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.

Finishing our 141st year / Planning our 142nd year

Remaining on our 2015-16 calendar:

Fungi with Fun Guy Carl Wolf on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 10:00 AM in room C220 at FLCC.

National Arbor Day Tree Planting at Lakefront Park (east of Kershaw Park) at 1PM on Friday, April 22, 2016.

Annual Potluck dinner, BOTANY 101 presentation by Bruce Gilman, and annual meeting at Saint John's Episcopal Church on Friday, April 22, beginning at 6pm.

Planning our 142nd Year:

Are you involved with another group that would like some added publicity and participation?  Pairing organizations to shared events has been quite successful in the past and certainly welcomed as program ideas.  We are interested in a wide variety of events for people of all interests, abilities, and ages.  Ideas close to Canandaigua as well as throughout the Finger Lakes Region are encouraged.  We will be repeating the Mother's Day Plein Air at Mertensia Park to celebrate the blue bells.  Lagoon Park and FLCC trails are favorites anytime of the year and we'd love to have folks volunteer to lead walks at these locations (you pick the date).  Traditionally we meet on Saturdays at 10:00 AM but that should not keep folks from suggesting other days or times.  Is there something you'd love to know more about?  Make a suggestion and we'll see if we can host an event to learn more.  You can contact us at canandaiguabotanical@gmail.com.