Topics

Additions to Turner Center August 24, 2002 Foray report
Poisonings! Poisonings! Poisonings!
Pratt Brook Mycological Wonderments
Wonderments! Wonderments! And More
Desert Walk at Ellen Greer's Place in Bowdoinham, September 14, 2002
The Orono Caper 10/5/02
Orono Foray List 10/5/02
Leo Todd's Shangri-la - 10/12/02
Leo Todd's Foray List 10/12/02
Annual Meeting and Sam's Corner Celebration, November 9, 2002
 
 

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Add to finds - Hygrocybe sp. and Lactarius camphoratus Notes - Sebacina incrustans is an unusual jelly fungus in the family Tremellaceae. Its first cousin is Sebacina epigaea. Both are rare and resemble dog vomit at the base of plants. S. incrustans has a fascinating hypobasidia with 4 long epibasidia = "sterigmata". Inocybe calaminstrata is a very scaly species with a purple color at the base of the stipe. Oudmansiella = "Collybia" radicata var. furfuracea has a beautifully decorated stipe and a long (6" - 8") root attached to buried wood.)

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From September 1 to October 10, 2002, I participated in 18 suspected mushroom poisoning investigations. Fourteen of the cases included children between the ages of one and five. We had five confirmed poisonings in this group of 18. Two brothers picked a bag of Amanita muscaria with the intent of getting high. Instead they became very sick. The other case included a father, mother and son. They thought the stuff they were eating was chanterelles. They were violently ill for one day and sick for another. They did not call poison control center until they were sick for two hours. The promised to send specimens but did not. I presume they ate Jack O' Lanterns.

Here are some of the specimens the poison control center sent for identification: 3 cases of Marasmius oreades, 2 cases of Agaricus campestris, 2 cases of Russulas, 1 Psathyrella foenisecii, 1 Entoloma abortivum, 1 unidentified Bolete, 1 unidentified Pholiota.

We were lucky but the 52 year old lady in Massachusetts was not. She ate what she believed was Agaricus arvensis, instead she ate Amanita virosa. She died after prolonged suffering. WARNING! If in doubt throw it away. Get the opinion of an expert.

Editor's note: In October 2002, twenty people from The Northern New England Poison Center and the Poison Control Center of Maine Medical came together to honor Sam Ristich for helping many doctors for 15 years with mushroom poisoning cases. The celebration started with dinner at the Pepper Club with Ruth and Sam as honored guests and ended with the presentation of a plaque to thank Sam for his dedicated service.

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I. Our talented trail guide Kendra Bavor pointed out many exciting mycological finds along with Dot Spaulding, Gary Marshall, Marie Murray, and Barbara and Charlie Grunden's "hawk eye" help. Here are some of the discoveries.

Poroids: Inonotus radiatus, Fuscoboletinus grisellus, Gyrodon merulioides, Leccinum aurantiacus, Chalciporus (Boletus) piperatus

Jelly: Dacrymyces palmatus

Gilled: Psathyrella (prob.) hydrophylla, velutina, Cortinarius violaceus, Coprinus plicatilis, Collybia dryophila, Mycena pura, Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, Pholiota spp., Trichaptum abietinus, Agaricus brunnescens, Clitocybe clavipes, Russula mariae

Others: Mutinus elegans, Auricularia auricula, Enteridium sp., Lycoperdon perlatum, marginatum

II. Let me discuss some of the wonderments. Inonotus radiatus has several interesting features. It belongs to a group of brown poroids with "refractive" pores - viz when you rotate the fungus, pore color changes from brown to silvery. Hosts are birch and alder.

Fuscoboletinus grisellus one of the few boletes with black pores and black-brown spores but when young the pores are white. It has an annulus and sticky cap and stipe. Favorite host is larch but we found it under white pine and hemlock. It has large pores.

Gyrodon merulioides is the only bolete with off center (eccentric) stipe. It has very large pores connected by radiating tissue. Its primary host is white ash and if you dig it up 72% of the time you'll find sclerotia (vegetative reproductive tissue resembling beebees=shotgun pellets) at the base of stipe. Makes remarkable spore art. Chalciporus and its look alike rubinellus are soft boletes with pink-red spores, peppery flavor and chrome colored stipe base.

Psathyrella velutina = Lacrymaria lacrymunda is a fascinating fungus with large germ pore, big bumps on the spores. I call them "hand grenade" spores. Beautiful velvet brown pileus. Grows in large clusters on compost and lawns.

Cortinarius violaceus is a beautiful violet cort with a silky sap and a clavate stem. A photogenic beauty, but rare. Check it in the field guides.

