NYMSNew York Mycological Society Newsletter Winter 2019

from the Editor

anomola and fasciculata. M. anomola has some hairs with a curved, inflated cell at their tip, resembling a snake head, and M. fasciculata has smaller, smoother hairs. In order to identify the of the Merismodes we have been finding in almost every park in every borough, we have been looking at the hairs of these fruiting bodies under the mi- croscope during ID nights. Until one recent ID night, every specimen we have scoped, has had the hairs with snake heads, indicating M. anomola. On December 15, 2018, in a walk in Prospect Park, we brought home four different collections of Merismodes. We looked at three of these collec- tions, two of them appeared to be M. anomola with the snake heads, and the other appeared to be M. fascicu- Merismodes anomala, a cyphelloid basidiomycete; photo: Tom Bigelow lata with smooth, thick walled hairs! On March 25, as you will read in the his winter has seen a lot of ascomycete and basidiomycete refer pages enclosed, Greg Thorne will activity with the New York to the sexual reproductive systems be giving a lecture focused on the TMycological Society. With few of a . Ascomycetes forcefully cyphelloid fungus. I am very much exceptions, we have been out every eject their from sac-like asci, looking forward to finding out if we are weekend since November. On almost and basidiomycetes drop their spores identifying this fascinating mushroom every walk, we have found the mush- from fork-like basidia. Therefore, an correctly! room pictured above, Merismodes ascomycete cup-like fungus will face On another note, I am honored to in- anomola. Merismodes is one of my upward to enable this forceful ejec- troduce with this issue of the newslet- favorite mushrooms, in part because tion of spores, and a basidiomycete ter, our new Book Review editor, Mical it is the first cyphelloid fungus Tom cup-like fungus will face downward to Moser. Mical brings many years of and I found, and identified (in the allow the spores to drop from the ba- experience in book publishing, and I Central Park ramble, February, 2015). sidia. As you can see from the picture think we will all benefit from her exper- The cyphelloids are a group of mush- above, the Merismodes fruiting bod- tise. I hope you enjoy the many book rooms which have the cup-like ap- ies are very hairy. These hairs are a reviews included in this issue as much pearance of an ascomycete, but are key feature for identification. We have as I do... actually basidiomycetes. The terms two Merismodes species in our area, CONTENTS Microbia: A Journey into the Unseen World Around You by Eugenia Bone reviewed by Mical Moser...... 5 How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan reviewed by Leah Krauss...... 6 Green-Wood Cemetery: A Place for the Dead That Teems with Life by Sigrid Jakob ...... 10 The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins reviewed by William May...... 12 NYMS Newsletter Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation by Editor—Juniper Perlis Copy editor—Ethan Crenson The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel reviewed by Design—Ethan Crenson A quarterly publication of the Mac Crenson...... 14 New York Mycological Society, Mushrooms: A Natural and Cultural History by Nicholas P. Money distributed to its members. President—Tom Bigelow reviewed by Matt Gardner...... 14 Vice President—Dennis Aita Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation by Tradd Cotter Secretary—Paul Sadowski Treasurer—Kay Spurlock reviewed by Craig Trester ...... 15 Walks Coordinator—Dennis Aita Lecture Coordinator—Tom Bigelow Study Group—Paul Sadowski Archivist—Ralph Cox Upcoming Events Reviews Editor—Mical Moser Webmaster—Ethan Crenson www.newyorkmyc.org July 26 – 28: Chanterelle Weekend, Green Mountains, VT Articles should be sent to: October 4 – 6: Catskill Weekend Juniper Perlis 713 Classon Ave, Apt 505 Brooklyn, NY 11238 Eagle Hill Workshops, 2019 [email protected] May 19 – 25: Lichens and Lichen Ecology - Troy McMullin 347.743.9452 May 26 – Jun 1: Old-growth Forest Lichens and Allied Fungi, with a Focus Membership inquiries: on Calicioids - Steven Selva and Troy McMullin Kay Spurlock—Treasurer- New York Mycological Society May 26 – Jun 1: Introduction to Bryophytes and Lichens - Fred Olday P.O. Box 1162 Stuyvesant Sta. Jun 16 – 22: Independent Study: Topics in Fungal Biology - Donald Pfister New York, NY 10009 [email protected] Jul 28 – Aug 3: Mushroom Identification for New Mycophiles: Foraging for Address corrections: Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms - Greg Marley and Michaeline Mulvey Paul Sadowski Aug 11 – 17: Crustose Lichens, Accessory Fungi, and Symbiotic Transitions - 205 E. 94 St., #9 Toby Spribille New York, NY 10128-3780 [email protected] Aug 11 – 17: Lichens, Biofilms, and Stone - Judy Jacob and Michaela Schmull All statements and opinions written in this Aug 18 – 24: Mushroom Microscopy: An Exploration of the Intricate newsletter belong solely to the individual Microscopic World of Mushrooms - David Porter and Michaeline Mulvey author and in no way represent or reflect the opinions or policies of the New York Sep 27 - 29: Fall Maine Mushrooms - David Porter and Michaeline Mulvey Mycological Society. To receive this publication electronically contact Paul Sadowski at: [email protected] Forays Archive copies of the newsletter are August 1 – 4: 2019 NEMF Samuel Ristich Foray; 43rd Annual Foray of the available in the Resources section of our website. Northeast Mycological Federation, Lock Haven University, PA Submissions for the next issue of the August 8 – 11: 2019 NAMA Annual Foray, Paul Smiths, New York NYMS newsletter must reach the editor by June 15, 2018. Various formats are ac- ceptable for manuscripts. Address questions to Juniper Perlis, editor. See above for addresses. A Message from our Reviews Editor Remember! For three years now I’ve been a member of the New York Mycological Society. Stay responsibly in touch with us. Something that’s become clear is this: as a community, our knowledge is only as If your telephone number, mailing or email address changes, please good as our resources. While there are many excellent digital resources available contact Paul Sadowski, Secretary to mycophiles, I have always been charmed by how much fungal knowledge with your new information. On your is bound up in books (that is real books; physical books). My professional life membership form, please consider revolves around books, and you can always count on me to cheer on the good going paperless when it comes to ones. A number of months ago, I offered to our newsletter editor, Juniper Perlis, receiving these newsletters. News- that it would be nice to have more book reviews, and I could help shepherd them letters sent via email (PDF file for- along. If any of you are interested in writing reviews, or if you have written a book mat) are in color, have live web links, that you’d like reviewed or noted, please let me know. help us contain costs, and use –Mical Moser fewer natural resources! Reviews Editor [email protected] NYMS walks policy: We meet when public transportation arrives. Check the walks schedule for other trans- Chanterelle Weekend 2019 portation notes. Walks last 5-6 hours and are of moderate difficulty except July 26-28, The Green Mountains of Southern Vermont where noted. Bring your lunch, After two years of organizing the splendid NYMS Chanterelle Weekend, Ethan water, knife, a whistle (in case you Crenson is taking a respite, and Dorota Kolodziejczyk and Jason Duval will get lost or injured), and a basket for organize, with support offered from Laura Biscotto and Adrienne Haeberle. mushrooms. Please let a walk leader know if you are going to leave early. As we send this issue of the newsletter to press, the details of the house rental Leaders have discretion to cancel and other specifics are still in the works. However the weekend dates are set walks in case of rain or very dry for July 26 – 28th, the weekend before the NEMF Samuel Ristich Foray. conditions. Be sure to check your A deposit of $50.00 should be submitted along with the registration form at the email or contact the walk leader back of this newsletter issue before June 1. Please make checks out to NYMS. before a walk to see if it has been canceled for some reason. Mail both the form and the check to: Nonmembers’ attendance is $5 for Laura Biscotto an individual and $10 for a family. 9 Stanton St, Apt 2C New York, NY 10002 We ask that members refrain from 212 677 3060 visiting walk sites two weeks prior [email protected] to the walk. Warning: Many mushrooms are toxic. Neither the Society nor indi- vidual members are responsible for the identification or edibility of any fungus.

