A big group turned out for the foray. We did not get a head count, as people did not all arrive at the start, but it was at least 20 by the time we gathered for show and tell.

Mushrooms were scarce, except for a some tan-capped mushrooms that were abundant on the old lake bed. Many of the other listed species were represented by one or a few specimens. The oak woodlands were not very productive. On a previous foray here (Feb 19, 2000) there were hundreds of Collybia dryophila in the oaks. This time there were none.

There were more species found than there were foragers, and I think everyone found something, so it was not a bad result. We had some good puzzles to work on at the ID table.

Agaricus sp (small, non-staining)
Agaricus sp (yellow staining)
Agaricus sylvicola
Agrocybe praecox group
Amanita pantherina
Amanita rubescens (AKA novinupta)
Clitocybe (Lepista) nuda
Clitocybe gibba (= infundibuliformis, "funnel-shaped")
Clitocybe sp (clustered, might be Collybia)
Helvella compressa
Helvella lacunosa
Hygrophorus sp.
Lactarius argillaceifolius
Lactarius rufulus
Marasmius plicatulus
Mycena acicula
Omphalina pyxidata
Omphalotus olivascens
Panaeolus subbalteatus group
Psathyrella longipes
Stereum ostrea
Suillus sp.
Tremella mesenterica

Various unidentified LBM’s

Note: the amanitas were found a few days before, and saved for the foray.

Notes on "Mystery Mushrooms" that we could not identify on-site:

1. The pretty funnel-shaped mushroom that looked like it might be a Pleurotus relative produced a white spore print. It is Clitocybe gibba.

2. The small mushroom that was fruiting abundantly on the old lake bed now reverted to grassland was Agrocybe pediades

3. The larger tan-capped mushroom that was fairly common on the old lake bed produced a brown spore print and was later identified as Agrocybe praecox group, based on the descriptions in Arora, and eliminating all the things it was not.

4. The tiny orange caps on thin yellow stalk are Mycena acicula. It is described in Arora, but not pictured. There is a good picture in "Mushrooms of North America" by Roger Phillips.

The SDMS Monthly meeting for May has traditionally been a potluck dinner. This year, we have changed the date to the second Monday in May. This will be May 12, the Monday following the LAMS/SDMS Morel Foray. This has been done so we can have a special guest speaker. Dr. Chester Leathers, president of the Arizona Mushroom Club will be joining us for the morel foray, and will be the speaker at the May meeting. If the foraging is good, the potluck may include some fresh morels. The change of date requires that we find an alternate location, so location will be announced next month. If you can host a potluck picnic, see Les or Dave at the April meeting.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who made the fair a success. Here are a few more that we missed in the last newsletter.

Erin Leong

Neil Bouscaren

To all the contributors this month.

The foray will be organized somewhat differently this year. We will be staying in cabins at The Lodge at Angelus Oaks in the hamlet of Angelus Oaks. Each cabin has beds with linens and blankets, a heater, an attached bathroom with shower, carpeting, a kitchen with stove, refrigerator, pots, pans, plates and utensils. There is also a meeting room with a fireplace and woodstove, comfortable furniture and a well-stocked library. There is a fire ring for campfires if the weather cooperates. There is a general store across Hwy 38 in "downtown" Angelus Oaks for those who may have forgotten some essentials.

Each cabin sleeps from 2 to 6 persons. Those who desire privacy can choose one of the two person cabins or you can keep your costs down by choosing to share one of the larger cabins. RVs may be parked on the grounds but no hookups are available. No tent camping is available at the Lodge but campgrounds may be available elsewhere in the Barton Flats area.

There is a restaurant in Angelus Oaks although it may not be open. One person reports having had a good meal there recently.

There are additional cabins available at the Whispering Pines Cabins about 150 yards south of The Lodge. Note however that all group events such as the potluck meal and field trip assembly will take place at The Lodge.

Costs will vary according to the number of persons you are willing to share your cabin with. They will range from $15 per person per night for a bed in a six-person cabin up to $85 per person per night for a single-person cabin at Whispering Pines.

We need to gather information about attendees and lodging preferences as soon as possible to finalize the arrangements. If you plan to attend, please contact Dave Grubb immediately with your cabin-sharing preference. If you send me an email, please include a current phone number so I can get back to you.

