March/April 2006

More Than Morels

By Walt Sturgeon

Sometimes, a Spring day afield results in many fungal finds that are not the delectable quarry that took us to the woods in the first place. Some consolation can be had in their form and beauty and some are not bad eating either. Spring is not a great season for fungal variety but several varieties can be found as we search carefully for morels.

Perhaps the most obvious is dryad's saddle, Polyporus squamosus. Sometimes called pheasant back, this large scaly polypore grows on hardwood stumps and trees. It favors elm and morel hunters often find their sponges under this tree. It has an odor similar to cucumbers. Very young fruitings are edible. One recipe calls for slicing them very thin and deep frying.

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) also fruit in May on a variety of hardwood stumps and logs. Elm is a common host. Aspen is even better. Note the sweet fragrance similar to anisette and the gills running right down whatever stipe is present. Cap shape is often oyster shaped and usually white to gray. This wood inhabiting mushroom also supplements its diet with nematodes. These can be used in any mushroom recipe. I do what I do with morels, lightly flour them and fry until golden brown.

The deer mushroom, Pluteus cervinus, (Pluteus atricapillus) is readily available throughout the spring as well as throughout the season. Crushing a bit of its flesh will reveal a slight radish odor. It has a ruddy spore print and gills which do not reach the stipe (free). The caps are brownish. Hardwood logs and stumps or wood mulched areas are good habitats for this mushroom.

Two common spring species of false morel are the bull nose, Gyromitra korfii and the brown false morel, Gyromitra fastigiata. These have wrinkled caps (not honeycombed) which are often somewhat saddle shaped. Neither should be consumed.

Two spring cup fungi emerge from partially buried limbs. The scarlet cup, Sarcoscypha austriacus, is likely the first fresh fungus found in late winter or spring. It is bright red. Perhaps more common but harder to see is the gray urn, Urnula craterium, which occurs in April and May.

The winter mushroom and the autumn Galerina are named for other seasons but both occur in cool spring weather. The winter mushroom, Flammulina velutipes is an orange to brown capped species with a whitish stipe which is velvety black near the base. It has a white spore deposit. The cap is sticky to slimy in wet weather. The caps are edible and good. Partially dry them before cooking. The autumn Galerina is sometimes called the deadly Galerina for obvious reasons. It is deadly poisonous. It can be separated from the winter mushroom by its brown spore print. It also is brown fading to yellowish brown on drying. It has a partial veil which may form a bit of a ring on the stipe.

Wood mulched areas are good places to search for Spring fungi. Agrocybe praecox often fruits in great numbers on wood mulch. It is a variable species or perhaps a complex of species which are medium sized with a partial veil. A spore print will be brown. The cap cuticle typically becomes cracked in age. It is not considered a worthwhile edible. The wine cap, Stropharia rugoso annulata is an edible species which fruits almost exclusively on wood mulch and sawdust. It has a burgundy colored cap that fades to buff. In one form it is buff from the start. The gills are an unusual gray color and a spore print is black. The partial veil is unique. It has gill like ridges on the upper surface and claw like hooks underneath.

The mica cap, Coprinus micaceus, is an abundant inky cap in the spring. It occurs on wood, often buried wood, making it look like a lawn species. It is edible but has little substance. It is as common in urban areas as it is in the woods.

So when the morels are scarce, enjoy the spring wild flowers, the migrating birds, and the other Spring fungi.

The Mushroom That Could Cause A War by Damien McElroy

Reprinted from The Sporeprint, L.A. Myco. Soc., Feb., 2006

Ed. Note: An interesting follow-up to the two-part piece of Daniel Winkler’s on the culture of Cordycep’s harvesting in Tibet reprinted in the Mar-Apr & May-June, 2005 issues of the Log.

China is willing to invade its Himalayan neighbor to secure supplies of Cordyceps.

In the high Himalayas, on the border between Chinese-controlled Tibet and Bhutan, the Cordyceps sinensis is king of crops. Almost as valuable as gold by the ounce, the mushroom is one of the few cash treasures the sparsely vegetated hills yield up. With a tiny black head on a lurid yellow stem, its reputation as an aphrodisiac and health food means it is prized all around the Pacific Rim.

In recent years, wizened farmers have harvested a quiet bonanza as demand for the rare fungus soared. So good is business that the world may be witnessing the first mushroom war.

If that sounds alarmist, consider a recent flood of smugglers from China who have been trafficking Cordyceps to sell in Japan and California. They were followed into Bhutan by 200 Chinese troops who marched across the tundra last month on an unannounced construction mission to erect bridges and roads.

Put crudely, it seems the smugglers needed motorized access to the mushroom crop and procured the army’s help to build bridges and roads. Bhutan cried foul. Not for the first time, a remote region is being colonized by foreign commercial forces with military backing.

Across south Asia there is real concern that the Chinese military will use its muscle to propel the overseas expansion of its economy: valuable teak in Burma, precious metals in Outer Mongolia, opium in Afghanistan, people and wildlife in Vietnam. Trade in all these things draws Chinese citizens over the nation’s frontiers.

