramps in Oregon.Lentinula edodes purchased from astore resulted in a severe poisoningand coma for one person. Twopeople had adverse reaction to con-sumption of Leucoagaricus leuco-thites, a mushroom that I don’trecommend eating in any casebecause it looks so much like a“Destroying Angel” if someone cutsthe stem off and misses the buriedvolva of the Amanita. A man fromWisconsin reported a case of severecontact dermatitis (poison ivy-like)from consuming Laetiporus sul-phureus. That brave soul confirmedhis suspicions by eating a smallamount of the “Sulfur Shelf” asecond time and suffering a milderrepeat of the symptoms.

The committee also saw a muchlarger than usual number of reports(16) of ingestion of hallucinogenicmushrooms where the individualsuffered a bad trip and wound up inthe hospital. One person reportedadverse effects that persisted for

months after ingesting a hallucino-genic species. A group of threeteenagers purchased “hallucino-genic” mushrooms but got taken byconsuming some “raw shreddedbrown mushrooms” that producedvomiting and diarrhea along withtachycardia and a big hospital billbut no hallucinations. While most ofthe intestinal ingestions of halluci-nogenic mushrooms involvedteenagers and young adults, therewere also reports of people fromtheir 40s through 60s trying themagic mushrooms.

Of the over 50 dogs made ill bymushrooms, either Amanita muscariaor Amanita pantherina was impli-cated in over half of the cases. Inone case a dog was euthanizedwhen it went into the coma typicalof this kind of ingestion. We suspectthat had the vet waited, the dogprobably would have recovered,unless it was otherwise in very poorhealth. At least eight dogs consumedInocybe species. Judy Roger con-firmed by study of the vomitus thatInocybe geophylla or Inocybe lilacinawere involved in two of three lethalcases. At least three dogs died fromsuspected mushroom ingestionswhere no expert had the chance todetermine the mushroom involved.

If you hear of mushroom poi-sonings in the future, you are en-couraged to go to the NAMA Website (www.namyco.org) and file areport. These reports will help us tobetter understand what mushroomsshould be avoided and what toexpect from a specific mushroomingestion.

Also, lest this report leave youtoo depressed, remember thatmushrooms in general are far lesstoxic than plants. Unlike plants, nomushroom is so poisonous that youcannot handle it safely. Of thethousands of species of mushroomsout there only a handful are deadly.All that is needed is a little bettereducation. Most people would neverdream of randomly eating any wildplant they find (or for that matterany bulb that they might dig up intheir flowerbed; but for somereason, once they get the nerve to

Poisonings, cont. from page 9 try wild mushrooms, people oftenproceed with inadequate informa-tion. Help us change that situation.

[All readers would benefit from a visitto Dr. Beug’s terrific Web site,www.evergreen.edu/mushrooms.]

11 T M, May/June 2005

will be led by professional mycolo-gists with extensive knowledge ofthe native Northwest mushroomspecies. Persons wishing to attendthe IMMC may register throughFungi Perfecti via the mail: FungiPerfecti, L.L.C., P.O. Box 7634,Olympia, WA 98507; via phone at(800) 780-9126 or (360) 426-9292; orvia fax at (360) 426-9377. An onlineregistration form is available forthose purchasing their registrationsvia the Online Store using a creditcard. (You can also use the onlineform to simply register for the nextround of information concerning theconference). Or you can register viathe mail with a credit card, check ormoney order using a downloadableregistration form.

Registration fee for the confer-ence is $500.00 for check or moneyorder transactions, $510.00 for creditcards, and $530.00 for bank wires.This fee does not include food orlodging.

A limited number of discountedstudent registrations will be madeavailable in due course. Conferenceattendees may reserve lodging in avariety of dormitories and houses atthe Fort Worden Conference Centerthrough Fungi Perfecti. Housing isassigned on a first–come, first–served basis. All housing costsinclude sales tax, linen service andat least one meal per day (dormitoryhousing includes two meals perday). To make reservations or formore information, contact Steve at(800) 780- 9126 ext. 10, or email at<immc@fungi.com>.

8th International MycologicalCongressCairns, AustraliaAugust 21–26, 2006

It’s not too early to start planning—and saving money—for IMC8.Details forthcoming; meantimecheck the Web site for periodicupdates: www.sapmea.asn.au/imc8.

Mushroom ArtRenowned artist Alexander (Sasha)Viazmensky’s mushroom art will bedisplayed at the Oxford Ashmolean’sexhibition “1000 Years of BotanicalArt” from May 2 to September 11,2005—see details at www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/exhibitions/exh075.html.