Mr. Bloomfield’s Orchard The Mysterious World of Mushrooms, Molds, and Mycologists by Nicholas P. Money. 2002. Oxford University Press.

Joanne Moore loaned me this book on the condition that I write a review of it for the newsletter. I think Elio Schaechter said it best in his statement on the back cover of the book: " Every major group of living organisms has its own fascination and enticement, although some of us reckon this to be particularly true for the fungi. Money’s book substantiates this point with clarity, wisdom and elegance. To be savored by beginners and experts alike, this book is safe-conduct to the world of fungal biology and the manifold roles that fungi play in human affairs." I can’t top that, but I can elaborate.

The author was raised and educated in England and now teaches at a university in Ohio. He was inspired to make mycology his life’s study by his freshman botany teacher at Bristol University. He wrote this book because he had reached his "midlife crisis" where he felt he had three options, "go insane, engage in an extramarital affair, or write a book." He credits his wise wife with not letting him engage in the first two options, so he sat in a shed in his back yard in Ohio and wrote.

The result is a slim, scholarly volume, part essay, part textbook. Dr. Money writes in a style I think of as common in British scientists, a little meandering, with lots of explanations and sometimes getting a little off track. This can make it easier and more entertaining for someone unfamiliar with the scientific vocabulary as opposed to the "just the facts" American style where one struggles with trying to understand what those facts really mean.

Dr. Money jumps through many topics, from stinkhorns to toxins, basic biology, scary human pathogens, even some of the unique mycologists who have made large contributions to science. He uses many parenthetical comments which seem to be intended to lighten up a technical discussion, although I sometimes found them distracting. The descriptions of infection processes and life cycles of several plant pathogens, including wheat stem rust, rice blast and late blight of potatoes were especially clearly written and well researched.

This book is not intended to be a taxonomic reference. Don’t use it for clues to identify a fungus. In Chapter 9 he mentions a "pink spored Agaricus" in the title orchard in the village of his childhood. In Chapter 2 he mentions that the water mold "Pythium…has not been isolated from anywhere other than mammalian tissues." Alas! The plant pathogens get snubbed again, as there are several species of Pythium which damage roots and foliage of many plants.

Other than those very minor details, there is something to be learned by everyone in this book. It is not a thriller that will keep you up all night trying to finish it, but it will give the dedicated reader a great introduction to the many facets of the science of mycology.

Trattoria Positano outdid themselves with a special dinner for us. They even had scrolls for each of us explaining the 4 course menu as:

1^st Zuppa di Funghi - Homemade mushroom soup with carrots, celery and potatoes

2^nd Gnochhi ai Funghi Porcini - Homemade potato dumplings with porcini mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, herbs and parmesan cheese

3^rd Choice of:

Arista Di Maiale - One double cut porkchop, oven roasted and topped with a port wine-mixed mushroom reduction

Bistecchine di Vitello Veal medallions sautéed with garlic, white wine, olive oil and rosemary and topped with a port wine-mixed mushroom reduction

Both entrees were served with potato-mushroom gallette and vegetable

4^th Flourless Chocolate Cake

Those attending included Nancy Mirr, Janet Fraser, Les Braund, Pat Nolan, Rebecca Morales, Nola Lamken, Janet Olson, Anne and Andy McCammom, Shirley Lee, Alan Snavely, Paul Mashka and Yolanda, Joanne Moore, Jean and Jim Leighton, Peg Yount, and John and Lynn Vondracek. The evening was such a pleasure that folks started talking about possibly doing another dinner in the future just to eat wonderful mushroom dishes and share some special time.

But then I changed over to Grubb,
And came up with the "heart of our club."
He rises above the hubbub,
And never, no never, he does flub.
He takes us to oak, live and scrub,
And nary a species will ever he snub.
Ah, but here is the rub,
Words, words are merely a sub.
*****************************
In verse or in prose, what we want to say to Dave is:
We appreciate you, are grateful,
are thankful
for all you have done for us.

Sorry we can't be there to enjoy the Grubb,
But please don't take that as a snub.
You are the fun guy who cooks so well,
Porcini, bolete, and chanterelle.