Paul Sadowski with Leccinum and wine at the 2018 Chanterelle Weekend in Stratton, VT photo by Vicky Tarttar 3 2019 Emil Lang Lecture Series The NYMS Emil Lang Lectures for 2019 will be held on Monday nights, from 6:00-8:00, at the Central Park Arsenal. The entrance is just off 5th Ave. at 64th St. The Arsenal, Central Park 830 5th Ave., Rm 318 (@ 64th St.) New York, NY 10065 The lectures are free and open to the public. February 25th: Else Vellinga, “Fungal Conservation” Else Vellinga is a mycologist who is interested in naming and classifying mushroom species in and beyond, especially Parasol mushrooms. She has described 22 species as new for California, and most recently worked at the herbaria at University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University for the Macrofungi and Else Vellinga Microfungi Collections Digitization projects. She got her training at the National Herbarium in the Netherlands, and her PhD at the University of Leiden, also in the Netherlands. The main motivation for her taxonomic work is that it lays the basis for efforts to include mushroom species in nature management and conservation plans. She has proposed a number of Californian and Hawaiian species for the IUCN global database of endangered species. She tries to keep current with the mushroom literature. And lastly, Else is an avid knitter and likes to use mushroom dyed yarn for her creations. She lives with her two cats in Berkeley, California. March 25th: Greg Thorn, “Explorations of Cyphelloid Fungi (and other Wee Mushrooms) in the Molecular Age” Greg Thorn grew up in London, Ontario and became interested in natural history through the family garden, long summer vacations, and the local Field Naturalists group. Six summers as a naturalist in Algonquin Park built on this and introduced him to the world of mushrooms and other fungi. Mushroom forays of the Mycological Society of Toronto and NAMA were an important part of his training, where he met and learned Greg Thorn from the likes of Gary Lincoff, Ron Petersen, Alex Smith, and many more. Writing the checklist of Algonquin Park macrofungi led Thorn to consult experts from Richard Korf to Jim Ginns and Scott Redhead, all of whom encouraged him to further studies of fungi. His graduate studies were at the University of Guelph (with George Barron) and the University of Toronto (with David Malloch), followed by positions in Japan, Michigan, Indiana, Wyoming, and finally back to London as a faculty member in the Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario. Thorn’s research is focused on the impact of disturbance on the diversity of mushroom fungi, and systematics of mushroom fungi generally. April 29th: Rod Tulloss, “Amanita with a Hand Lens and the Naked Eye: Communicating About Unfamiliar Finds Using the Seven Sections Recognized by Dr. Cornelis Bas” Rod Tulloss has specialized in Amanitaceae for 42 years, having been mentored by the late Dr. Cornelis Bas (Leiden). His research is available through an expanding, open-access, on-line monograph, “Studies in the Amanitaceae” founded by him and Rod Tulloss co-edited with Dr. Zhu L. Yang (Kunming). The site treats over 1,050 taxa and includes a peer-reviewed e-journal (“Amanitaceae”) restricted to research associated with the herbarium and/or its staff. He is currently working on Amanita sect. Vaginatae for North America; the Boston Harbor Islands fungal inventory; providing support for individuals and clubs working on Amanita sequences via North American Mycoflora grants; provid- ing interactions and teaching moments on mushroomobserver.org and on the Amanita of North America facebook group, etc. He maintains an extensive private herbarium of world Amanitaceae. Visit his website: http://www.amanitaceae.org May 20th: Nova Patch, “Urban Lichens of New York City” Nova Patch is an amateur lichenologist focusing on the urban lichens of NYC and cura- tor of the open data project Lichens of New York City on iNaturalist. They are a regular speaker on diverse topics ranging from lichenology to emoji engineering, hold a botany certificate from the New York Botanical Garden, and are a Brooklyn-residing member of the New York Mycological Society. Nova will lead a city lichen walk the weekend follow- ing their talk. Nova Patch 4 Microbia A Journey into the Unseen World Around You By Eugenia Bone 2018 Hardcover 272 pp. Rodale 9781623367350 $25.99 Book Review by Mical Moser

hyper-competent sterility. Bacteria is a necessary and young adults and healthy part of a clean environment; equally impressive sterility is not. You may want sterility in microscopic your sealed jar of mushroom duxelles organisms. (for which you can go to another Previously, “fungus” of Bone’s books, Well-Preserved: was the answer to any Recipes and Techniques for Putting up question I ever asked. Small Batches of Seasonal Food), and But Bone has lifted a you may want sterility on your surgeon’s veil. What’s the REAL scalpel, but bacteria are a necessary apex predator on part of our living environment. We eat the planet? Bacteria. it in yoghurt. We swap it with all of our What digests most loved ones and friends. We share it of the food you with a community of 10 million New eat? Bacteria. What Yorkers and countless tourists who’ve protects your ears also put their hands on our subway from infections? car pole. Our skin is amazingly adept Bacteria. What’s at maintaining a correct bacterial all over everything balance throughout. The trick with and let’s just accept bacteria isn’t to get rid of it, but to help it? Yes, indeed, the bacteria maintain the right equilibrium answer is bacteria. and stay in the right place (all E. coli And if the answer isn’t back to the intestine please!). So while bacteria, it’s probably you read Bone’s book, smell the ink, bacterial-fungal touch the pages, and while you’re at interaction. As in it, go ahead and enjoy a cheese plate! why, when antibiotics Kiss everyone on both cheeks à la cure what ails you, française! Clink glasses with strangers does another malaise at the table! Santé! sometimes pop The newest book from past NYMS up? The answer (as you’ve probably president, Eugenia Bone, is Microbia: guessed) is that you’ve thrown off the A Journey into the Unseen World equilibrium of your body’s bacterial- Around You (Rodale). It is to bacteria fungal interaction. what her last book, Mycophilia, was I don’t want to give you the impression to mushrooms: a readable, delightful, that Bone’s book is all about infections, fact-filled tour. (You know Mycophilia, disease, and laboratories. To the right? If not, it’s time to take a personal contrary. Her subtitle could have been day and catch up on your reading.) “How I Stopped Worrying and Learned Bone always immerses herself in her to Love Bacteria.” It’s a fascinating, subject and with Microbia, she goes feel-good celebration of germs. One so far as to take science classes at of the great joys of reading Microbia Columbia so that we don’t have to. was that it helped me recognize the Eugenia Bone; photo © Huger Foote The world that emerges is filled with difference between cleanliness and

