Fungal Jungal - Winter 1999

January Meeting
Just six of us gathered to see Todd's slides from China and hear about the fungi there. Karen made a presentation about the educational mushroom trunk that the WMMA is creating. (as of Feb, the most popular budget item chosen by the members). There will be flash cards, a mushroom slide show and video, a mushroom growing kit, information on how to use and make a key, posters, and dried mushrooms. Your ideas about what should go into the trunk are welcome, and don't be shy. We are looking for people who want to write a description for any of the 40 species of fungi we are making cards for. Call Larry at 543-6630 and he will have you choose a fungus and tell what info is needed for each one.

February NHC Outing
On February 20, around a dozen of us met at Crazy Canyon for a Montana Natural History Center sponsored foray for winter truffles, winter twig identification, and the subnivean world of small forest mammals in winter. The lichens were in their element; this is the time of year they thrive, and some fruit. The Dog Pelt lichen (Peltigera canina) was making spores, and we spotted the medicinal lichen Usnea, as well as old man's beard, Bryoria and some small cups of Claydonia fimbriata.

Another winter breeder is the dwarf mistletoe. It produces tiny lolipops that pop sticky seeds to nearby branches, where they stimulate the tree to grow. You need a handlens to examine these guys carefully; it is easy to find them by the "witches' brooms" they create.

Determined digging in the right spot by Grant Parker turned up a small truffle that appeared to be an ascomycete. Only a few spores were found under the microscope, and no ascus or basidium, so identification is still unknown.

Troy Taste Test
At the end of the collecting season last fall, Todd Osmundson, Mike Arvidson, and I found ourselves in Troy with four flavorful fungi. Although choosing was difficult, we rated them as follows: Hygrophorus speciosus was the best, with its buttery flavor made even more noticeable by the fact it was fried in oil. (6) Clavariadelphus truncatus was equal with 6; the remarkable sweet flavor holds up under cooking. Pleurotus serotinus was third, with 7 points, a good mushroomy-nutty flavor, the strongest of those sampled, and Lactarius deliciosus was fourth with 12 points, a tasty mushroom but not exciting enough for our jaded palates.

What's Coming Up
The next FJ will include the annual Morel Report, and the summer calendar. We currently have an Oyster Mushroom Project proposal being considered by a foundation and will know about that next letter.

Current activities planned for this summer include a Glacier Institute class, a foray in the Kalispell-Whitefish area coordinated by Dale Johnson, a couple workshops in the Bitterroot valley, a foray with the Nature Conservancy, and an Audubon-sponsored workshop. If you are interested in having a foray in your area, or if you want to know more about WMMA activities, you can call 543-6630 or visit our website at http://www.wildrockies.org

Off the 'Net
A note from Jim Trappe about truffle harvesting:

* No doubt in my mind, the raking of truffles turns up a large proportion that are immature, especially those collected before mid-December. As the aromas are produced as more and more spores mature to attract animals, it stands to reason that those left in the ground will be in substantial part immature. In good years, production far exceeds animal need, so plenty would be left to be found by dogs. In very poor years, the critters will likely get a large proportion of the matured ones. Our commercial trufflers are shooting themselves in the foot by raking. Theyk've already established Tuber gibbosum as inferior, with a price generally less than $100/lb. That will be a hard reputation to change, even if they start using dogs. The Italian white, I was told, was bringing up to $1,600/lb in this year's season of scarcity, but $800/lb. is common even in good years. I think the Oregon white could command much more than it does if properly hunted.
* According to a May report in the New York Times, biologists and New Jersey authorities still do not know the reason why the plastic grass at Giants Stadium died last year. The Astroturf first turned from green to blue and then began falling out in large clumps, and the best guess so far is that a fungus of some kind infected it. (New York Times, 5-8-98)

Fungal Jungal subscriptions run for one calendar year
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Members Only - Voters Ballot
Please vote for one person for each office by circling your choice. Ballots received after March 15 will not be counted.

Director/Treasurer: Larry Evans

Secretary: __Todd Osmundson, __Rattlesnake, __Egan Jankowski-Bradley

Deputy Director: __Dale Johnson, __Drake Barton, __Rodd Galloway, __Keith Leatherman

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_____ Video production _____Educational "trunk" _____ membership expansion
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