Coprinus plicatilis is a picturesque delicate fungus with a pleated cap. As its descriptive name denotes, you must awaken before 10 AM to appreciate this ephemeral beauty. Common on lawns and compost.

The beautiful chanterelle look-alike Hygrophoropsis aurantiacum was everywhere. It has gorgeous decurrent gills. Common in coniferous forests and red squirrel caches. People have become very ill eating this species.

Mycena pura is a colorful entity with bluish cap and stipe. It has caused illness.

For me the two prizes were Mutinus elegans, the elegant phallic stinkhorn, and Auricularia auricula, the peziza-like wood ear. M. elegans is the large relative of Mutinus caninus. It is enclosed in a white pliable cylindrical "eggshell" like all phallic gastromycetes. Its long white "stem" has a ruby apex decorated with black smelly "goo". It is a photographers dream. The smelly gleba attracts flies that eat the spore containing black coating. It is common in compost and wood chips.

The "rare" Auricularia, wood ear, resembles a brown Peziza. Its first cousins are Septobasidium - a parasite of white pine bark aphids. It has a strange basidium:

It is grown commercially for oriental food outlets where it is made into gumbo soup and stew. Warnings have been issued on its blood thinning properties so do not eat a bowl per day every week. Years ago I found hundreds on dying larches. I have not found a specimen since 1990. The specimens we found Sunday were on a fallen white pine.

We found 2 puffballs: Lycoperdon perlatum and marginatum. Marginatum is poisonous. It has prominent tufts of hair. The outer "skin" flakes off leaving the smooth inner skin.

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A. Volvariella bombycina on a tall sugar maple tree
Carmen called to tell me she sighted a V. bombycina ten feet high in a sugar maple tree while driving at 40mph. When she called to tell me this fantastic story, my reaction was "Impossible!" But Carmen is a sharp observer, so I put my 12' ladder on the car roof and drove to North Road. There it was, growing in a depression in a fork of the main branch. Meanwhile people were stopping to find out what an old white haired fool was doing with a camera 10' up a tree. I told the tale of wonderment each time. I collected the trophy noting that there was another dried specimen in the wound. V. bombycina is a rare species for me but Michaeline finds it each year on maple. My finds were all on maple too. I remember my first in 1972. A marsh near Croton, NY had been bulldozed and a large maple was cut down. There were 4 huge specimens at the base of the stump. B. bombycina is not only a magnificent specimen, but it also has a universal veil, free gills and pink spores. Do you know whether it is edible?

B. 48 Amanita muscaria and 8 Chalciporus (Boletus) piperatus in a fairy ring.
My Slovenian friends spotted the fairy ring along Sligo Road growing under a white pine on someone's front lawn. We also found many Suillus granulatus and S. americanus in the area. Under another white pine there were Boletus edulis and Clitopilus prunulus. What are the odds of finding a fairy ring that included these two species under white pine? Moreover, for me the mystery was how this remarkable design with two species got started under the white pine? Can you provide answers? Now hear this: the next day some creature had eaten all the boletes and eight of the muscaria. A week later there were Laccaria bicolor in a fairy ring. A remarkable mycorrhizal association.

C. Nine Calvatia maxima in a graveyard
A lady called telling me she found eleven giant puffballs in a graveyard. "Could you eat these?" she asked. "Yes", I said, but I could not come to Poland for two days. I gave her Carmen's name. The next day Carmen delivered 3 basketball-sized specimens, one weighing 5.5 lbs. I sliced the specimen and gave six people enough for supper. I have had some exciting finds with C. maxima. Marcia Howell took me to a place June, 1994, in Pownal where 8 specimens formed a semi-fairy ring. They reappeared for three years. This is a first record of C. maxima in early summer. In 1985 someone brought two gigantic specimens to the foray. One weighed 18 pounds. I photographed Sandy Sheine holding it. I went to Vermont to photograph this magnificent fairy ring with 18 specimens. It was in a depression of a field where sheep were pastured. Coker has a photograph of an 80 pound specimen next to a six year old girl!

D. One bushel of sulfur polypore
A red oak tree was covered by this gorgeous polypore in the long fissures in the bark. We also collected a bushel last year.