As newsletter editor you are the hub,
0f our San Diego mushroom club.
You help us out in so many ways,
We cannot give you too much praise.

After our recent mushroom fair
In our paper, you were there.
Wearing the chef's hat, not being vain,
Needing to cover your shaggy mane.

If we were there now, we'd raise a toast,
To "our Dave," who does the most.
For our club, you never blew it,
Always there to see us through it.

THANK YOU DAVE, from Bonni, Graham and Andrew

Thanks!

If you are not receiving meeting reminders and foray announcements by email, and would like to, send an email to dave.grubb@digm.com and ask to be added to the list.

If I get "bounced" email several times from an address, I remove it from the list. This can happen for a number of reasons. For example, some email services will bounce new mail if your mailbox gets too full. If you change your email address, or have a temporary problem, send me an email to make sure I have correct information..

The Sixth Annual Ensenada Mushroom Festival will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2003. Several SDMS members attended last year, and we had a great time. The festival is a cooperative effort by the Mycology Department of the University and the Restaurant Association of Ensenada.

The event last year included live music in a variety of traditional styles, an exhibit by the University, and a food and wine festival with booths from many local restaurants serving mushroom dishes. A $13 ticket got us four samples of food and four beverages, plus some extra free food samples. It was plenty!

We drove down in the morning, enjoyed the festival, and drove back the same evening. A bus charter could be arranged for about $30 per person. That would let us go as a group without worrying about driving back at night after a day of food and wine. We may also be able to get a special rate at one of the sponsoring hotels, if anyone wants to spend a weekend in Ensenada.

by Dave Grubb

A friend invited me to a dinner party, and asked me to make a mushroom sauce that would go well with polenta. I looked at a lot of mushroom sauce recipes, but did not find what I had in mind. Many of the sauces were finished with cream, which would be fine for many uses, but seemed too wimpy to go with a bland polenta.

A recipe for Merchand de Vin sauce gave me the basic idea of combining mushrooms, red wine, and beef stock, and this is what I came up with. It was rich and tasty, and served six people with lots left over. Some of the leftover sauce, reheated, was very good on a grilled hamburger.

I admit to cheating, and not starting from scratch to make beef broth, but the results were good. No added salt was necessary, as canned stock is very salty.

I wanted to use a variety of mushrooms, to get some variety of shapes and textures and a more complex flavor. You could use any combination of fresh mushrooms, or all one kind, but you should use some dried porcini for flavor.

1 can Campbell’s beef consommé

1 soup can red wine

¼ cup dried porcini

¼ cup dried black trumpets

½ pound medium champignons

¼ pound small cremini

¼ pound fresh shiitake

3 medium shallots, minced

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 Tablespoons butter

One or two hours ahead, put the dried mushrooms in a glass container and pour in the beef broth. Let them soak until ready to start cooking, then strain them out of the broth. Pour off the broth slowly, and stop before all the liquid is gone to try to leave any sand and grit behind. Holding the strainerful of soaked mushrooms under running water, stir and shake to rinse off any grit or debris. Chop them and set aside.

Put the soaking broth and an equal amount of red wine (I used Zinfandel) in a saucepan large enough to hold the broth with plenty of room to add the mushrooms later. Add the whole garlic clove. Bring to a simmer, and allow to simmer slowly while you clean and prepare the mushrooms, or longer.

Clean the mushrooms, and cut them up. I cut the small cremini buttons in quarters, the larger whites in slices, and cut the shiitake in half and then in slices, since they can be a little too chewy in big pieces.

Strip the leaves off some fresh thyme until you have about a tablespoon. You can add a little basil or parsley if you have it. Chop them fairly fine.

Put the 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a large sauté pan over moderately high heat. Add the shallots. When they start to sizzle, start adding the mushrooms. I put the shiitakes in first, so they cook a little longer, then add the rest. Add the thyme leaves.

Stir occasionally and sauté until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the soaked dried mushrooms, stir in, and sauté a few minutes more.

Remove the garlic clove from the broth and discard. (Or smash it and spread it on a slice of buttered bread for a little snack.)