Guest curator Dr. ShirleySherwood chose the exhibits fromher acclaimed collection of botanicalpainting by artists worldwide andfrom the rich historical treasures ofOxford’s libraries and museums.Alexander Viazmensky’s mushroomart is in the catalog of the exhibi-tion A New Flowering: 1000 Years ofBotanical Art by Dr. Shirley Sher-wood, 200 pp; paperback; 2005; ISBN1-85444-206-6. Send inquired to<publications@ashmus.ox.ac.uk>.

If you can’t make the trip, youcan view Alexander Viazmensky’snew mushroom prints (which arefairly priced for sale) at: www.pelcor.com/mushrooms/SashaMushrooms.html. The paintings of Amanitamuscaria are incredible—possiblymore beautiful than the actualmushrooms!

Books for SaleMartin, G. W., and C. J. Alexo-poulos. The Myxomycetes.Univ. of Iowa Press, 1969. 560 pp.(41 color plates). Mint cond. $150.00+shipping. Contact Larry Littlefield,2724 Black Oak Drive, Stillwater, OK74074, or <larrylittlefield@cox.net>.

Rare Books on Fungi and LichensLooking for rare and out of printtexts on fungi and lichens? Manytitles printed during the 18th throughearly 20th centuries can be foundthrough Antiquarian Steven Ekholm.Famous authors such as Elias Fries,Robert E. Fries, Karl Starbäck, andJuel are represented, among manyothers. All original publications!

Contact the address below for anextensive list of titles available:Antikvariat Steven Ekholm, Hög-bergsgatan 8, 891 32 Örnsköldsvik,SWEDEN. Web site:www.stevenekholmbooks.just.nu;email <steven.ekholm@telia.com;or tel. +46 70 55 99 123.

Wildacres Regional NAMAForayWildacres, North CarolinaSeptember 29–October 2

Dr. Orson Miller, Jr., will be Princi-pal Mycologist. Participants at thisforay will be limited to 40 persons,double-occupancy. There are noprivate rooms. The cost of the forayis $175 and covers three nightslodging and eight meals beginningwith an evening meal on ThursdaySeptember 29 and ending withbreakfast on Sunday, October 2. Forinformation contact Allein Stanley at<wildacres@namyco.org>.

3rd International MedicinalMushroom ConferencePort Townsend, WashingtonOctober 12–17

As sources for new antibiotics (bothantibacterial and antiviral), immu-nomodulators, enzymes, enzyme-inhibitors, and other medicines,mushrooms play a unique role incomplementary therapies. Join theleaders in this field at IMMC3 toexplore the most recent innovationsin medicinal mushrooms.

The conference will be held inthe conference center at the historicFort Worden near Port Townsend,WA, on the eastern edge of theOlympic Peninsula. The closeproximity to virgin old-growthforests will provide a unique oppor-tunity of foraying into some of themost ancient woodlands of theworld. The timing of the conferencehas been selected so that the wild-mushroom season will be at itspeak. This event promises to be notonly academically interesting, butalso visually and empirically rich.We promise an unforgettableexperience and hope you will join usin helping to make this conference asuccess.

Fungi Perfecti, L.L.C., will behosting pre-conference mushroomforays into the old-growth forests ofthe Olympic Peninsula on October10th and 11th. These expeditions

12T M, May/June 2005

maximized spore production. Thesequickly formed fleshy mushroomspecies soon become fodder formyriad arthropods, mollusks, andother animals, thereby serving animportant role in the food web.

A different strategy is to producemushrooms that live longer andrelease their spores slowly overweeks or months. These mushroomsare designed to avoid predation andto withstand environmental pres-sures encountered over long periods.Polypores and other bracket fungican be seen all year long becausethey form their mushrooms fromvery thick-walled cells that inhibitbacterial growth and animal preda-tion. Yet other mushrooms formtheir billions of spores inside anenclosed structure that opens only atmaturity, and, with the aid ofsplashing rain and plodding animals,they slowly “puff” their spores intothe air (puffballs).

Interestingly, these differentmushrooms shapes have evolvedindependently many times, indicat-ing that not all mushrooms areclosely related to each other. Somegilled mushrooms are more closelyrelated to boletes, polypores, orpuffballs than they are to othergilled mushrooms. The repeatedevolution of similar morphologies(convergence) is a good clue to theiradaptive significance. Most of theadaptive features of mushrooms thataid in their survival and success arephysiological or microscopic and arenot seen easily. Toxins, distastefulcompounds, anti-freeze, hydrophobictissues, sticky residues, and hookedor needle-shaped cells are someexamples.

