OMPHALINAISSN 1925-1858
Vol. III, No 3 Newsletter of Mar. 21, 2012
OMPHALINA OMPHALINA is the lackadaisical newsletter of Foray Newfoundland & Labrador. There is no schedule of publications, no promise to appear again. Its primary purpose is to serve as a conduit of information to registrants of the upcoming foray and secondarily as a communications tool with members.
Issues of OMPHALINA are archived in: is an amateur, volunteer-run, community, Library and Archives Canada’s Electronic Collection
OMPHALINA V Vol. III, No 3 OMPHALIN ISSN 1925-1858 Mar. 21, 2012
CONTENT
Editor’s comments ...... 2 Cerrena unicolor Walt Sturgeon ...... 3 Unbroken chain II Henry Mann ...... 5 Fomitopsis ochracea Leif Ryvarden ...... 6 Guttation revisited Andrus & Maria Voitk ...... 10 The Bishop’s sketchbook ...... 12 Addendum to 2011 species list Ryvarden & Voitk ...... 13 Boyle’s pearls: sex and oysters David Boyle ...... 16 Mushroom photography: autofocus Jim Cornish ...... 18 Shiitake dermatitis Michael Beug ...... 20 Killer conks Andrus Voitk ...... 20 Boreal felt lichen Mac Pitcher ...... 20 The mail basket ...... 24 Partners ...... inside back cover Notice ...... back cover
This issue and all previous issues available for download from the Foray Newfoundland & Labrador website
OMPHALINA The fi rst day of spring! Just needed food! However, they still have not grown A bit of a Polypore Issue, sprinkled with a few other pearls, like David’s cultured oysters. wood eaters from David Boyle’s mushroom growing The article by Michael Beug is followed by one workshop in 2010. For your information, we are try- inspired by another of his articles. Michael’s longer ing to bring David back this year for another Grow- discussion of both topics, as well as the 2011 Toxi- Op Workshop—details still pending. cology Report, appear in NAMA’s McIlvainea, and In addition to the amazing Cerrena unicolor story— a shorter one in NAMA’s Mycophile. You can fi nd another unbroken chain—followed by a short re- McIlvainea as well as Mycophile on NAMA’s web- http://www.namyco.org/>. Shiitake dermatitis minder of others in the chain that profi t from wood site < is suffi ciently interesting to warrant reporting here, rotting conks, we commend to your attention Leif even if it has been published elsewhere. Ryvarden’s article on Fomitopsis ochracea. This is a very signifi cant paper about a large and common Foray Newfoundland & Labrador is a NAMA mem- species, essentially unknown to the whole world. It ber, and Mycophile can be read on our website, was described in a journal even more obscure than along with newsletters of other sister organizations OMPHALINA, and unknown to anybody since. All that is with whom we share journals. That page is password known about it is in this article, and you get it fi rst! protected, and available to members only, to comply A nice thing about having a journal is the ability to with requirements by some of these organizations. publish updates to the Foray Report, if needed. So An e-mail was sent to members with the username far, we haven not needed it, but this time we did. and password to gain access to the members-only page. If you did not get this e-mail, please write Jim As mentioned, David Boyle’s mushroom growing Cornish
2 OMPHALINA Walt Sturgeon
The amazing life history
of Cerrena unicolor,
the mossy maze polypore
Description for its larvae and also makes the wood more digest- ible for the grubs. The ovipositor of the horntail wasp Cap: Usually kidney to fan shaped, 3-9 cm across, contains asexual spores of the fungus. These are surface hairy, buff to brownish, often with a green al- called oidia. The structures holding the spores in the gal coating. Often zonate. At times resupinate. Pore ovipositor are call mycangium. The wasp deposits its Surface: Whitish, becoming gray, maze like, becom- eggs and the spores into the wood where the fungus ing spine-like in age. Flesh: White to gray, with grows quickly, providing nourishment for the lar- a dark line under the cap surface, leathery. Spore vae. This symbiosis is tenuous with the fungus both deposit: white. Spores: inamyloid, 5-7 x 2.5-4 mμ, benefi ting and suffering from the relationship. Nature smooth, elliptical to elongated. Ecology: A common has checks and balances. The old ditty “Big fl eas saprobe, causing a white rot of broadleaf trees. It is have little fl eas upon their backs to bite’em, And annual and grows in overlapping rows or clusters, little fl eas have lesser fl eas, and so on ad infi nitum” visible year around, widely distributed. applies here. Cerrena unicolor fi ghts back by emit- This species resembles Trametes versicolor and ting a pheromone which attracts another insect, the other common turkey tail polypores and stereums. ichneumon parasitoid wasp in the genus Megarhyssa. See OMPHALINA II (2) pp 6-8 for keys to identify these This wasp drills into the wood, depositing its own bracket fungi. eggs. The larvae when hatched, feed on the horntail The story wasp larvae. This protects the fungus from being totally consumed. Horntail woodwasps in the genus Tremex are propa- gators of this fungus which provides a food source There are other fungal species with similar insect
OMPHALINA 3 connections. There is often a lot more than meets the Biodiversity of Fungi: Standard Methods for In- eye when admiring a pretty mushrooms. ventory and Monitoring. Eds. Mueller GM, Bills References GF, Foster M. Academic Press, New York. 2007. 1. Kuo M: Cerrena unicolor. Retrieved from the 3. Šrůtka P, Pažoutová S: Symbiotic relationship be- MushroomExpert.Com Web site.