5 How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan 2018 Hardcover 480 pp. Penguin 9781594204227 Book Review by Leah Krauss

ichael Pollan offers three mental experience it occasions.” And anecdotes to explain how he so, a popular writer best known for Mfound himself writing a book writing about human culture and food, on psychedelics. First, in 2010, Pollan embarks on an in-depth exploration of came across a front-page story from two Schedule One drugs, Psilocybin the New York Times, “Hallucinogens and LSD. In focusing on the social Have Doctors Tuning In Again,” history and present research of which reported that Johns Hopkins, these particular compounds, Pollan UCLA, and New York University were notably sidesteps the growing dosing terminally ill cancer patients pervasiveness of ayahuasca rituals in with psilocybin (the psycho-active the United States and the popularity compound in “magic mushrooms”) of MDMA, an amphetamine often to alleviate “existential distress” used in psychedelic therapy, and diligently and with deceptive ease, among the dying. Pollan wondered a compound with its own body of charts a complicated debate across at the logic of these studies and was research and medical trials. Pollan’s the Coastal United States, Saskatch- surprised to read that “many of the book, at four hundred plus pages, is ewan, other parts of Canada, and volunteers reported that over the no less thorough for these omissions. parts of Europe. LSD was synthesized course of a single guided psychedelic Pollan writes with a gentle but in 1938 by Swiss Chemist Albert ‘journey’ they reconceived how interrogative curiosity. His book is Hoffman, and accidentally ingested they viewed their cancer and the structured first around the histories by him for the first time in 1943, five prospect of dying. Several of them of scientific interest in psilocybin years later. He self-dosed epically, said they had lost their fear of death and LSD, followed by Pollan’s own in what Pollan describes as the first completely” (8). Sometime later, he exquisitely described psychedelic “bad trip” in recorded history. Un- found himself at a dinner party where “journeys” facilitated by underground certain of how to make sense of the a psychologist mentioned using LSD guides. (He was ineligible for the seeming madness and transcendence as a means to consider children’s university-based studies). He then of that self-dosing, Hoffman was perceptions of the world. When wades through tidal pools of neuro- certain that the chemical could be put asked if she would ever publish her imaging research and offers a basic to medical use. Sandoz, the phar- observations, she dismissed Pollan read of what happens to the mind on maceutical company that employed as politically naive. As a professional, psychedelics. The book winds down Hoffman, distributed LSD freely to any she was not going to publicly discuss with evocative stories of clinical trials scientific study that would document taking psychoactive drugs. And of the dying, the addicted, and the findings. Many labs and enterpris- finally, post dinner party, Pollan depressed. For the purposes of this ing individuals rose to the challenge. recollected an unopened email from review, I will glance along the surface The drug was initially conceived of 2006, a study in Psychopharmacology of the history and dip a toe into the as a psychotomimetic (a replicator from Johns Hopkins, “Psilocybin neurobiology. The book is in fact of psychosis), then as a psycholytic, Can Occasion Mystical-Type unwieldy in the various ideas it puts a truth serum of sorts, and finally as Experiences Having Substantial and forward and perhaps most appealing its own distinct category of “mind- Sustained Personal Meaning and in its patient testimonials, which I manifesting” (the meaning of “psy- Spiritual Significance” (10). This have not included here out of concern chedelic”) experience. At each stage, study, which Pollan attributes to for the length of this review. scientists hypothesized the chemical the beginning of a “renaissance of action on the mind and at each stage, Pollan places considerable atten- psychedelic research,” is the first it seemed close but not representa- tion on the story of psychedelics of many studies focused not on the tive of what was happening in the and the medical establishment over specific pharmacological effect of experience. One example of this phe- the second half of the 21st century. a drug, but rather on “the kind of nomena took place in 1953, in a study His chapter on LSD, in particular, 6 put forward by Humfrey Osmand conversation back toward patients’ by underground guide, Al Hubbard, and Abrahm Hoffer at their clinic in interior experience, rather than on in collaboration with Osmond and Saskatchewan, in which the clinicians what could be externally observed. Hoffer at their clinic in Saskatchewan. offered volunteers a high dose of LSD “The emphasis on what subjects felt In the 1950s, psychedelic therapy as a mimetic of intense withdrawal represented a major break with the “typically involved a single, high-dose from alcohol. Pollan writes, “Here was prevailing ideas of behaviorism in session, usually of LSD, that took an arresting application of the psy- psychology, in which only observable place in comfortable surroundings, chotomimetic paradigm: use a single and measurable outcomes counted the subject stretched out on a couch, high-dose LSD session to induce an and subjective experience was with a therapist (or two) in atten- episode of madness in an alcoholic deemed irrelevant” (149). Addition- dance” quietly allowing the journey that would simulate delirium tremens, ally, the realization that “LSD affected to unfold. “To eliminate distractions shocking the patient into sobriety.” consciousness at such infinitesimal and encourage an inward journey, For the following ten years, “Osmand doses” “helped to advance the new music [was] played and the subject and Hoffer tested this hypothesis on field of neurochemistry in the 1950s, usually [wore] eyeshades. The goal more than seven hundred alcoholics, leading to the development of the was to create the conditions for a and in roughly half the cases, they SSRI antidepressants” (293). Stephen spiritual epiphany – what amounted reported, the treatment worked: the Ross, an addiction researcher at to a conversion experience” (163). volunteers got sober and remained Bellevue, later shared with Pollan his Participants were given a set of “flight so for at least several months. Not astonishment at learning this history instructions,” that encouraged them only was the new approach more after his formal education, “‘Begin- to go deeper into the experience with effective than other therapies, but it ning in the early fifties, psychedelics assurances that guides would serve suggested a whole new way to think had been used to treat a whole host as “ground control” for the duration about psychopharmacology. ‘From of conditions’ including addiction, of the “trip.” Guidance of this sort the first, Hoffer wrote, ‘we considered depression, obsessive-compulsive shaped the larger contours of the not the chemical, but the experience disorder, schizophrenia, autism, and psychedelic journey, with doctors as a key factor in therapy.’ This novel end-of-life anxiety. There had been encouraging self-transcendence (an idea would become a central tenet of forty thousand research participants ineffable experience highly correlated psychedelic therapy” (149). In spite of and more than a thousand clinical with long-lasting results). Clinician the treatment’s success, in cataloging papers! … Some of the best minds as spiritual guide does appear to be their data, the therapists noted a high in psychiatry had seriously studied an essential part of past and present discrepancy between the subjective these compounds in therapeutic “trip treatment.” experience of LSD and the horrors models, with government funding.’ Pollan shares a few quotes by Dr. of DTs. In the reports “‘psychotic But after the culture and the psychi- Sydney Cohen, from an essay pub- changes’ - hallucinations, paranoia, atric establishment turned against lished by Harper’s in 1965, where Co- anxiety – sometimes occurred, but psychedelics in the mid-1960s, an en- hen writes on the potential of psyche- there were also descriptions of, say, tire body of knowledge was effectively delics for the dying. Cohen invokes ‘a transcendental feeling of being erased from the field” (142). treatment with LSD as “‘therapy by united with the world,’ one of the One of the features of present psy- self-transcendence.’ The premise most common feelings reported. chedelic medicine that Pollan draws behind the approach was that our Rather than madness, most volun- attention to is that the substance, be fear of death is a function of our teers described sensations such as it psilocybin or LSD, is not thought to egos, which burden us with a sense a new ability ‘to see oneself objec- be sufficient to produce the desired of separateness that can become tively’; ‘enhancement in the sensory results. Regardless of how people are unbearable when we approach death. fields’” etc. “In spite of the powerful altered by these drugs recreationally, ‘We are born into an egoless world,’ expectancy effect, symptoms that the most efficacious studies of the Cohen wrote, ‘but we live and die looked nothing like those of insanity past, and essentially all research imprisoned within ourselves. … We were busting through the researchers’ trials under discussion, are preoccu- wanted to provide a brief, lucid inter- preconceptions” (150). pied with a therapeutic relationship val of complete egolessness to dem- Regardless of the theoretical model in addition to the application of a onstrate that personal intactness was underpinning the treatment, “by the drug. Michael Pollan follows the not absolutely necessary, and that end of the decade, LSD was widely breadcrumbs to the original medical perhaps there was something ‘out regarded in North America as a application of “Set and Setting.” there’ something greater than our in- miracle cure for alcohol addiction” A term attributed to Timothy Leary, dividual selves that might survive our (151). As this episode illustrates, psy- “Set and Setting” was conceptually demise.’” Cohen shares the words of chedelics shifted the mental health applied prior to Leary’s work, notably one patient, dying of ovarian cancer,