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"Fools will enter where angels fear to tread", the wise poet wrote. We did not have rain for three weeks so it was more arid than the Kalahari Desert, but Ellen's friend said, "try the stream bed in the next woods." So with sugarplums dancing in our heads we began a search of the wet stream bed. Twelve people found 52 specimens! Here is a list of some mycogems:

Gilled: Coprinus plicatilis, Tricholomopsis rutilans*. Paxillus involutus*, Lactarius uvidus, Amanita virosa, Cantharellus ignicola, Coprinus atramentarius, Psathyrella rugocephala, Inocybe geophylla*, Marasmius oreades, Crepidotus fulvotomentosus* (=C. mollis), Pluteus cervinus, Agaricus campestris, Russula atropurpurea (= R. krombholzii)

Gasteromycetes: Lycoperdon pyriforme, Scleroderma citrina

Poroid: Boletus edulis, Boletus subglabripes Other poroids: Favolus alveolaris, Ganoderma applanatum, Daedaleopsis confragosa, Trametes versicolor, Piptoporus betulinus, Poria sp., Bjerkandera adusta, Trichaptum abietinum, T. biforme

Jelly: Dacrymyces palmata

Ascomycetes: Xylaria oblonga*?, Helvella macropus*, Hypoxylon fragiforme

Here are remarks regarding several species:

Gilled - Lactarius uvidus stains purple when bruised; Psathyrella rugocephala has a look alike in P. delineata so you must check the spores; Coprinus plicatilis has a beautiful pleated cap and is ephemeral - viz, gone by 10:30 in the morning. Crepidotus fulvotomentosus (= C. mollis) has a beautiful scaly brown cap, thus its species name. Tricholomopsis rutilans was out of place, but I am guessing the stump was from a conifer. Russula atropurpurea is a darkened species with black center, thus its species name - and 'tis very hot.

Ascomycetes - Xylaria oblonga (may not be this species) but it looks like an elongated unbranched X. hypoxylon. Helvella macropus is one of the "cup" fungi with a long stipe. Check Audubon guide. P.S. 12 people came on the "desert" walk. Ellen Greer served delectable desserts and cold drinks.

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Clairvoyant Alma declared the rains will terminate so we should take the 2 hour drive to Orono. Alma was right! Six of us and twelve from Seanna's followers had a joyful togetherness. We gathered over 100 entities and put names on about 90!!!! I will share some wonderment with the following:

Armillaria complex: There is a key now to 10 - 13 species. The key includes (a) growth patterns - single or in tight clusters; (b) cap decorations, i.e.. mellea no hair on cap, ostoyae with hair; (c) host relationships - conifer or deciduous; (d) type of annulus - thin or dense. A. mellea has a thick annulus.

Boletes: Boletus (=Fuscoboletinus) grisellus - sticky gray cap, large white pores, host usually larch. We found it on white pine/hemlock. Check Bessette's Bolete book. Chroogomphus vinicolor - this genus and its cousin, Gomphidius, are bolete relatives. See the large bolete-like black spores, decurrent gills, big cystidia. You can separate the 2 genera chemically with melzer's.

Others: Coprinus atramentarius is a good edible, makes great soup. But remember - no ETOH with the meal or you will glow like a neon sign. Called antabuse syndrome. Dictyophora duplicata, or a species of Phallus: When mature, Dictyophora has a beautifully decorated "skirt". You can separate Phallus impudicus from P. ravenelli by the color of the "egg shell" and whether the head (tip) is smooth or wrinkled. Check your field guide. Books say the "egg" is edible before "erection". Do you know why a Gymnopilus is that genus? How do you separate G. penetrans, sapineus, spectabilis, and luteus? Why do seekers experiment with "laughing Gym"? I have a cluster of G. luteus that comes from an old stump. This year the specimen at 12" pileus and a stipe 2" thick!

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca was everywhere this year. It thrives on red squirrel spruce cone caches. Do you know what color spore print it makes; how to separate it from a chanterelle, why people become ill eating H. aurantiaca? L

Lepista nuda - what was its old name? What color spore print does it make? What do the spores look like? Lepiota naucina - can you list 5 ways to ID this species? Lepiota cristata - can you recognize this species and also L. josserandii which is deadly since it contains amanitin!!!! Amanita sinicoflava is an interesting species. Check it in Phillips' book. What is Cordyceps ophioglossoides host - how do you separate it from Cordyceps capitata???