HenryH Mann, Prez, PinecraftP Synthetic Cavities (PSC)
yyoung safe from those nnasty fox predators”? In tthis young forest, time has nnot yet provided the large ttrees heart-rotted by Fo- mmitopsis conk fungi for the eexcavation of sizeable nest hholes and dens. Nature hhas its own time schedule iin closing ecological chains, bbut humans can and do iintervene, sometimes with ddisastrous results, and ssometimes with benefi cial rresults, though it is not aalways clear which the ulti- mmate outcome will be in any iintervention. SSurely enhancing the ability oof Pine Marten to fl ourish iin younger growth forests iis not just as simple as pproviding more owl nest A wawalklk inin thethhe woodswoodds nevernever ceasesceases toto inform,iinfform amuseamuse boxes? Or maybe it is! and amaze. As discussed in “Unbroken Chain, Song of the Saw-Whet Owl” (OMPHALINA II No. And speaking of chains, and “everything is connect- 5) uncountable ties and feed-back loops intercon- ed to everything else”, what about ducks? nect the organisms of the forest into a huge chain of life. Everything is connected to everything else and surprises appear behind every tree, stump and PSC Patented Owl Boxes: $477.64, batteries, taxes, rock for those willing to wander the trails and keenly handling and shipping not included. Guaranteed to observe. Mycorrhizal fungi help grow the trees attract owl, duck or marten—money back if empty and other fungi decay them, allowing woodpeckers over two weeks, less $355.03 administrative fee. to excavate cavities for their own nests, and also provide nesting sites for other birds including Boreal and Saw-Whet Owls. We humans often attempt to slip our simple solutions into these complex intermeshing chains as we “manage” the forest or wildlife populations, or just tinker for our own plea- sure. In this case, we build nest boxes to attract more owls. Looking up at an owl box in a relatively young second growth forest, one does not expect to see a Pine Marten looking back. While overjoyed at the rare photo-op, a myriad of questions fl ow from the encounter. Is the marten saying, “I could thrive in a not-so-old-growth forest if it just had more homes for me to occupy where I could loaf and raise my
OOMPHALINAMPHALINAMPHALINA 53 IISS FomitopsisFomitopsis ochraceaochracea Fomitopsis ochracea Stokland & Ryvarden was described only 4 years ago, based on specimens eendemicndemic iinn CCanadaanada ? collected on Populus tremuloides in Alberta.1 The type specimen and other specimens collected at Leif Ryvarden the same time all had fairly large perennial basidio- carps, so that initially it was a bit diffi cult to believe that nobody had noted it before. In an attempt to ensure that the species had not been described earlier under a name that had gone unnoticed, specimens were circulated to some North American mycologists well acquainted with the wood inhab- iting species on their continent. It turned out that until then this species had avoided detection by masquerading under a false name. The second report of the species occurred a year ago, when Andrus Voitk reported in OMPHALINA fi nding the species on Betula papyrifera and B. alleghaniensis in Newfoundland, extending the dis- tribution and host ranges.2 I have examined those specimens and confi rmed them to be Fomitopsis ochracea. Since all hosts documented so far were deciduous trees, and since Andrus was not aware of seeing the same species on conifers, for a while we believed it to be a species limited to hardwood. During the recent foray to Newfoundland I found several specimens on Picea and Abies of a species which some of the participants called “the deviant Photo: Maria Voitk form of Fomitopsis pinicola”. However, I saw imme- diately that this was not true, since F. pinicola has a distinct resinous, shiny, laccate cuticle, while the “deviant” specimens had a dull pileus in greyish to ochraceous colours. Admittedly, their general shape was the same as that of F. pinicola, as was the smell. To convince those of little faith, I did the well known test with a match, which melts the cuticle of F. pinicola specimens. Indeed, this happened on the “normal” F. pinicola. The pileus of the “deviants”, on the other hand, was only charred by the fl ame. Convinced that we had a new species, we kept our- selves amused arguing about suitable names, while awaiting defi nitive studies. Back at the University of Oslo, Professor Karl-Henrik Photo: Andrus Voitk Larsson, head curator of the Mycological Her- Photo: Andrus Voitk barium, kindly sequenced a specimen that I had brought back. A few days later he smilingly handed me the specimen back and said, “Fomitopsis ochra- cea, your own species—a perfect match with sequences from the isotype in Oslo and the new Newfoundland specimens from coniferous wood!” In retrospect it is easy to see that fi nding it on conifer had derailed my memory and imagination. Multiple hosts are not unusual for Fomitopsis. After all, F. pinicola is notorious for its very high diver-