7 who states, “My extinction is not of human cortex, the outermost and from the world outside,” the brain great consequence at this moment, evolutionarily most recent layer of filtering “the torrent of information not even for me. It’s just another turn the brain” (292). This appreciation of the senses make available” at any in the swing of existence and non- receptor sites doesn’t explain much given moment (307) to a measly and existence. … I could die nicely now – about the “phenomenology” of a manageable “trickle.” Neuroscience if it should be so. I do not invite it, nor brain subjected to psychedelics. To often conceptualizes the brain as a do I put it off” (339). Similarly, present that end, Carhart-Harris’s team is in- prediction-making machine. Pollan day NYU psychiatrist Jeffrey Guss terested in what is called the “default observes that this model “suggests “speaks explicitly about the acquisi- mode network,” (DMN) a “network that our perceptions of the world offer tion of meaning, telling his patients, of brain structures that light up with us not a literal transcription of reality ‘that the medicine will show you activity when there are no demands but rather a seamless illusion woven hidden or unknown shadow parts of on our attention and we have no men- from both the data of our senses and yourself; that you will gain insight into tal task to perform. … Working at a the models in our memories” (308). yourself and come to learn about the remove from our sensory processing This “handshake between the data of meaning of life and existence. … As of the outside world, the default mode our senses and our preconceptions” a result of this molecule being in your is most active when we are engaged is firm, due to a “continual process body, you’ll understand more about in higher-level ‘metacognitive’ pro- of reality testing” (308). Accord- yourself and life and the universe’” cesses such as self-reflection, mental ing to Carhart-Harris, psychedelics (354). Pollan concludes, “And more time travel … moral reasoning, and “render the brain’s usual handshake often than not this happens. Replace ‘theory of mind’ - the ability to attri- with perception less stable and more the science-y word ‘molecule’ with bute mental states to others, as when slippery. The tripping brain may ‘slip ‘sacred mushroom’ or ‘plant teacher,’ we try to imagine ‘what it is like’ to be back and forth’ between imposing its and you have the incantations of a someone else” (302). The adult brain, priors and admitting the raw evidence shaman at the state of a ceremonial according to Carhart-Harris, is “a of its senses” (310). This can explain healing” (354). Jeffrey Guss is opti- hierarchical system,” in which “‘The hallucinations, or that people who mistic that psychedelics might offer highest-level parts’ - those developed are color-blind “report being able to a paradigm shift for psychotherapy. late in our evolution, typically located see certain colors for the first time” or He points out that “for many years in the cortex - ‘exert an inhibitory in- that people “hear music differently… now ‘we’ve had this conflict between fluence on the lower-level [and older] they process the timbre, or coloration, the biologically based treatments and parts, like emotion and memory” of music more acutely – a dimen- psychodynamic treatments. They’ve (303). In Carhart-Harris’s first experi- sion of music that conveys emotion” been fighting one another for legiti- ment, “the steepest drops in default (310). Using a scanning technique macy and resources. Is mental illness mode network activity correlated with called magnetoencephalography, the a disorder of chemistry, or is it a loss his volunteers’ subjective experience Imperial College team has shown of meaning in one’s life? Psychedelic of ‘ego dissolution.’ (‘I existed only that under the influence of psilocybin, therapy is the wedding of those two as an idea or concept,’ one volunteer “thousands of new connections form, approaches” (335). reported. Another recalled, ‘I didn’t linking far-flung brain regions that ut how to understand what is know where I ended and my sur- during normal waking consciousness happening to the brain, over roundings began.’) The more precipi- don’t exchange much information. Bthe course of a psychedelic tous the drop-off in blood flow and … The increase in entropy allows a session? Michael Pollan looks to a oxygen consumption in the default thousand mental states to bloom, team at the Centre of Psychiatry on network, the more likely a volunteer many of them bizarre and senseless, the Hammersmith campus of Imperial was to report the loss of a sense of but some number of them revelatory, College in West London for a promis- self” (305). While the default mode imaginative, and, at least potentially, ing and still preliminary understand- networks go quiet, the limbic regions transformative” (318). Pollan adds, ing. This team, led by neuroscientist involved in emotion and memory, “In this sense, entropy in the brain Robin Carhart-Harris, uses scanning are disinhibited, which might explain is a bit like variation in evolution: it technologies such as functional why “material that is unavailable to supplies the diversity of raw materials magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) us during normal waking conscious- on which selection can then operate to observe people injected with a ness now floats to the surface of to solve problems and bring novelty high dose of psilocybin or LSD. Both our awareness, including emotions into the world” (319). Carhart-Harris molecules have an affinity with “one and memories and, sometimes, makes the point that many psycho- particular type of serotonin receptor long-buried childhood traumas” logical “disorders” are not the result called the 5-HT2A. These receptors (307). The DMN also “helps regu- of a lack of order in the brain but are found in large numbers in the late what is let into consciousness rather from an excess of order. “When