China’s tremulous neighbors look to recent events in Bhutan and wonder which one of them will be next.

Time to Renew

OMS Dues are Due for 2006

new year is upon us, and this means your OMS membership is up for renewal. OMS dues are $10 per year, or $125 for a lifetime membership. The cutoff date for dues payment is March 31, 2006. You will be removed from the OMS Mushroom Log mailing list after the March/April issue is mailed out if payment is not received by then.

NAMA renewals are also due now. NAMA dues for OMS members are $32. To qualify for this discounted rate, you must be verified as an OMS member. You can either mail your dues directly to NAMA with the letter you received from them, or you may send a separate check made out to NAMA, to Dick Doyle for forwarding to NAMA.

Articles for the next newsletter

Deadline –May 26

David Miller

352 W. College St.

Oberlin, OH 44074

David.H.Miller@oberlin.edu

An Article from The Mushroom Expert

The following is provided with the kind permission of Michael Kuo.

Kuo, M. (2003, September). Mushroom taxonomy: The big picture. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/taxonomy.html An even more extensive and lavishly illustrated article on a similar topic by Michael Kuo, from MushroomExpert.com, is The Evolution of a Great Big Headache: “Understanding” Mushroom Taxonomy and Phylogeny.

Following is the 2nd part - the 3^rd part to follow in May/June - (the 1^st part was in the Jan/Feb issue of the Log) of Michael Kuo’s article, “Mushroom Taxonomy: The Big Picture.” The level of detail may seem rather like overkill (I don’t recognize most of the genera, myself!), but Michael has conveniently listed examples of specific species under the more common genera, e.g., next to the genus Phallus, he lists P. impudicus. Each of these cited species are described on the MushroomExpert.com web site. If you look up this issue of the Log on our website, you can bring each of these up simply by clicking on the name, e.g. P. impudicus, brings up a detailed description with numerous excellent photos of all stages in its development.

