May Potluck

There is no meeting in May, we will have a potluck party instead.  Then we stop for the summer. The next meeting will be on October 6, 2008.

Jean Leighton will host the potluck again this year.  The festivities will start at 7:00 p.m. on May 5^th.  To our new members, if you have not seen the fabulous garden at Jeans, don’t miss this chance.

Bring a dish to share.  If your dish includes wild mushrooms, please provide a label identifying the species. 

Bring your own alcohol if desired.  Water, plates, plastic cups, silverware and napkins will be provided.

Address

1402 Willow Street
San Diego (Point Loma Area)
(619) 222-5360

Map

Directions:

From most places, go to I-8 and head West till it ends.  Turn left on Sunset Cliffs, go a little way, and turn left on Nimitz Blvd.  Take Nimitz to Rosecrans, turn right.  Go past the Von’s and turn right on Keats.  Go up three blocks and turn left on Willow, and go about six blocks to 1402.

If you are coming via the I-5, there is no ramp to get on 8 West.  From the North, take the Sea World Drive exit and go West.  Sea World Drive becomes Sunset Cliffs, from there follow the directions above.

From the South, it is better to take Harbor Drive past the airport to Rosecrans, and turn left.  At the Von’s at Nimitz, follow the directions above.

If you get lost, call (619) 222-5360, after noting where you are.

 

Monsoon Mushrooming

Alas, the mushroom season in Southern California is soon over.  The May morels at higher elevations mark the last gasp of local fungi until the rains come in the fall.

During the drought, devoted mycophiles will venture further afield to feed their fungal frenzy.  The key to summer mushrooming within striking distance of SoCal is the monsoon.  The north American monsoon brings abundant moisture to a wide swath of the southwest, including parts of Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.  It can sometimes reach the peninsular and transverse ranges of California, but only rarely gets to the coastal strip.  When this moisture interacts with mountainous terrain, or with thermal updrafts in the deserts, the result can be sudden thunderstorms and heavy rain.  As sure as night follows day, the rains are followed by fruiting fungi.

For a technical discussion of the weather patterns that create the monsoon, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon

The monsoon season typically starts in late May to early June in southern Mexico.  It usually reaches Arizona and New Mexico in early July, and spreads into Utah and Colorado by August. When the monsoon rains are plentiful, the high elevation forests of the southwest are literally carpeted with mushrooms in August.  Then the foray and festival season kicks off.  The New Mexico Mycological Society Foray and the Crested Butte festival are both on the weekend of August 15 to 17.  The Colorado Mycological Society Mushroom Fair is on Sunday the 17th.  The following weekend of August 22 to 24 features the Telluride Mushroom Festival, the Creede Foray, and a special "mycoblitz" in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I have not found a date for the Arizona Mushroom Club White Mountains Foray for 2008.  In prior years it has been at about the same time in mid-August.

See the web site for links to all of these events, plus any others I can find between now and August.

Of course, in addition to the festivals, there are plenty of opportunities to fill your baskets.  The White Mountains in Arizona are usually good hunting starting in late July and through August.  Any of the Forests in Colorado are good hunting through the monsoon season.  There is an excellent guide to mushroom hunting areas in Colorado on the CMS web site, which includes maps and short descriptions of areas that are known to be productive.  See http://www.cmsweb.org/stalking.htm

I also had good luck along Highway 14 in the Dixie National Forest in Southern Utah.  This is one of the closest spots (500 mi) to Southern California, but has not been as well explored as Arizona and Colorado.  It is very empty country, so it does not get picked over as fast as the better-known areas.

In all of these areas, the weather is great as long as you are prepared for daily rainstorms.  It is cool to nippy at night, and pleasant during the day.  Typically the mornings are best for hunting, since scattered thunderstorms usually start up in the afternoon and end by early evening.

 

Help Still Wanted

No takers yet  for the job of newsletter editor.  You could be the hero who steps in to take over!

There has been some positive response to the idea of going paperless.  That would simplify the job considerably.

Sierra Nevada Fungi

June 1^st to 6^th, 2008

Students will be introduced to the different kinds of mushrooms and other large fungi that occur in the spring in the Sierra Nevada. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of macro- and micromorphological features, as well as ecological roles, to aid in the identification of taxa.

The daily class routine consists of an 8:00-10:00 am lecture followed by a field trip until approx. 3:00 pm.  Upon return to the camp, collections will be examined and identified in the laboratory (3:30-6:00 pm) in collaboration with the instructor and a knowledgeable graduate student assistant.  In the evenings, several lectures and slide shows will be presented, and the laboratory will be open for additional work on collections. If sufficient quantities of edible fungi are collected, they will be prepared for consumption and served to the class by the camp's chef.

Participants should plan to arrive Sunday afternoon, 1 June, in time to attend an orientation lecture on Sunday evening at 8:00 pm. The last class meeting ends 12:00 noon, Friday, 6 June.