8 the grooves of self-reflective thinking George Goldsmith, “an American en- recognize that our account of reality, deepen and harden, the ego becomes trepenuer and health industry consul- whether inward or outward, is incom- overbearing” (312). In Pollan’s later tant based in London” (398). During plete at best” (409). As a New York observations about successful clinical that conversation, Insel said, “I’m re- Times bestseller, How to Change Your trials among the depressed, the ad- ally impressed by the approach here. Mind is now a part of the broader dicted, and the dying, he notes that People don’t say, simply, we’re gonna conversation toward the legitimization these conditions, “all are exacerbated give psychedelics. They talk about of psychic exploration, with its atten- by the tyranny of an ego and the fixed ‘psychedelic-assisted psychothera- dant concerns and its aspirations. narratives it constructs about our py.” He added that regulators would Before I conclude this review, I want relationship to the world. By tempo- be challenged by a model where to offer some final thoughts and rarily overturning that tyranny of an drugs are not evaluated in isolation. a New York Mycological Society ego and throwing our minds into an “There may be a lot of promise here… anecdote. First, it is worth observ- unusually plastic state … psychedel- but it’s really easy to forget about is- ing the presence of the entrepreneur ics, with the help of a good therapist, sues related to safety, issues related moderator on that panel on “The give us an opportunity to propose to rigor, issues related to reputational Future of Psychedelic Psychiatry.” some new, more constructive stories risks.” And then Insel warned against Today’s culture is not the culture of about the self and its relationship anything that evoked “recreational the 1960s and even if one cannot to the world, stories that just might use” (399). The medicalized approach patent a mushroom and the LSD pat- stick” (368). He adds, “This is a very is receiving a lot of warranted atten- ent has expired, there will be people different kind of therapy than we are tion, but the landscape of psyche- trying to monetize this movement. accustomed to in the West, because delic therapy is broad and populated Given that Big Pharma cannot pat- it is neither purely chemical nor purely by many ardent professionals wanting ent these drugs to subsidize Phase III psychodynamic – neither mindless healthy people to access these mind- trials, money will have to come from nor brainless. Whether Western medi- states with and without their help. other deep pockets. To the degree cine is ready to accommodate such a Pollan heartily endorses the guided that legalization becomes part of the radically novel – and ancient – model psychedelic model as offering access public conversation, an economics for mental transformation is an open to another mode of consciousness of self interest not particularly con- question” (368). to relate to and integrate into one’s sidered in this book, will become part ollan holds a measured opti- ordinary life. “If dreams and fantasies of the conversation as well. These mism that the present “doors of and free associations are worth in- are concerns that were voiced at the Pperception” won’t swing shut. terpreting, then surely so is the more Horizons, Perspectives on Psyche- He expresses cautious hope that with vivid and detailed material with which delics conference I attended in early a greater body of research and legiti- the psychedelic journey presents us” October of this year. At the confer- macy around psychedelic therapies, (406). Pollan notes that many of the ence, I took a photo of one power the positive effects of these drugs things he learned “were the kinds of point image from Monnica Williams, can issue forth without a backlash of things one might learn in the course Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the the sort that occurred in the 1960s. of psychotherapy: insights into Department of Psychological Sci- With regard to that youth rebellion, he important relationships; the outlines ences at the University of Connecti- holds that a generation was encoun- of fears and desires ordinarily kept cut who was speaking a bit about tering, via psychedelics, a transfor- out of view; repressed memories and her research but mostly teaching a mative experience with no elders or emotions; and, perhaps most inter- primer of systematic racism. Under formalized coming of age ritual. Many esting, and useful, a new perspective the header of “Clinical Musings,” she of the people who lived through those on how one’s mind works.” He goes asked, “Can psychedelics heal our turbulent times are now in positions on, “This, I think, is the great value social psychopathology – racism and of authority and have a more nuanced of exploring non-ordinary states of white supremacy.” Also, “Who will relationship to psychedelics than their consciousness: the light they reflect move psychedelic medicine for- predecessors. Toward the end of the back on the ordinary ones, which ward?” Michael Pollan has written a book, Pollan relays a small portion of no longer seem quite so transparent magnificent and deep conversation a “Future of Psychedelic Psychiatry” or so ordinary. To realize, as William piece on psychedelics with himself panel from 2017. On that panel was James concluded, that ‘normal wak- standing in as a pleasing everyman - Paul Summergrad, MD, the former ing consciousness is but one of many sensible, affable, skeptical and smart. head of the American Psychiatric As- potential forms of consciousness I loved this book and he is clearly not sociation, next to Tom Insel, MD, the – ways of perceiving or construct- an everyman. Pollan is not concerned former head of the National Institute ing the world – separated from it by of Mental Health. The moderator was merely ‘the flimsiest of screens,’ is to continued on page 13