	Family: Phallaceae
		Aporophallus, Aseröe (see A. rubra), Blumenavia, Clavarula, Clathrus (see C. ruber), Claustula, Colus, Echinophallus, Endophallus, Gelopellis, Ileodictyon, Itajahya, Kobayasia, Laternea, Ligiella, Lysurus (see L. mokusin), Mutinus (see M. elegans), Neolysurus, Phallus (see P. impudicus), Protubera, Protuberella, Pseudoclathrus, Pseudocolus (see P. fusiformis), Staheliomyces, Staurophallus
	Family: Ramariaceae
		Austrogautieria, Delentaria, Gautieria, Kavinia, Protogautieria, Ramaria, Ramaricium, Rhodactina
Order: Polyporales
	Family: Albatrellaceae
		Albatrellopsis, Albatrellus (see A. cristatus), Jahnoporus, Polyporoletus, Scutiger
	Family: Atheliaceae
		Amphinema, Amyloathelia, Amylocorticium, Athelia, Athelicium, Athelidium, Athelopsis, Butlerelfia, Byssocorticium, Byssosoporia, Cristinia, Dictyonema, Digitatispora, Fibulomyces, Hypochnella, Hypochniciellum, Irpicodon, Leptosporomyces, Lobulicium, Luellia, Melzericium, Mycostigma, Piloderma, Plicatura, Plicaturopsis, Tomentellopsis, Tylospora
	Family: Boreostereaceae
		Boreostereum, Chaetodermella, Mycobonia, Mycothele, Veluticeps
	Family: Corticiaceae
		Acantholichen, Ambivina, Amylobasidium, Corticirama, Corticium, Cytidia, Dendrocorticium, Dendrodontia, Dendrophysellum, Dendrothele, Dextrinodontia, Laetisaria, Licrostroma, Limonomyces, Lindtneria, Melzerodontia, Merulicium, Mulatoderma, Mycolindtneria, Nothocorticium, Papyrodiscus, Pulcherricium, Punctularia, Ripexicium, Vuilleminia
	Family: Cyphellaceae
		Adustomyces, Asterocyphella, Catilla, Cyphella, Gloeocorticium, Halocyphina, Hyphoradulum, Incrustocalyptella, Limnoperdon, Phaeoporotheleum, Radulodon, Radulomyces, Rhodoarrhenia, Sarcodontia, Seticyphella, Sphaerobasidioscypha, Thujacorticium, Wiesnerina, Woldmaria
	Family: Cystostereaceae
		Cericium, Crustomyces, Cystidiodontia, Cystostereum, Dentocorticium, Parvobasidium, Physodontia, Pteridomyces
	Family: Epitheliaceae
		Epithele, Epithelopsis, Skeletohydnum
	Family: Fomitopsidaceae
		Amylocystis, Anomoporia, Auriporia, Buglossoporus, Daedalea, Donkioporia, Fomitopsis, Parmastomyces, Piptoporus (see P. betulinus), Postia, Wolfiporia
	Family: Ganodermataceae
		Amauroderma, Ganoderma (see G. lucidum), Haddowia, Humphreya
	Family: Gloeophyllaceae
		Gloeophyllum
	Family: Grammotheleaceae
		Grammothele, Hymenogramme, Porogramme, Theleporus
	Family: Hapalopilaceae
		Aurantiporus, Bjerkandera, Ceriporia, Ceriporiopsis, Climacocystis, Gelatoporia, Hapalopilus (see H. nidulans), Ischnoderma (see I. resinosum), Leptoporus, Spongipellis
	Family: Hyphodermataceae
		Amaurohydnum, Amauromyces, Atheloderma, Brevicellicium, Bulbilomyces, Cerocorticium, Chrysoderma, Conohypha, Coronicium, Cyanodontia, Elaphocephala, Galzinia, Hyphoderma, Hyphodontiastra, Hyphodontiella, Hypochnicium, Intextomyces, Pirex, Subulicium, Subulicystidium, Uncobasidium, Xylodon
	Family: Meripilaceae
		Abortiporus (see A. biennis), Antrodia, Diacanthodes, Grifola (see G. frondosa), Henningsia, Hydnopolyporus, Meripilus (see M. giganteus), Physisporinus, Rigidoporus
	Family: Meruliaceae
		Byssomerulius, Castanoporus, Chondrostereum, Climacodon (see C. septentrionale), Columnodontia, Crustoderma, Cylindrobasidium, Dacryobolus, Gloeoporus, Gloeostereum, Meruliopsis, Mycoacia, Mycoaciella, Phlebia (see P. incarnata), Resinicium, Skvortzovia
	Family: Phanerochaetaceae
		Botryodontia, Candelabrochaete, Ceraceomyces, Erythricium, Gyrophanopsis, Hyphodermella, Lopharia, Odonticium, Phanerochaete, Phlebiopsis, Porostereum, Terana
	Family: Podoscyphaceae
		Aquascypha, Caripia, Coralloderma, Cotylidia, Cymatoderma, Cyphellostereum, Granulobasidium, Inflatostereum, Podoscypha, Pseudolasiobolus, Steriopsis
	Family: Polyporaceae
		Abundisporus, Amyloporia, Amyloporiella, Australoporus, Austrolentinus, Bridgeoporus, Cerrena, Coriolopsis, Cryptomphalina, Cryptoporus (see C. volvatus), Cystidiophorus, Daedaleopsis (see D. confragosa), Datronia, Dichomitus, Earliella, Echinochaete, Faerberia, Favolus (see F. alveolaris), Flabellophora, Fomes, Fomitella, Fuscocerrena, Globifomes, Grammothelopsis, Haploporus, Hexagonia, Laccocephalum, Laetiporus (see L. sulphureus), Lasiochlaena, Lentinus, Lenzites (see L. betulina), Lignosus, Macrohyporia, Macroporia, Megasporoporia, Microporellus, Microporus, Mollicarpus, Navisporus, Neolentinus, Neolentiporus, Nigrofomes, Nigroporus (see N. vinosus), Oligoporus, Osmoporus, Pachykytospora, Panus (see P. conchatus), Perenniporia, Phaeolus, Phaeotrametes, Piloporia, Podofomes, Polyporus (see P. squamosus), Poria, Porodisculus, Poronidulus, Pseudofavolus, Pseudopiptoporus, Pycnoporellus, Pycnoporus, Pyrofomes, Royoporus, Ryvardenia, Skeletocutis, Sparsitubus, Stiptophyllum, Tinctoporellus, Trametes (see T. versicolor), Trichaptum (see T. biforme), Tyromyces, Vanderbylia, Xerotus
	Family: Sistotremataceae
		Paullicorticium, Repetobasidiellum, Repetobasidium, Sistotrema, Sistotremastrum, Sistotremella, Sphaerobasidium, Trechispora
	Family: Sparassidaceae
		Bondarcevomyces, Sparassiella, Sparassis (see S. crispa)
	Family: Steccherinaceae
		Amethicium, Antrodiella, Australohydnum, Cinereomyces, Diplomitoporus, Fibricium, Flaviporus, Irpex, Junghuhnia, Lamelloporus, Mycoleptodonoides, Mycorrhaphium (see M. adustum), Steccherinum, Stegiacantha
	Family: Tubulicrinaceae
		Leifia, Litschauerella, Tubulicium, Tubulicrinis
	Family: Xenasmataceae
		Aphanobasidium, Clitopilina, Cunninghammyces, Phlebiella, Xenasma, Xenasmatella, Xenosperma
Order: Thelephorales
	Family: Bankeraceae
		Bankera, Boletopsis, Hydnellum (see H. spongiosipes), Phellodon, Sarcodon (see S. imbricatus)
	Family: Thelephoraceae
		Amaurodon, Botryobasidium, Entolomina, Gymnoderma, Hydnodon, Hypochnopsis, Lenzitopsis, Phlyctibasidium, Pleurobasidium, Polyozellus (see P. multiplex),

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