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Ascomycetes: Bisporella citrina

Basidiomycetes: Agaricus arvensis, campestris; Amanita brunnescens, citrina; Armillaria ostoyae, mellea; Boletus edulis, subluridellus/erythropus; Fuscoboletinus grisellus; Suillus americanus, granulatus, subluteus (=S. intermedius); Calvatia cyathiformis; Chroogomphus vinicolor; Clavaria (=Clavulina) cristata; Clitopilus prunulus; Collybia dryophila complex; Coprinus atramentarius, comatus; Cortinarius cinnabarinus, semisanguineus; Crucibulum laeve; Dictyophora sp. duplicata or Phallus species; Entoloma spp.; Gymnopilus penetrans, spectabilis; Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (high agaritine content makes it difficult to digest); Hygrophorus puniceus, unguinosus?, virgineus; Lepista nuda; Lepiota naucina, cristata group (has angular spores); Macrolepiota procera; Lactarius deliciosus; Lycoperdon perlatum, pyriforme; Naematoloma sublateritium; Paxillus involutus; Pholiota malicola (compare with other smooth yellow cap Pholiota); Pluteus cervinus, Psathyrella sp.; Russula brevipes, Russula sp. - red cap.

Basidiomycetes - Polypores: Bjerkandera adusta; Favolus alveolaris; Ganoderma applanatum, tsugae; Gloeophyllum sepiarium; :Lenzites betulina; Laetiporus sulphureus; Phaeolus schweinitzii; Trametes hirsuta, versicolor

Myxomycetes: Enteridium splendens; Lycogala epidendrum

Brought from home by Cheryl St.Pierre : Amanita sinicoflava, Cordyceps ophioglossoides, Grifola frondosa

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The weather was wonderful; many seekers came; we named 75 species but many more went unnamed. Most species were found in abundance, especially the edibles such as Boletus edulis, Armillaria, Rozites caperata, Suillus granulatus, Grifola frondosa and Lycoperdon pyriforme. Let me make light of some of the more interesting finds:

Ascomycetes: Aleuria aurantia = orange peel is a colorful large "cup" fungus that has beautiful spores and usually occurs in large quantities in disturbed soils - viz. diggings, sand outwashes and logging roads. In past issue I have mentioned finding this species along logging roads for a quarter of a mile and hundreds in a small area where a house once stood. Remember Mia Schorr's old house.

Basidiomycetes: Armillaria complex. I am certain we had at least two species - one with smooth pileus, the other with bristles; one with double annulus, the other with thin annulus; one with long dark stipes that grew in tight bunches. In some area there were hundreds at the base of trees. Entoloma sp. under hickory. We find this species in abundance under hickory trees - someday we will have a name. Phaeocollybia (phaeo=dark). The species of this genus have brown caps, brown spores and very long "roots" (3 - 6"); they resemble Collybia. Find some species in Phillips' book. Pholiota squarrosa, squarrosoides complex - this is an interesting complex that grows on wood in clusters. The caps have scales with hooked spines. P. squarrosa is dry, is poisonous and has chrysocystidia on the gills. P. squarrosoides has sticky cap.

Panellus serotinus, green fall oyster, is not only a good edible but it is also an attractive fungus. How many times have you admired the green color on the pileus and the bright orange "whiskers" on the underside along the eccentric stipe? Psathyrella conissans is an ordinary species but it has a rare burgundy spore print and it seems to be mycorrhizal with birch. Find a cluster for a spore print. Do you know why a Rozites caperata is that species and why it is not a Pholiota? Do you know it can be recognized by the "powdered sugar" look on the umbo? It was very common at this foray. Do you know an easy way to separate Sarcodon from Hydnellum - what color spore print does it have - is it brittle or tough? What do Tricholomopsis decora and T. rutilans have in common morphologically, and what common host do they have? First person who lets me know gets 2 of Sam's Spore Art Cards.

Myxomycetes: I do not know why we didn't tell you that Metatrichia can be easily separated from Trichia, first by spore color, viz. burgundy in Metatrichia, yellow in Trichia, and the only species of Metatrichia we have is M. vesparium. It has 5 goblets fused on the end of the stipe and goblets separate by a lateral suture to release the gorgeous spores.

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Ascomycetes: Aleuria aurantia; Bisporella citrina

Basidiomycetes Amanita citrina, muscaria; Armillaria ostoyae (smooth, golden yellow), mellea; Boletus bicolor, edulis, ornatipes, subluridellus; Calvatia craniiformis; Clavaria pyxidata; Clitopilus prunulus; Coniophora puteana (white rot); Cortinarius cinnamomeus, iodes, semisanguineus; Dacrymyces palmatus; Entoloma sp. (under hickory); Grifola frondosa; Gymnopilus penetrans or sapineus; Hericium coralloides; Hypholoma sublateritium; Hygrophorus virgineus; Lactarius deliciosus var. detrrimus; Leccinum aurantiacum; Lepista nuda; Lycoperdon perlatum, pyriforme; Marasmius oreades; Panellus serotinus; Phaeocollybia sp.; Phallus sp.; Phlebia radiata (looks like Merulius but lacks porelike surface); Pholiota squarrosoides?; Pluteus cervinus; Psathyrella conissans; Ramaria (5 spp.); Rozites caperata; Sarcodon imbricatum; Serpula (=Merulius) lacrymans; Suillus granulatus, luteus, placidus, pictus (= S. spraguei), subluteus (= S. intermedius); Tricholoma - white stipe, yellow gills, sticky yellowish cap; Tricholomopsis decora; Tylopilus chromapes

Basidiomycetes - Polypores: Ganoderma applanatum, tsugae; Daedalea quercina; Lenzites betulina; Stereum complicatum, Tyromyces sp.