Dump the sautéed mushrooms into the simmering broth. Deglaze the sauté pan with a little red wine and add to the pot. Or, if the sauté pan is big enough, dump the broth into it. Either way, increase the heat until the mixture comes to a boil.

Stir in 3 teaspoons of arrowroot or cornstarch mixed with a little more wine or water. Stir until the cloudiness clears and the mixture thickens slightly.

Remove from heat, and stir in 2 Tablespoons butter, a few grinds of black pepper, and salt if any is needed.

Keep warm (but do not boil) until ready to serve, or cool down and refrigerate and reheat over low heat or in the microwave.

Serve with polenta or grilled meat, or even on a slice of toasted bread for dessert.

We still have copies (many) of the wonderful poster that John Webster painted for the fair. They will be available for sale at our meetings, at $10 for members and $15 for non-members. You can see the artwork on the Mushroom Fair page of our web site.

Mushroom, The Journal of Wild Mushrooming, is a quarterly magazine with articles, book reviews, and other information of interest to mushroomers. It has a new editor, and needs more subscribers to keep going. You can subscribe for $19.00 per year. Send a check and your mailing address to:

Mushroom, The Journal

1511 East 54th St.

Chicago, IL 60615

In late April and early May, morel mania sweeps across the country as spring brings out America’s favorite fungal delicacy. Below is a list of some of the Morel Festivals from the Midwest. For more information on these and other mushroom events, look at www.fungifest.com.

Balboa Park

Details on Page 2

Note changed date and location

See Page 1

White Mountains, AZ

See below for an update

See Page 3 for details.

SFSU Sierra Field Camp

Details on this page

Telluride CO

www.telluride.com/mushroom.html

The Telluride Festival is August 21 to 24 (Thursday to Sunday). Telluride is about 375 miles from Springerville, AZ. This creates the interesting possibility of an extended Arizona-Colorado Foray to hunt in the White Mountains on the way to or from a visit to Telluride.

Is there a volunteer out there who would take over organizing the Arizona part of this expedition? You would have the help of Dave, who has all of the info from last year, and Les, who is now a property owner in Springerville.

[Biology 315]

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin, Systematic Mycologist, Professor of Biology,

San Francisco State University.

Telephone: (415) 338-2439

e-mail: ded@sfsu.edu

Web: http://www.mycena.sfsu.edu/

Students will be introduced to the different kinds of mushrooms and other large fungi that occur in the spring in the Sierra Nevada. Emphasis placed on analysis of macro- and micromorphological features and ecological roles, to aid in the identification of taxa. Daily class routine consists of an 8:30-10:30 am lecture followed by a field trip until approx. 3:00 p.m. Transportation on field trips by car pooling. Upon return to camp, collections will be examined and identified in the laboratory (3:30-6:00 p.m.) in collaboration with the instructor and a knowledgeable graduate student assistant. All equipment, microscope slides, cover slips and reagents required for accurate determination of specimens provided. 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. - June 1-6, 2003, The Sierra Nevada Field Camp of San Francisco State University, Sierra Co., CA, on Hwy 49 west of Yuba Pass and northeast of Sierra City For more information, see:

www.sfsu.edu/%7Esierra/mushcl.htm

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

Evenings phone: 650 -738-1814

The Sporadic Press is published monthly during the mushroom season, from September to May, by the San Diego Mycological Society.

Membership in the society is open to all who are interested in mycology. Membership dues are $15.00 per year, and include a subscription to The Sporadic Press.

If the date on your mailing label is highlighted in yellow, your membership has expired. Please renew promptly.

To join or Renew, send a check for $15.00 with your name, address, phone number and email address to:

Janet Fraser

1010 W. Upas Street

San Diego, CA 92103

We meet once a month from October to May on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the Casa Del Prado in Balboa Park. Meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact:

Les Braund

8858 Capcano Road

San Diego, CA 92126

(858) 566-3958

Mushroom Hotline: upcoming events and spontaneous forays are announced on the SDMS hotline at (858) 566-3958.

The Sporadic Press welcomes articles and announcements related to mycology. Please send them to:

David Grubb, Editor

2233 Manchester Ave # 1

Cardiff, CA 92007

(760) 753-0273

Email: Dave.Grubb@digm.com

The deadline for each issue is the 15th of the month.