Issue 1, November 2005

In this, our first issue of the SPORE PRINT, we would like to thank those who showed such enthusiasm toward the formation of KPMS. Your positive responses were a great encouragement toward our effort. We are confident that you will find this organization a benefit to you as we pursue our interest in ‘mushrooming’ together. Although the study of mycology goes back well over a century, it has only been in the last two or three decades that this discipline has really come into its own. As a consequence, there are tremendous opportunities for the amateur to make significant contributions to the field. Though it may be that your initial interest is in learning to identify a few edible species for the table, we hope that this will be just the starting point in a much broader, life-long study of the fungi.

THE FUNGUS AMONG US
By S. Scott

KPMS is the outgrowth of a recent conversation I had with Dominique Collet. Many of you know him as a diligent and quite knowledgeable student of mycology. When I moved to Soldotna from Montana in the fall of 2004, I made numerous inquiries and was disappointed to find that there was not currently an active mushroom club on the Kenai Peninsula. In Montana I was an avid ‘shroomer and co-founder of the Kootenai Valley Mycological Society (which has been a growing and productive club for about a dozen years). In talking with Dominique, it was soon apparent that he also had a desire to see a local club formed, but was unable to devote the time needed to get one organized. I committed myself to take on some of the organizational responsibilities if he would offer his expertise as the ‘resident mycologist’ for the club. He agreed and KPMS was born. I do not want to neglect to mention Janice Chumley, who many of you know from the Cooperative Extension Office as the ‘bug lady’. She is also an avid amateur mycologist and the one who originally gave me Dominique’s name as a contact. She has agreed to act as the interim secretary and treasurer for the club and help in any way she can.

As with any club, we are drawn together by a common interest. In our case it is an interest in mushrooms. Our goal is to provide a vehicle where we can corporately enjoy this pursuit. We will be organizing walks and forays, providing a setting where all have an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience and offering assistance and instruction to all that desire to learn more.

As a club member, you will have access to the club’s mycology library. You will be able to obtain copies of a large selection of identification charts and keys, instructional materials and a mushroom identification program for your PC, for the cost of duplication! You will also be able to purchase two great field guides (Mushrooms Demystified and All That The Rain Promises And More) at 50% off the bookstore price! Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified is unquestionably the best field guide that is currently available and the mushroomer’s ‘bible’. You will also receive our monthly newsletter, The Spore Print. (At this time The Spore Print is an evolving publication. Its final form is still uncertain, but, at the very least, it will keep you abreast of current club news and events, provide a forum for members to share their insights and experiences, and contain interesting and educational articles with a few quizzes and a little mushroom humor thrown in.)

A TALE OF THE
MADNESS OF MUSHROOMERS AND THE
BADNESS OF LITTLE MEN

I was out in the woods the other day
In search of the King Bolete.
When, to my surprise, when I plucked up a cap
What should I find at my feet!

It was one of those little leprechauns,
He had been napping under my Cep.
And to his amazement, and mine as well,
I soon had him fast in my grip.

He wiggled and kicked and bit my hand.
His curses, they filled those spruce hills.
In one hand I held that struggling elf,
In the other my fat Stienpilz.

“Listen”, I screamed, “I’m not after your gold,
And I’m not a bully or meany.
I’m only out here for some peace and quiet
And to fill my basket with Porcini!

Now, if you’ll shut up, I’ll let you go.
I’m a man on an Edulis quest!”
But when I sat him down, he kicked my shin,
So, I squashed the obnoxious pest!

By S. Scott

Our first meeting will be Saturday, December 3rd at 1:00 p.m. at the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Building, 40610 K-Beach Road, Kenai. At that time we will present a more comprehensive explanation of our goals for KPMS and give you an opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions etc. Dominique will also give a slide presentation of local mushrooms followed by refreshments and a time to get acquainted with one another. We hope to see you there!

Steve Scott

Overview of Higher Fungi

We have purposed that in every issue of The Spore Print we will include something that will be useful to you as you pursue an interest in mushrooming. In this issue we would like to include a brief introduction to fungi and an overview of the major groups that comprise what are called the ‘higher fungi’. (Though many of the groups are of little or no interest to the ‘pot-hunter’ they are, nonetheless, unique and tremendously interesting!) In future issues we will begin to look at the ‘gilled’ mushrooms and how to identify them. We trust that you will find this and future articles helpful and encourage you to start a notebook and save them for further reference.

