FUNGI with a FUN GUY

Saturday, March 19, 2016  10:00 AM

FUNGI WITH FUN GUY CARL WOLF

INDOOR MEETING - FLCC Room C220

 Carl Wolf of the Rochester Area Mycological Association (RAMA) is back to tell us about mushrooms. Carl led our fungi walk through Onanda Parkin September 2014 and will talk to us about mushrooms as wild edibles, photographic subjects, and objects of curiosity and study.

http://rochestermushroomclub.org/

Carl shared an plethora of information with the nearly two dozen in attendance on March 19th.  

Carl is one of the founding members of the Rochester Area Mycological Association which was formed 30 years ago.  He showed an excellent DVD called The Good, The Bad, and The Deadly by Taylor Lockwood. 

Highlights of the ten pages of notes I took include:

** nutritional values and medicinal qualities of mushrooms

** mycologicals are closer to insects than plants

** there are numerous myths about mushrooms

** Particularly susceptible to mushroom poisoning are: young children, elderly, pets, immigrants, and overdoses

** Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) is a substance used as a propellant for rockets. It is produced when gyromitrin (present in some species of poisonous wild mushrooms) is gently heated.
** RAMA folks are familiar with Little Brown Mushrooms 
** Mushrooms can be identified by color, size, fruiting season, and spores (gills, pores, teeth, and others)
** Poisonous mushrooms can impostor safe mushrooms
** some mushrooms have skirts or rings around their stems
 ** Mushrooms are fruits to a network of mycelium like apples to a tree
** The largest known living organism is the Armillaria ostoyae covering over 2200 acres of Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon.
** Mushrooms often cause "fairy rings" as they spread out from a central point in all directions
** Cooking mushrooms helps to break down trace soil, release nutrients, and help digestion
** Mushrooms are the decomposers of the world
** Mycorrhizal relationships exist between mushrooms and certain trees
** Henn of the woods has a parasitic effect on trees

  ** Old growth forests are ideal places to find mushrooms

** Mushroom cultivators should check out www.smugtownmushrooms.com

** We will likely find mushrooms during our walk through Bentley Woods in August

To finish our morning we enjoyed this baked variety of Turkish meltaways:

 Directions to FLCC C220:  The easiest way to locate room C220 will be to park in the southeast corner of the main parking lot "A" of FLCC.  Walk along Laker Lane on the sidewalk to the east side of the Student Center.  Enter the building at the SECOND (southeast) entrance (building 8) just past the loading dock "C".  Look for signs at the southeast corner of the parking lot and near the blue light to turn to enter the building.