9 Green-Wood Cemetery: A Place for the Dead That Teems with Life

By Sigrid Jakob

It was at this point that I realized that less is more. Don’t try and learn every- thing at once. Focus on one genus, and work your way up. Start with one small patch of land, not the whole city. Gary himself was perhaps the best example for the latter principle. While he’d traveled the world in search of rare mushrooms it was very clear that his near daily wanderings of Central Park were as great a source of knowl- edge, insight and inspiration for him: to observe a species over its whole life cycle, in different weather conditions, over many years. To get a sense of its favorite terrain, its mycorrhizal part- ners, other plants and animals that are part of the same ecosystem. Amanita onusta This is what Green-Wood Cemetery ’ve always liked cemeteries. Even in the summer just for boletes. Anyone became for me: a microcosm from when I was little I made a point of interested?” which to slowly build my knowledge of taking the shortcut through the fungi, one at a time, fed by near-daily I It was a post that launched a mis- ‘scary’ local cemetery on the way to walks throughout the year. It had the sion. Ethan Crenson took Gary up on school. And when I travel I’ll often skip added attraction of being somewhat his challenge, a badge was designed, the guidebook attractions to explore under-covered by the club; a place a battle cry unveiled (cives fungi mu- the largest, oldest, most beautiful we only occasionally visit, and only in nere functi), and the Patrol took to the cemetery a city has to offer, based on parts. This meant that even as a rank parks. Starting in the summer of 2016, the premise that how you honor your beginner I could break new ground dozens of club members have taken it dead tells you as much about a culture and contribute potentially valuable upon themselves to survey the city’s as do its amusements and attractions. knowledge about this unique urban parks for boletes, and our bolete lists ecosystem. When I moved five blocks from Green- have greatly expanded since that mo- Wood cemetery eight years ago it mentous post. While Green-Wood is home to many wasn’t entirely by coincidence. Living different kinds of mushrooms and li- The timing couldn’t have been better. close to those verdant, undulating 478 chens, it goes all out on boletes— I had started to come on NYMS walks acres pulsing with the City’s history quite unlike Prospect Park, only a few a few months earlier, but like so many was a small dream come true. blocks to the north. From the first days newbies was struggling with ‘begin- of June, when Xerocomellus chrysen- In the years since it’s become much ner’s overload’—so many new mush- teron and Boletus subvelutipes shyly more than a place for an occasion- rooms, so many new names to learn— peek through the grass, to the end of al wander. And it all started with a names that over the course of a long October when Gyroporus castaneus fi- Facebook post. Gary, on the 19th of winter would inevitably be forgotten. nally call it quits, Green-Wood is a ver- December 2015 mused “Our NYMS I was eager to get better, to one day itable bolete haven. Fourteen different NYC PARKS checklists over the past even become a contributor not just re- species call it home for sure, and there 9 years have shown us so many more gurgitator of knowledge. But master- might well be more. This summer has mushrooms than we ever imagined we ing this knowledge felt like a daunting brought Suillus americanus and Suillus had growing in NYC parks - BUT - there task, and with over 1000 mushrooms granulatus for the first time, so who is one big exception: the BOLETES. … in the city alone I wasn’t at all sure knows what else lies dormant here? Maybe we need a BOLETE PATROL - where to start. a group willing to survey these parks Green-Wood is also one of the few 10 places in the New York area where the Now, more than two years later, Green- rare Neoboletus pseudosulphureus Wood is still a near daily destination can occasionally be found. for me. My hour in the cemetery be- There’s more, much more. Green- fore work is my education, but it’s also Wood is an arboretum, home to a meditation, my exercise and the time great variety and number of trees— when I chew on the problems that I am over 7,000, many over 100 years old. getting paid to solve. It’s a better use These trees create conditions in which of my time than a gym or at the desk. all kinds of Amanita (including A. sub- And its quixotic layout and countless solitaria, A. onusta and the mysteri- dips and peaks have me getting lost ous Amidella section) thrive, and so even after of hundreds of visits. It’s a do many Russulas, especially of the place that never gets old and never foetid kind. Fall gives rise to countless ceases to surprise. Grifola frondosa, lots of Armillaria, oys- If you haven’t been before, do visit. ters and wood ears and no other park It’s one of New York City’s best kept comes close to Green-Wood’s bounty secrets—green, clean and peaceful of blewits. Finally, it’s also good for the even in the summer when trash and occasional oddball like a Cystoderma wild toileting make New York’s city aureum, a mystery Cortinarius or the parks less welcoming to the mycophile. Cystoderma aureum (Phaeolepiota aurea) sculpta that I found once and A couple of things to know. have never seen again. oaks in particular are good places to Rules: I always work from the assump- start looking. But your best guide to the The bounty doesn’t stop with fun- tion that, as with so many other parks best mushroom areas in the cemetery gi. A grove of wild persimmon trees and cemeteries, fungi may not be re- is iNaturalist where Nova Patch and I yields sweet fruit up until December. moved. Also, Green-Wood will occa- have logged our many findings. Mulberry, hickory and black walnut sionally spray parts of the cemetery What patch of land will you use to look trees can be found in several places.. with pesticides. And to the lichen-minded, Green- at the world anew? Wood’s diversity of stone makes it a Tools: Green-Wood has a great wonderful place to find otherwise un- interactive tree map (https://www. all photos © Sigrid Jakob common lichens. Ask Nova Patch! green-wood.com/trees). The 500+

Suillus americanus

Gyroporus castaneus Boletus subvelutipes Suillus granulatus 11 The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins By Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

2017 Paperback 352 pp. Princeton 9780691178325 $19.95 Book Review by William May

nna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s richly I recommend this approach—mov- rewarding, The Mushroom at ing past sections that seem a little Athe End of the World, might dense or that you might simply not benefit from a note of caution before be interested in and then perhaps the reader dives in. Its structure, and looping back to them at a later point. the introduction, appear to promise Tsing does have a set of arguments a very different book than the one I that may be easier to follow if you get found myself reading. Tsing speaks through some of the sociological the- of “indeterminacy” and her desire to ory and background that can be tough craft a work that mimics the unex- going at the beginning of the book, pected ways in which fungi spread but, as useful as all of that is, it’s not and fruit throughout the world. The necessary in order to enjoy and ben- peculiar illustrations and bits of po- efit from Tsing’s curious mind at work etry interspersed throughout and the on a myriad of other topics. And one word “indeterminacy,” itself, suggest of the many joys of the book is experi- something more conventionally poetic encing the way that her ideas are con- than what she has given us. If NYMS stantly looping backward and forward, members’ eyes lit up a bit at that linking up in unexpected ways; she’s word, John Cage does finally make more interested in raising questions a brief appearance in an “Interlude” than in providing definitive answers. titled “Smelling” between the second The section titled “Open Ticket, tice. The buyers encourage pickers and third chapter. But this truly is the Oregon” is one good place to start. to sell their mushrooms earlier in the academic book that the subtitle “On Open Ticket is the name she has evening with this method. The buyers the Possibility of Life in Capitalist given to the cluster of tents along also compete with each other for ex- Ruins” hints at and is as much about the side of a highway in Oregon that clusive relationships with the pickers. Marxist and feminist theory as it served as the center of the matsutake It’s an economic system that cedes is about its ostensible subject, the commerce for at least a stretch of much of the control of the market to matsutake. I was actually tempted to time that Tsing was researching her the worker (although Tsing and the put it down early on when it seemed book. It is also the name given to a pickers, themselves, bristle at that that the book assumes an easy fa- peculiar method of buying and selling word) and is decentralized. This con- miliarity with names like J.K. Gibson- the mushroom. Since the price can cept probably comes close to sum- Graham, Michael Hardt, and Antonio fluctuate wildly throughout an eve- marizing her “argument” such as it Negri (fascinating social theorists, it ning, an “open ticket” buyer allows is and the chapter is nicely balanced turns out, who I will probably not get pickers to return to them later in the between mushroom lore and social around to reading). But what a mis- night and receive the difference be- science. But this a book of tangents. take that would have been! I began to tween the price they received earlier And tangents and their value are, in enjoy the book when I started to take in the evening and the higher price, if the end, the larger point. the advice she gives right at the out- it has later jumped up. It’s a difficult And so Marxist and feminist theory set and approached it as a jumping concept to grasp fully, and it takes a lead us to chapters about the history off point for ideas of my own, reading lot of mental gymnastics to figure out of forest management in Finland, the it in little bursts and hopping around how this would actually work in prac- whenever I felt like it.