An Introduction and Overview to the Higher Fungi

Most people recognize that at its simplest level, all living things may be divided into two distinct kingdoms: Plant and Animal. These same people, almost without exception, have a mental picture of all plants as being green. They are often surprised to learn that the plant kingdom may itself be divided into five basic groups and that one group does not contain the chlorophyll that gives the plant its characteristic ‘green’ color. All will recognize the first group, the seed producers (the leafy plants). Many will also recognize the ferns and their allies as a second group and the mosses, liverworts and lichens as a third. Some will even identify the algae (the pond scum that forms on still pools of water or the green coating that forms on the bases of trees in moist, shaded areas) as a fourth grouping. After all, algae have the characteristic ‘green’ color of plants. But, the fifth group, the Fungi, is often passed over as some type of anomaly or incongruity that is neither animal nor truly plant.

This group, the fungi, will be our focus of study. It is worth noting here that while many botanists and mycologists still treat Fungi as a sub-kingdom under Plantae (the Plant), a growing number have elected to raise Fungi to kingdom status. At first glance, this change in the system of classification would seem a bold and brash departure from all that is stable and concrete (and considered by some to be almost sacred), but this is not the first great change to occur in the classification of things. All systems of classification are nothing more than mans attempt to organize his knowledge. Hochreutiner probably said it best, “in nature there are no families, no genera, no species; there are only individuals more or less resembling one another.” Though this change to kingdom status is of recent origin, for our purposes we will recognize the kingdom Fungi. Taxonomy (classification) is not the most interesting of subjects, but, it is important, at this point, to present a brief overview of its various levels in order for us to have a clear understanding of the intimate relationship that exists between those few individual species we will as ‘mushroomers’, eventually encounter.

The kingdom Fungi is divided into two divisions: Eumycota (the true fungi) and Myxomycota (the slime molds). Of these two divisions, only Eumycota contains much that is of interest to the average ‘mushroomer’. The division Eumycota is again divided into nine sub-divisions. Of these nine subdivisions, only two, Ascomycotina and Basidiomycotina are of importance to us. These two sub-divisions with their respective classes, orders, families, genre and species, represent what is often called the higher fungi or fleshy fungi and contain nearly every mushroom that you or I will ever stumble upon . This is an extreme simplification of a much more complex classification system, but is adequate for our purposes.

The classification of fungi, like that of plants is primarily based upon the characteristics of the reproductive stage of growth. Although both the vegetative and reproductive stages are simple in comparison to those of plants, they do differ greatly in the type of reproductive bodies they produce and the structures that bear these bodies. Ascomycotina bear their spores in a saclike cell called an ascus and the spores are typically forcibly ejected upon maturity. In contrast, Basidiomycotina bear their spores on the surface of a reproductive cell called a basidia. The spores are attached by fine projections called sterigma. At maturity the spores separate from the sterigma and fall to the ground. This is a very elementary explanation but is sufficient to clarify the difference between the two groups.

Below is a simplified description of the major sub-groups of the fleshy fungi. As you can see, the ‘higher fungi’ are a tremendously diverse and interesting lot. Our most common fleshy fungi, including the gilled mushrooms, boletes, puffballs and polypores are Basidiomycotinas. The morels, truffles and cup fungi are Ascomycotinas.

BASIDIOMYCOTINA

Gilled Mushrooms - Agaricales

Agarics have the flat, blade-like projections radiating from under the cap. The stalk is usually centrally attached, off-center or lateral. Agarics may be terrestrial or lignicolous (growing on wood) with some being parasitic on living wood.

Tubed Mushrooms - Boletaceae
Boletes are fleshy mushrooms with tubes rather than the gills of the agarics. The tube layer is easily separable from the cap. The stem is typically centrally attached. Most boletes are terrestrial though occasionally they may be found on rotting wood.

Chanterelles and Their Relatives - Cantharellaceae
Chanterelles have fleshy fruiting bodies that are vase or trumpet shaped. The underside (fertile spore-bearing surface) is typically veined or ridged, though there are a few species which are smooth. Chanterelles are terrestrial but may be found on well-rotted wood.

Club and Coral Fungi - Clavariaceae
The fruiting bodies are fleshy and simple to multi-branched. If the mushroom is multi-branched it is typically so from a common base. Spores are produced on the branch surfaces. These mushrooms are usually terrestrial though they are occasionally found on well-rotted wood.