Concerning color variability, inmany cases mushrooms are brightlycolored to attract spore dispersers,analogous to brightly colored fruitsattracting seed dispersers. Stink-horns are some of the most unusualmushrooms known, suggestingprops from the X-files. They areoften bright red and oddly shaped,like starfish, phalluses, or whiffle-balls. Both color and shape arevisual attractants for insects. More-over, as their common name im-

plies, they produce foul volatilecompounds that smell like dead androtting flesh. The strategy forstinkhorns is to attract flies, whicheat the slimy, nutritious spore mass,fly off, and defecate in a newlocation where the spores thengerminate in a nitrogen-rich sub-strate. Stinkhorn spores are adaptedto pass through the digestive systemof insect where the insect’s enzymesmay even aid in spore germination.The fly benefits from this, too, inhaving food to eat and in providingfood for its progeny, who consumethe stinkhorn.

In a few cases, mushroomcolors may serve as warning colora-tion like that seen in poison dartfrogs and coral snakes. Somemushrooms with unpalatable ortoxic compounds are distinctivelycolored and may serve as a warningto potential predators. Avoidingpredation is important to mushroomsonly when they are young, beforethe spores are formed. Remember,when a mushroom is mature, it hasalready dispersed millions to billionsof spores and has effectively servedits purpose. If an animal eats it atmaturity, the animal becomes anadditional dispersal vector for thefungus. Here, then, being brightlycolored to attract animals is benefi-cial even though the mushroom isconsumed.

Who knows, maybe mushroomscome in fantastic shapes and colorsjust to enhance the aesthetics of thisplanet, thereby making us happierand more conservation centric: thealtruistic mushroom.

Dr. Desjardin is the Professor ofMycology at San Francisco StateUniversity and the author of numerousresearch papers on fungi. He is cur-rently working on the fungal flora ofthe Hawaiian Islands and Indonesia.

Why Do Mushrooms

Come in a Wide Variety

of Shapes and Colors?

by Dennis E. Desjardin, Ph.D.(Reprinted with permission from theMycological Society of SanFrancisco’s Mycena News.)

Mushrooms are the charismaticreproductive structures of individ-uals whose main body (the poten-tially immortal hyphae) is wellhidden in the soil or amongst leavesand rotting wood. Although there aremany ecologically important rolesfor the hyphae, the primary role ofthe mushroom is reproduction.Hence, they are optimally designedfor abundant spore production andeffective spore dispersal, and theirshape reflects this function.

One strategy is to produce anddisperse billions of spores quickly, sothe mushroom is designed todevelop rapidly (in one to sevendays) and to have a maximizedsurface area for spore production.There are many ways to design alarge spore-bearing surface area,and mushroom species exhibit themall. Underneath a cap that provides astructural foundation and protectionfor the developing spores, somemushrooms produce radiating platescalled gills on which the spores areformed (“agarics,” like portabella).Other species form a sponge-likestructure of vertically oriented tubesinside which the spores develop(“boletes,” like porcini), while othersform spine-like spore-bearingstructures (tooth fungi, like hedge-hogs).

In most of these mushrooms,the spores are forcibly discharged, sothe cap is elevated by a stem toassure that the spores are releasedinto the air for effective dispersal.Rather than produce a cap and stem,some mushrooms look like marinecorals with highly branched, erectfruitbodies. In these coral mush-rooms, the spores are produced allover the surface of the branches:again, an effective structure for

13 T M, May/June 2005

will be visiting, but also for the many attractions of theupper reaches of the river and the city of La Crosse. Anadditional plus is a live band on Saturday night. Bringyour dancing shoes!

You may reach La Crosse (LSE) by NorthwestAirlines from Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP), Ameri-can Airlines through Chicago (ORD), or by MidwestExpress through Milwaukee (MKE). Madison, WI, isabout 120 miles from La Crosse, and Minneapolis about135 miles if you would like to drive from these cities.We do plan a shuttle from the La Crosse airport tocampus.

Additional rooms have been reserved in twodowntown hotels that front on the Mississippi River.They are being offered at the government rate of$92.00 per night, double occupancy, with a 12.5% tax.If you prefer these accommodations, you may contactthe hotels directly:

Courtyard by Marriott Radisson Hotel500 Front St. 200 Harborview PlazaLa Crosse, WI 54601 La Crosse, WI 54601(608) 782-1000 (608) 784-6680

Check out Tom Volk’s Web site for more informa-tion about our venture into this great new territory:TomVolkFungi.net at his NAMA 2005 page.