Myxomycetes: Lycogala epidendrum; Metatrichia (or Trichia) sp. Cheryl St. Pierre brought from home: Amanita sinicoflava, fulva complex, virosa, cothurnata?

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Thirty-eight people had a great togetherness with our ring mistress Dorothy Spaulding. Of the 38 people, 8 were new faces or faces we have not seen in a long time - Greg Marley, Mark DiGirolamo, Om Devi, and Eric Dibner were with us many years ago. Greg and Mark began a mushroom cultivation business but contaminant in the growing room put an early end to the pioneering venture. George Barnes stepped in with his innovative Shiitake venture using plugged oak logs which after 10 years is still producing delectable Shiitake for the skillet and the immune system. One of the new comers, Anne Williams, was a weaver/dyer. She brought 15 wonderful dyed samples and 25 'shrooms to ID. Another new member keyed 10 - 15 species.

Dot did a masterful performance keeping the "circus" moving and rewarding many contributors such as Olga Bishop, Gary Marshall, Cheryl St. Pierre, Michaeline Mulvey, Eric vonMagnus and our Sam. Then it was Dot's turn. Her reward was a huge artist conk, Ganoderma applanatum, with 38 signatures.

Then came the slide shows with Sheldon taking front stage with his slide show story of Cryptoporus volvatus - a remarkable poroid fungus with a "veil" over the pore surface - thus its generic name, Cryptoporus. It depends upon tiny beetles in the family Cisidae to spread the spores. Then he showed some wonderful slides of the bird's nest fungus, Crucibulum laeve. It is one of the Gasteromycetes that has its spores wrapped in a membrane and the packet is attached to the inside wall of the fungus by an "umbilical cord" called a funiculus. Do you know the function of the cord? Name 2 other genera of bird's nest fungi.

Laurie had a whole series of interesting slides. Unfortunately, the most remarkable and rare Sebacina incrustans did not present itself well photographically. Anyway, Sebacina is a weird "jelly" that resembles "dog vomit" at the base of plants and it has cruciate basidia. Do you know what these look like? Check the Swiss Book on Aphyllophorales. His slides of slime molds were more photogenic - such as Hematrichia calyculata, Metatrichia vesparium and the rare Physarum bivalve which resembles an elongated clam or wiener in a bun.

Sam showed slides of people living it up at the Elliott's Jurassic Park Foray; Ellen Greer's "desert" walk along a dried up stream bed that was teeming with unusual fungi, then on to Leo Todd's extravaganza with 85 species and bushels of edibles such as 2 species of honeys, 5 species of boletes, and Rozites caperata for good measure. Can you ID Rozites caperata? The we gambled on the rain in Orono and helped Alma Homola and Seanna Annis put names on over 50 species with many edibles viz. Laetiporus sulphureus and Boletus edulis.

Premeeting foray led by Dot, Cheryl and Caryl brought in a nice assortment of species despite the cold and leaf litter, plus members brought specimens form home to contribute to the display tables. Here are some of the mycological jewels:

Tricholoma caligatum and T. orirubens with apricot gills, T. aurantium and T. flavovirens(?). Nice collections of Tricholomopsis decora and Lepiota procera. Ten a huge Cortinarius traganus and its look alike, Lepista nuda - that has pink spores. The gelatinous Pseudohydnum gelatinosum which is really a "fake" Hydnum with cruciate spores - BEWARE! There was a genuine Hydnum viz. Hydnum repandum. But the prize was Gary's twig with 65 Crucibulum laeve which no immortalized on film. And last but not least, two species of "soft" Stereums: Laxitextum bicolor and Laxitextum spp.

And we must remember the resourceful cooks with delectable main dishes and those that tempted your "sweet tooth". My favorite "sweet tooths" were George's baklava and someone's pumpkin torte. And there was Olga's prize mushroom soup. Sales of Sam's Corner were sluggish, but Dot promises to put one or two copies on everyone's bookshelf - not only will Sam have more restful nights but also because each sale will put $6 in MMA's coffers for future scholarships.

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