Toothed Fungi - Hydnaceae
The fruiting bodies are variously shaped; all with a fertile, lower surface composed of tooth-like projections. If mushroom-shaped, then the fruiting body is terrestrial. Those which possess a loosely branched or cushion-like structure are found only on wood.

False Truffles - Hymenogastrales
The fruiting bodies are typically round, but may be potato-like or irregularly shaped. They develop under-ground but occasionally appear on the surface. The gleba (fertile spore-bearing tissue) may be gelatinous, spongy or firm. Unlike the puffballs, the gleba is not powdery at maturity and unlike the true truffle it is not marbled or labyrinth-like.

Puffballs and Earthstars - Lycoperdales
The fruiting bodies are spherical to pear-shaped with the outer layer of some splitting into star-like rays. They are occasionally stalked. The gleba (fertile tissue) is formed internally. It is firm and typically white when young. In age it discolors and becomes powdery as the spores mature. Spore dispersion is by a pore, tear or with disintegration of the glebal covering. The may be terrestrial or found on rotting wood.

Bird’s Nest Fungi - Nidulariales
These are small fungi with cylindrical or cup-shaped fruiting bodies. The one to several ‘eggs’ (peridioles) within the cup are often covered by a thin membrane. They may be either terrestrial or found on rotting wood.

Common and Ornate Stinkhorns - Phallales
The fruiting body immerges from an egg which leaves a volva at the base of the stem. The fruiting body may have a stem or may be stalkless. The spore bearing surface of the cap (head) is coated with a foul-smelling slime. Stinkhorns may be in the shape of a phallus or a round lattice-like basket.

Gastroid Agarics - Podaxales
The fruiting bodies have the appearance of an aborted or badly deformed agaric. The stalk is typically short. The spore mass is usually composed of contorted gills, or branching cavities and may not be exposed. No spore print is attainable.

Polypores - Conks, Bracket Fungi and Other Woody Fungi - Polyporaceae
These are woody or leathery conks or brackets with a fleshy, pore covered under surface (fertile layer). The fertile layer may occasionally be gill-like, labyrinth-like, or tooth-like, but cannot be readily separated from the remainder of the fruiting body. The fruiting bodies are typically lignicolous (inhabiting wood), though they occasionally appear terrestrially.

Crust and Parchment Fungi - Stereaceae
The fruiting bodies are crust-like or bracket-like. They typically have a tough or leathery texture. The surface may be smooth in texture, warted or veined but does not possess spines, pores or tubes.

Jelly Fungi - Tremellales

Fruiting bodies are gelatinous in texture, convoluted, cup-shaped, spatula-shaped, or ear-shaped, though they are occasionally erect and/or branched, mimicking coral fungi.

Stalked Puffballs - Tulostomatales
The fruiting body resembles a puffball in appearance but unlike the puffball, it is borne on a well developed stalk. Like that of the puffball, the gleba (spore mass) of the stalked puffball becomes powdery upon maturity. Stalked puffballs typically inhabit deserts or waste places.

ASCOMYCOTINA

Earth Tongues - Helotiales
The fruiting bodies are frequently small. Most possess a stem with a fertile, rounded, club-shaped, arrow-shaped or flattened head. In some species the stalk and cap are not distinct.

Morels, Elfin Saddles and Cup Fungi - Pezizales
Morels typically have a conic, oval or bell-shaped cap with longitudinal ridges interspersed with pits borne on a well developed stalk. Elfin saddles are typically saddle-shaped, cup-shaped, brain-shaped or convoluted fruiting bodies borne on well developed stalks. The cup fungi typically have disc-shaped or cup-shaped fruiting bodies with short or absent stems. They may be drab to brightly colored and grow on wood.

Flask Fungi - Pyrenomycetes
Flask fungi are typically saprophytic (feeding upon dead or decaying matter) or parasitic fungi with the fertile tissue consisting of minute asci-lined flasks embedded in variously shaped fruiting structures. The more common flask fungi include the Hypomyces molds that infect Amanita, Boletus, Russula and Suillus species and the parasitic Cordyceps which grow from an insect host or from buried truffles.

Truffles - Tuberales
Truffles are typically rounded, wrinkled, or irregularly lobed fruiting bodies. They are hypogeous (develop underground but may be partially emergent. The fertile tissue is formed internally and typically has a convoluted, folded or
marbled appearance.