[Editor’s note: Tom Volk has requested that those arrivingearly please respect the area and not collect within 20miles of La Crosse.]

Other magazines urge you to subscribe, butwe invite you to join friends on what we call

“printed forays”!

For 20 years, Mushroom the Journal has provided informa-tion of value to those who like to hunt, name, cook, studyand photograph wild mushrooms. We’ve answered —

• How do professionals find “pillowcasefuls” of morels?

• In the future, will you have to pay to pick on public landand still have to contend with bag limits?

• If you discover a new species, can you name it anythingyou want?

• Should you worry about violence from commercialpickers?

• Can you do more with choice edibles than toss them in asauté pan with butter?

• Can you grow your own truffles? Train your own trufflehound?

• Can you subscribe to the world’s best mushroom maga-zine and have your satisfaction guaranteed? (You certainlycan guess that answer—and yes, you can also train thedog.)

We’re proud of the job we do of reviewing books of interestto the amateur mycologist. Before you buy, you’ll knowwhether you should. Think we’re kidding about “joining”rather than “subscribing”? Our Letters column lets you speakout, or contact others to seek that special book or sell thathistoric mushroom basket.

So join—come aboard and check us out!www.mushroomthejournal.com

Yes! Send me ❏❏❏❏❏ the next year (4 issues) for $19 or❏❏❏❏❏ three years (12 issues) for $49 (Save $8)

Send your check made out to Mushroom the Journal to

Leon Shernoff, 1511 E. 54th St., Chicago, IL 60615.

Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Email address

P.S. How did you hear about Mushroom the Journal?NAMA Voucher 2004-347, Amanita ravenelii.Identified by N. Jay Justice and collected by JohnEllifritz on the University of North Carolina campusunder pine trees during last year’s Annual Foray inAsheville, NC.

On to Wisconsin, continued from page 1

14T M, May/June 2005

B O O K R E V I E W S

Fungi in Forest Ecosystems: Systematics, Diversity,and Ecology. Memoirs of the New York BotanicalGarden, Volume 89, 2004. Cathy L. Cripps, ed.ISBN 0-89327-459-3.

At the joint NAMA/MSA Foray in Asheville, NC, lastJuly, a celebration was held honoring the career ofmycologist Orson K. Miller, Jr. At that banquet, thefollowing letter from NAMA was read:

On this festive evening the officers and members of theNorth American Mycological Association are pleased tojoin in the celebration of the mycological career of Dr.Orson K. Miller, Jr. For nearly 40 years Orson has been acritical link between the professional and amateur myco-logical communities and the person most responsible forhelping amateurs develop a deeper understanding ofmushrooms. For instance, he

• First and foremost has been a patient, understanding,and effective teacher in the field, in the lab, and aroundthe display tables.

• Wrote one of the first well-illustrated color mushroomguides—Mushrooms of North America—an excellentbook that unfortunately no longer is in print.

• Has been NAMA’s most active institutional trustee,attending many annual meetings, offering advice, servingon committees, and on occasion providing a calminginfluence when tensions ran high.

• Has served as mycologist—chief, staff, and volunteer—atNAMA forays too numerous to list, beginning in 1966 atPriest Lake, ID, and stretching to this year’s event herein Asheville. He also has found time to head up manylocal and regional forays from Los Angeles to southernIdaho to New Mexico to Wildacres in the nearby BlueRidge Mountains.

• Mentored many of the current generation of mycologistsand encouraged them to continue the tradition ofinteracting with amateurs that he inherited from his ownadvisor, Alex Smith.

• Led successful NAMA international forays toScandinavia (1978), Austria-Yugoslavia (1980), andCzechoslovakia (1983), arranging for interactions withmany prominent European mycologists in the people-to-people spirit that was at the heart of NAMA’s origins inthe Eisenhower years.

• Taught, for many years, a very popular summer mush-room class at Flathead Lake, MT, including one inassociation with the 1973 NAMA foray there.

In recognition of these and many other activities, in1981 Orson received NAMA’s highest honor—the Award forContributions to Amateur Mycology.

Before going further, we would be remiss not toacknowledge the other half of Team Miller—Orson’s wifeHope. Orson usually gets top billing, but all who knowthem recognize that their successes come from a jointeffort. Although many of us are well aware of Hope’sconsiderable skills in cooking with mushrooms, her organi-zational talents, wealth of knowledge about mushrooms,and tolerance of Orson’s habit of starting work earlier inthe morning than anyone ought to should not be over-looked.