12 US-Indochina war, and the logging a tree partner being the most obvious Pollan continued from page 9 industry in the American west. But the of many—can dramatically change most fascinating sections to me and the appearance and flavor of what with representation. I was disap- the ones that would certainly inter- might be one “species.” “Species” pointed as I read that most of his est most members of the New York does not translate directly to “kind,” interview subjects were professional Mycological Society are the ones that and the whole notion of species in white men, but I took it for granted touch on the science of mushrooms. the first place depends historically on that those might be the people who Best of all for me was the chapter sexual reproduction. Working within paved this path in North America and in which she explores the problems this framework presents endless Europe. I do think as a mental exer- involved in classifying species and sets of difficulties when dealing with cise of reimagining, there is a value the pitfalls of the new trends towards organisms that reproduce asexually in considering whose bodies are relying entirely on DNA. I learned and sexually in a variety of differ- imagined or elaborated upon in his more about the history of ent and surprising ways. The ways book, and what other kinds of bodies and the unique challenges fungi pose that matsutake exchange genes, in with different traumas or subjectivi- in one brief section of this book than particular, make for such a compel- ties might someday encounter the I have learned anywhere else. Tsing ling case study, that Tsing “was so psychedelic journey. I was excited to welcomes the new information that excited when [she] understood that learn that there are efforts to train cli- DNA sequencing has added to the [she] spilled [her] tea all over [her] nicians of color in guide-work. There conversation, but where many people tray.” Her excitement, especially in were suggestions from other panel- appear to think this information has this chapter, is infectious. And that ists about creating advisory panels solved a problem and essentially end- is hopefully an apt metaphor for this consisting of whatever demographic ed the conversation, she recognizes book, which truly deserves a wider population was intended to be served that it opens up our dialogue further. audience. Hopefully, I have done my by a clinical trial. There were sugges- To oversimplify, in more part to spread the germs (or spores) tions to look back to AIDS activism than 5% divergence in a very specific in many different contexts and with so for its work in democratizing medicine section of the DNA sequence (the many different people since reading it, and for models of distribution that ITS region) indicates a new species. and I hope that her “open ticket” ap- weren’t wrapped up in the political But even if we can all agree on what proach to scientific inquiry gains trac- agendas of the wealthy. Pollan’s book defines a species genetically, does a tion in academia. It is certainly an ap- is an excellent gateway to the world species tell the whole story? Anyone proach that mycology, which benefits of guided psychedelics. I am grateful who has spent any time foraging so much from citizen science already, that having shown up to a larger con- knows that environmental factors— would do well to learn from. versation on expansive conscious- ness, a more expansive conversation is in fact taking place. Name That Mushroom! And finally, as a small aside, I feel obliged to mention that Gary Lincoff found his way into this book. During the chapter on the history of psi- locybin, Pollan and the mycologist Paul Stamets look at archival foot- age together at Stamets’ home in the Pacific Northwest. One highlight worth mentioning is a dusty VHS the two watch of a mushroom conference in the late 70s, where among an as- sortment of characters, “… the New York Botanical Garden mycologist Gary Lincoff…arrived to great fanfare in a psychedelically painted school bus piloted by Ken Kesey” (102). The description is a passing one, but evokes a delightful image of a man who moved through so many rooms Can you guess this winter mushroom? The winner—the first to guess the correct binomial—will over the course of his life, in pursuit receive a Bolete Patrol patch. Send your response to [email protected]. of knowledge. 13 The Mushroom Fan Club Because you are reading this in the caps and stems, and the many ways New York Mycological Society news- in which they grow. It describes edible by Elise Gravel letter, I am going to assume that you and poisonous mushrooms including 2018 Hardcover 56 pp. fully illustrated know more than just the basics about Morels, Chanterelles, and Destroying Enfant 1770463224 $17.95 mushrooms. I’ll also assume that you Angels. Even though it has all this grade level 3-4 find mushrooms fascinating, alluring useful information, it doesn’t forget to Book Review by Mac Crenson and, when appropriate, delicious. But keep mushrooms fun. For instance, I’m also going to assume that you’re showing how explode when not a kid. The Mushroom Fan Club you stomp on them! The book also by Elise Gravel is definitely a book doesn’t forget to mention that identi- for kids. It’s written in a fun, breezy fying mushrooms can be a challenge. style and is full of colorful pictures of (We know this in my house. My Dad mushrooms. In almost every picture identifies tiny specks on sticks for a the mushrooms have eyes… and hobby.) Everyone reading this review mouths … plus they talk sometimes. could understand this book as easily That’s not to say that adults won’t like as distinguishing cheese from water- The Mushroom Fan Club. melon. Which is easy, if you have ever looked at cheese or watermelon. And This book contains only facts, and even though you might already know was one of the most useful books all the information in this book, you’ll about mushrooms I have read that I definitely enjoy it for its charm and can easily understand. The book de- whimsical illustrations. Furthermore, scribes and illustrates the basic parts for a child who likes mushrooms, it of a mushroom, different kinds of makes a fantastic gift.

Mushrooms: A Natural personal experiences and musings of the author bring the reader into the and Cultural History by mind of an objective and dedicated Nicholas P. Money lifelong student of fungi. While playful and engaging, he covers some of the 2017 Hardcover 224 pp. more technical aspects of organismal 90 illustrations Reaktion biology and the fungal kingdom’s rela- 9781780237435 $30.00 tionship with humans in an accessible Book Review by Matt Gardner yet detailed manner. Additionally, the expertly chosen photographs and il- While I have read a number of in- lustrations really bring the content to troductory books on the subject, life. As with much mycological litera- Mushrooms has no shortage of myco- ture, the author raises as many impor- logical history and lesser-known facts tant questions, requiring further inqui- about the world of fungi that will keep ry, as he answers within these pages. even seasoned mycology buffs turn- But this is the nature and beauty of ing page after page. Money positions science. The future of fungi is bright, the subject matter as not merely the and this read will give anyone interest- topic of a science text, but he gives ed in the field and its history a broad these organisms a treatment as if they understanding of the many facets of are characters in a playful and humor- mushrooms along with a hearty help- ous biological story. The many relevant ing of humor.