6 OOMPHALINAMPHALINA Photo: Andrus Voitk
Photo: Maria Voitk sity of host species: although in Norway it is most common on conifers and Alnus spp. Therefore, the ability of F. ochracea to infest both hardwood and softwood should have been expected. Quite likely there are many specimens of F. ochra- cea in Canadian herbaria fi led as F. pinicola (see next page for FNL collections) and a review will no doubt show that the species has a wide distribu- tion in the country. It will be more than remarkable if it does not occur in the area between Alberta and Newfoundland, since there is a wide continuous zone with suitable hosts between the two prov- inces. It will also be interesting to learn whether F. ochracea is a real boreal species, primarily endemic in Canada, or whether it is common in the United States as well. I should be very interested to hear of any new information about its distribution
OMPHALINA, 2(4):12 shows cross sections of Fomitopsis; 1 picture of 3 (the last) is F. ochracea on conifer, the other two F. pinicola on conifer. If our foray photos are representative, F. ochracea seems to be commoner than F. pinicola, growing mostly on conifer. Like F. pinicola, F. ochracea is uncommon on de- ciduous wood. On the West Coast (2004) and the Avalon (2006, 2007), it seems to be the commoner species. In Central Newfoundland and along the Main River (2008, 2009, 2011) F. pinicola seems to be the commoner. Both are uncommon in Labrador and the Great Northern 2006-0382 Peninsula. (Photos: Roger Smith)
2004-7427 2006-0384
2006-0157 2006-9948
8 OMPHALINA 2007-6686 2009-3492
2007-6814 2009-3560
2007-6830 2011-3585
2008-4434 2011-3623
OMPHALINA 9 THE BLUE MIATA Andrus & Maria Voitk
One upon a time, when they were very young, A bought M a blue Miata (OK, used). It had just come out and was exciting and cute, and they were, as said, young (OK, in their 50-s). M loved it! They had not paid a lot of attention to cars before, but thought blue sports cars were unusual. Now it seemed that every day, all they saw was blue Miatas. Everywhere!
In Newfoundland guttation by growing F. pinicola is who spend a lot of uncommon. Breeding studies suggest that F. pinicola is a time outdoors observ- species complex of at least three morphologically simi- ing natural history lar species, one in Europe and two in North America. Is phenomena. All agreed it possible that the genetic programming for guttation with A that ours do is present in the European species, but not in that found not guttate, so the words were writ. Here is M’s spec- in Newfoundland—guttation may provide macroscopic tacular record of the blue Miata phenomenon. Seems means to differentiate some cryptic species. that those words made every metabolically active Fo- A helped pen the above eminently forgettable lines mitopsis in Newfoundland and Labrador weep—note in an article on guttation, the activity of some mush- the guttation “holes”, above. rooms to secrete water during periods of active Reference metabolism.1 That was his impression, but before writ- 1. Parmasto E, Voitk A: Why do mushrooms weep? Fungi 3(4):15- ing it he checked with our mycologists and naturalists, 17. 2010.
1046 OOMPHALINAMPHALINA OOMPHALINAMPHALINA 117 The Bishop’s Sketchbook
12 OOMPHALINAMPHALINA Addendum to 2011 foraySPECIES LIST
Leif Ryvarden, Andrus Voitk
After the 2011 Foray Report was out, Leif Ryvarden however, did not go through our database, and their sent in a list of polypores, corticates and relatives number is so signifi cant that this warrants an Adden- that he had collected during the foray and taken dum to the Foray Report. home to identify. There were 87 collections of 67 Adding these specimens to our database brings the species, 64 from the Main River area and 10 (green) total cumulative species recorded since 2003 to from Terra Nova National Park (TNNP), all from the 1,163. The total species from Main River is now 259 Sandy Pond Trail, led by Leif. 47 species (highlight- and from TNNP 160. Updated species lists for the ed) were new to our cumulative list, 45 from Main 2011 Faculty Foray at Main River, the 2011 Annual River and 2 from TNNP. Foray at TNNP, and the cumulative list have been Most of the time when this has happened in the past, posted on our website. the numbers have been relatively small, and the Leif’s list follows, with his collection number. White collections have been entered in our database fi rst, on black background indicates that the specimen was usually with a copy left here. We have revised the judged to be so common that it was not kept. The list to change the names or added the few additional others have all been deposited in the Mycological species names, without much ado. These collections, Herbarium of the University of Oslo (O).