In closing, NAMA’s members past and present join withOrson’s many friends and colleagues throughout the worldin congratulating him on a remarkable career, thankinghim for all he has done on behalf of NAMA and amateurmycology, and wishing him the very best as he continues hismycological endeavors at the informally named McCallCenter for Mushroom Research.

Thank you, Orson.

• • •

During the festivities Fungi in Forest Ecosystems, whichis dedicated to Orson, was unveiled. The cover de-scribes the volume as “a compilation of research fromaround the globe that documents a diversity of fungiand the critical roles they play in forest health andfunction.” The topic for the book was selected torecognize both Orson’s early career as a forester andhis life-long passion for the higher fungi.

Edited by Cathy Cripps, the book contains 28contributions from 56 of his students and other col-leagues from throughout the world, from Scotland toSwitzerland, New Guinea to India, and Costa Rica toKorea. As the title suggests, the chapters are organizedinto three main sections: Systematics, Diversity, andEcology. These follow a recounting of Orson’s life andespecially his mycological career, accompanied by a listof student theses completed under his guidance, a listof his published fungi, and a bibliography of his manybooks and articles. Among the interesting tidbitsexposed are Orson’s stints as poster supermodel for theGirl Scouts of America and his illustrious—albeit brief—television careers.

The Systematics section includes 11 chapters,ranging from “Amanita subgenus Lepidella and relatedtaxa in the southeastern United States,” “Two remark-able taxa of Crepidotus from Bonin Islands (Japan) andnew records from the Hawaiian Islands and Papua NewGuinea,” “New species of lignicolous basidiomycetesfrom Hawai’i,” to “Three new boletes for Costa Rica.”The inclusion of papers dealing with the SvalbardArchipelago and New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islandssuggests that “forest ecosystems” was interpretedbroadly.

15 T M, May/June 2005

The Diversity section consists of only six chapters:“Subalpine conifer forests in the Alps, the Altai, and theRocky Mountains: A comparison of their fungal popula-tions,” “Ectomycorrhizal epigeous basidiomycetediversity in Oregon Coast Range Pseudotsuga menziesiiforests: Preliminary observations,” “Biodiversity ofwood-inhabiting fungi in Israeli pine forests,” “Distribu-tion and ecology of myxomycetes in southern Appala-chian subalpine coniferous forests,” “Macrolichens ofthe forests of Montana and Yellowstone and GlacierNational Parks,” and “Notes on fungi from the easternhighlands of Papua New Guinea.”

Like the first section, the final one, Ecology,comprises 11 chapters, including “Ectomycorrhizalfungi above and below ground in a small isolated aspenstand,” “Fungal diversity and fruit body production inrelation to vegetation structure, topography, and soilproperties in a Quercus mongolica forest in centralKorea,” “Mycorrhizal associations in dryland riparianforests of the southwestern United States,” “Diversityand role of ectomycorrhizal fungi on a revegetatedmine site in southwest Virginia,” and ‘Temporal andspatial variation in the spore rain of Gymnopus subnudameasured by the spore trap method.”

The papers are presented in academic style, and theillustrations are all in black and white. Nonetheless,most of the chapters should be readily accessible for

any NAMA member curious toknow what’s out there in thewoods and what the many fungiwe seek are doing for a living.

—Steve TrudellSeattle, Washington

Ordering information: NYBGOrder No. MEM-89, $68.00 pluss/h. Web site: www.nybg.org. E-mail: <nybgpress@nybg.org>.Tel. (718) 817-8721.

Hope Miller, Orson Miller, and Cathy Cripps

Top: Pleurocybellaporrigens, orAngel’s Wings,growing at Devil’sLake Park,Wisconsin.

Bottom:Pleurocybellaporrigens, orAngel’s Wings,growing at IndianLake Park,Wisconsin.

Photos courtesy ofSteve Nelsen

Amanita muscariavar. muscaria.Photo courtesy ofJohn Plischke III

Amanitaphalloides. Photocourtesy of JohnPlischke III

Amanitapantherina. Photocourtesy of JohnPlischke III

Poisonous Mushrooms.See story beginning on page 1.

16T M, May/June 2005

North American Mycological Association336 Lenox AvenueOakland, CA 94610-4675

Address Service Requested

Mushroom of the Month

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 1260CHAS. WV 25301

This month’s featured fungus isAmanita muscaria var. formosa. Seeinside this issue for NAMA’s Summaryof Mushroom Poisonings in 2004 alongwith lovely photos of “the usualsuspects.”

Photo courtesy of John Plischke III