14 Organic Mushroom Farm- to something out of a dream. Full of fascination and with a pound of shii- ing and Mycoremediation takes in hand, he peppered the farmer By Tradd Cotter with questions until getting into his car. Sitting behind the wheel with mind 2014 paperback 382 pp. still abuzz, he began to pull away Chelsea Green 97816035845555 when the farmer flagged him down to $39.95 ask if he wanted to work there. Book Review by Craig Trester Part One of the book begins with For anyone interested in expand- a crash course into the life cycle of ing their mycological skills beyond fungi, from to mycelium to fruit, identification and moving toward ap- providing a clear explanation into plication, I highly recommend Organic the science of why and how mush- Mushroom Farming and Mycoreme- rooms form to propagate the fungal diation by Tradd Cotter. While there organism. Cotter then provides an materials to do so. Cotter outlines the is a plethora of research on fungi elementary overview of the mush- overview of how to build this work- available from journals, in books, and room cultivation process, dividing it space and provides a useful checklist on the internet, few resources frame into several distinct steps that are full of materials needed for purchase and information within the context of utiliz- of information and thoughtful details assembly. This is followed by instruc- ing the regenerative capacity of these than can help ensure success. This is tions on how to establish cultures organisms. Derived from Cotter’s followed by a description of how to from mycelium or spore, proper experience working with fungi for over select a species of fungus to cultivate storage methods for different strains 20 years as a cultivator and citizen and how to source spawn for inocula- you’ve collected, and how to create scientist, the book is an accessible tion. He provides a guide for creating spawn from a variety of substrates primer on working with fungi for any outdoor cultivation installations and used to bulk up the mycelium. Two seasoned or novice mycophile. The indoor operations. chapters highlight these advanced book is organized into four parts high- Part Two outlines the practical ap- cultivation techniques. The first lighting principle aspects of applied plications of fungi outside of the chapter discusses the use of stimuli mycology: fundamentals of mushroom mushroom patch or the fruiting room. (microbial, hormonal, and electrical) to cultivation, integration of fungi into Integrating mycelium to recycle com- initiate fruiting and boost yields. The everyday life, advanced techniques mon household wastes into potent second chapter addresses Cotter’s for improved mycological research, composts, processing fruiting bodies own progress cultivating mycorrhizal and a collection of profiles for several into food and drink products, along species, focusing on Morchella. gourmet and medicinal species, even with cultivation strategies for those Part Four serves as a brief introduc- ones that aren’t commonly cultivated. living in urban areas or off grid sce- tion to mycoremediation, a subset Cotter’s introduction highlights the narios. There is also ample informa- of bioremediation that seeks to use circumstances of an encounter as a tion on the business of promoting the metabolic secretions which fungi young college biology student that oneself as a cultivator of fungi and produce to degrade environmental began his mycological journey and useful tips to market the mushrooms contaminants of organic, inorganic, the founding of Mushroom Mountain, and products you produce. An entire or microbial origin. This provides a his farm and research site in South chapter is dedicated to introducing basic explanation and overview of Carolina. Still living at home with his fungi to students of all ages through the discipline, while suggesting a few parents, his mother recommends that effective activities of varying intensity, small scale remediation projects and he swing by a local mushroom farm organized by level of education with techniques necessary to implement for a tour, since it aligned with his detailed and well written lesson plans them. This past summer I had the studies. While Cotter acknowledges to match. luxury of meeting Leif Olson, one of this was his parents’ way of suggest- Part Three builds upon the first, Cotter’s employees from Mushroom ing he get a job, this visit proved to be providing information necessary for Mountain. I learned that this chap- the spark that kindled a passionate developing more complex cultivation ter was intended to be longer and and lifelong career with fungi. skills. This involves formulating agar richer in detail, but it was curtailed by During the farm tour, Cotter was mes- medium to culture fungal strains from request of the publisher. This content merized in the fruiting room, seeing tissue or spore and the construc- will be included in a book by Tradd shelves of shiitake blocks packed full tion of a sterile laboratory environ- Cotter dedicated to mycoremediation of mushrooms in the humid fog, akin ment with the proper equipment and which is currently in the works.

15

______Date ______signature(s) Your

dining, sponsored by the Society. the by sponsored dining,

injuries or accidents incurred during or as a result of any mushroom identification, field trip, excursion, meeting or or meeting excursion, trip, field identification, mushroom any of result a as or during incurred accidents or injuries

I hereby release the New York Mycological Society, any officer or member thereof, from any legal responsibility for for responsibility legal any from thereof, member or officer any Society, Mycological York New the release hereby I

RELEASE

By email only, paperless. only, email By mail regular by and email by PDF color in newsletter NYMS your get to here Check q q

______Email ______Phone

______Zip State, City,

______Address

______Name(s)

Laura Biscotto, 9 Stanton St, Apt 2C, New York, NY 10002 NY York, New 2C, Apt St, Stanton 9 Biscotto, Laura

NYMS and mail to: to: mail and to payable made check by person per $50.00 of deposit non-refundable Send

Chanterelle Weekend Chanterelle July 26-28, 2019 RESERVE BY JUNE 1, 2019 1, JUNE BY RESERVE 2019 26-28, July

http://www.newyorkmyc.org/new-member-signup-information/ to sign up via PayPal via up sign to to go or

Stuyvesant Station, New York, NY 10009 NY York, New Station, Stuyvesant

Kay Spurlock, NYMS Treasurer, P.O. Box 1162 Box P.O. Treasurer, NYMS Spurlock, Kay

NYMS to: form this Mail and to payable check your Make Join or Renew as a member of NYMS (affiliated club) (affiliated NYMS of member a as Renew or Join

http://www.namyco.org/join.php Visit: Visit: $30.00 Membership New

Family at a discount. a at 2019); 1, April (before $25.00 Renewal Membership –

North American Mycological Association membership membership Association Mycological American North $20.00 membership New

ndividual I Through the NYMS, members can optionally also get get also optionally can members NYMS, the Through 2019); 1, April (before $15.00 Renewal Membership –

ip embersh M NAMA ip embersh M NYMS

New York, NY 10128-3780 NY York, New

. 94 St., #9 St., 94 . E 205 Paul Sadowski Paul