The course carries one unit of college credit and may be taken for a letter grade or Credit/No Credit. For questions regarding class content email the instructor at ded at sfsu.edu

REGISTRATION:

Please direct all questions concerning registration procedures and fees to:
Jim Steele, Sierra Nevada Field Camp Director,
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University,
1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132
www.sfsu.edu/~sierra/Course_Fungi.html
$275 - Class Open - Request Registration Forms by emailing jsteele AT sfsu.edu

 

NAMA Annual Foray

Get a jump on next fall’s mushroom season by attending the North American Mycological Association’s annual foray, September 4-7, 2008, in McCall, Idaho — a mushroom paradise of conifer forests, meadows and sagebrush prairie. Participants will foray in the Payette National Forest and surrounding area. Foray headquarters is Camp Pinewood, on the Payette River.

McCall has a rich mycological history and is the home of several type species, including Hygrophorus caeruleus, which is incorporated into this year’s foray logo.  McCall is also where Orson and Hope Miller spent their summers while Dr. Miller taught at Virginia Tech and where they eventually retired.

Foray chief mycologist will be Dr. Cathy Cripps, Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Science and Plant Pathology at Montana State University. Dr. Cripps studies alpine fungi and ectomycorrhizal fungi in aspen forests. She wrote Fungi in Forest Ecosystems, a compilation of research from around the globe that documents a diversity of fungi and the roles they play in forest health and function.

If you’ve never been to a NAMA foray, this would be a good one to attend, since it’s on this side of the country.  In addition to mushrooms, the McCall area has access to hot springs, river rafting, golf, fishing, and horseback riding.  This event is a great way to meet mycophiles from around the country and to learn from a wide array of professional mycologists.  And there’s even a photography contest! 

For more information and to register, check the NAMA website, www.namyco.org, or look for details on the website of the host club, the Southern Idaho Mycological Association, www.simykos.org/. 

See www.cambridge432.org/sima.htm for more info

 

RMNP Mycoblitz

Rocky Mountain National Park - August 23 & 24, 2008

CMS has obtained a research permit from the park service to organize a mycoblitz in Rocky Mountain National Park. A mycoblitz is when a group of people get together for a short period of time and focus on identifying the mushrooms in a given area. This is a very exciting opportunity for mushroom collecting in the Rocky Mountains -as collecting mushrooms in our National Park system is typically illegal. Additionally, macrofungi have not been systematically studied in RMNP and our efforts will be the first to document fungi in the park. This event has great potential, but will only be successful with ample help from club members and good organization.

This event will be free and open to the public, and will also consist of mushroom workshops - so everyone will be able to learn throughout the weekend. We have also obtained funds to fly in an expert mycologist to serve as the chief identifier.  Best of all, this event is 100% free to participants, and collectors will even receive free camping in RMNP - they just have to contact me so I can get the appropriate number of permits.

This is a huge undertaking to organize. If you, your organization, or your club members are interested and able to help or assist in any way (in terms of organizing or collecting), please contact me. I'd like to make the mycoblitz as successful as possible.

Thank you,
Robert M. Hallock, PhD
President,
Colorado Mycological Society
rob.hallock at uchsc.edu
303-724-3433

 

New Magazine

There is a new mycology magazine starting up.  See their web site at www.fungimag.com/ For more information.

Each issue of FUNGI will explore the world of mycology from many different angles. With regular features ranging from toxicology to medicinal mushrooms; from photography to book reviews, FUNGI will inform and entertain everyone from beginner to professional mycologist. Many of the Contributing Editors of FUNGI have won awards nationally for their photography, writing, or pedagogical efforts. Most will likely be familiar names to you. Additionally, every issue of FUNGI will feature peer-reviewed technical papers ranging from original research findings to reviews of taxonomic groups to new records of North American species. FUNGI will be printed five times per year: four seasonal issues plus a special annual issue. Additionally, a user-friendly website will post supplemental information for published articles, plus extras.

 

Help Still Wanted

No takers yet  for the job of newsletter editor.  You could be the hero who steps in to take over!

There has been some positive response to the idea of going paperless.  That would simplify the job considerably.  We would need to arrange for someone to print and mail three or four copies to our non-electronic members.

 

New Arizona Club Links

Club web site: http://az-mushroom-club.org/
Scott Bates web site: http://www.azfungi.org/
Herbarium at UofA http://ag.arizona.edu/mycoherb/

Festivals and Forays

Summer festivals and forays.  For more information and links, see:www.sdmyco.org/newslinks.html
I will add dates and information as I can find it.

 
Ensenada Mushroom Festival - Early June?
Ensenada, BC, Mexico

Feria del Hongo San Juanito - Mid-August?
San Juanito, Chihuahua, Mexico

Ecuador Foray I - July 5 to 18
The Galapagos to the Andes

Ecuador Foray II - July 21 to 28
The Cloud Forest

Samuel Ristich Foray - July 31 to August 3
New London, Connecticut

NMMS Three Graces Foray - August 14 to 17
Taos, New Mexico

Crested Butte Mushroom Festival - August 15 to 17
Crested Butte Colorado

Mexicana Mushroom Tours - August 17 to 24
Hidalgo, Mexico

Creede Foray - August 22 and 23
Creede, Colorado

Telluride Festival - August 21 to 24
Telluride, Colorado

NAMA Foray - September 4 to 7
McCall, Idaho

Salmon and Mushrooms - October 4 and 5
Mt Hood Village, Oregon

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SDMS Information