OMPHALINA 13
14 OMPHALINA brief comment on the data
This collection demonstrates the Visiting Specialist experience we now suspect it is a very common spe- Effect at its extreme: of the 47 new species collected cies in our province, possibly more common than the by Leif, only three were collected at the same foray F. pinicola with which it has been confused, and most outside his “private collection”. And as the nine black often found on coniferous wood. We are very curious numbers show, some were so common that they to hear reports from other areas in North America were deigned not worth keeping! In addition, Leif about the distribution of this species. stated that several common species were noted, but You did not miss the Leifi a in Leif’s list, did you? not collected, since they already appeared in our 2011 lists. Because they bypassed our databasing, we have no specimens. This is not a problem, because collections deposited in the Oslo Herbarium will be available on loan to scientists wishing to investigate some of our species. However, we also do not have photos of these species, new to us. The Faculty Foray took place before the Annual Foray, so that some species collected at Main River may have been skipped as repeats in TNNP. Also, there were three collecting days along Main River, and only one in TNNP. Even after taking these differences into account, it seems that the disproportionately higher number of Leifi a fl abelliradiata on Alnus incana. White annual corticate (resupnate) mushroom with frond-like, species collected at Main River (64) than the 10 from fi brillose margin. Grows on hardwood. Causes white TNNP is signifi cant. This difference was even more rot. Known from northern North America and Eu- evident with respect to new species: 45 at Main River rope. and 2 in TNNP. The same sort of discrepancy in diver- The genus Leifi a was erected by Canadian mycolo- sity was seen at the foray as a whole. gist Jim Ginns, naming it to acknowledge the con- tributions of Leif Ryvarden to the systematics of One of the more interesting results of Leif’s collecting Hymenomycetes. was a much fuller understanding of the species Fomi- topsis ochracea. As explained, looking back on our own Photo courtesy of Heikki Kotiranta, Helsinki.
Greg Thorn writes in to give due notice about: advertisement The 2012 Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Mycology Workshop 28-29 April 2012
FNL members, note that Newfoundland is at the mouth of the St Lawrence, but the area is even larger—the fur- thest presenter to date hails from Tunisia.
Special Registration fee for FNL members $30.00 (ie same as for others, not more!).
For information, and to sign up, please see:
OMPHALINA 15 Boyle’s pearls David boyle
pieces of mycelium from a suit- Sexual. Many mushrooms able starter culture (or from the (including oysters) do this via upper part of a mushroom’s basidiospores. Millions (or even stem where it joins the cap) are billions) of spores form on Dear David, aseptically transferred to fresh microscopic structures called Do basidiomycota reproduce asexu- medium. After contaminat- basidia. Oyster mushrooms can ally as well as sexually? ing organisms (e.g. bacteria, release so many spores that moulds) are eliminated (not they can clog up the ventilation If I could maintain the right condi- always easy), new colonies fans of mushroom farms! tions in the bag of sawdust that I have will grow from the fragments. These basidiospores generally my oysters living in (on their second These can be further broken contain haploid nuclei (contain fl ush right now), would they repro- up and used to inoculate more half the normal chromosomes, duce indefi nitely, or what will cause medium, and so on, to give the 1N). They discharge from the the reproduction to stop? Would I desired quantity of colonies gills at maturity, and after land- need another “mating type” of the (bottles, bags, whatever). same species to propagate the mush- ing on a suitable substrate may rooms? Does one species produce The mycelial fragments can be germinate to give a 1N myce- more than one mating type itself? very small. As long as pieces lium (monokaryon). This mo- Clearly I need to do more reading of hyphae (the tubular cells of nokaryon can grow through the about this, but pesky math, chemistry which the mycelium are com- substrate, sometimes for an ex- and physics fi nals are getting in the posed) are long enough that tended period, until it meets a way... they contain cells with intact different, hopefully compatible Jeff Siddall, Meadows septa at either end, there is monokaryon with which it may a chance for growth if they fuse. This would produce cells Dear Jeff, land on the right substrate. with a full set of chromosomes Mushroom cultivators can take (dikaryon, 2N), which can make Your questions are good, and advantage of this feature. Myce- mushrooms, and that is where bring up lots of areas for dis- lium can be aseptically blended sexual reproduction occurs. cussion. I shall try to answer with sterile water in a food pro- In oysters and many other them piece meal. cessor for a minute or so, and mushrooms, two mating type each of the thousands of little However, first I must say that genes (lets call them A and B) pieces can be grown on fresh I think you should drop the control whether two monokary- medium, giving new, genetically math, chemistry and physics ons are compatible, so they identical clones. (Do not try this and take something useful, like can mate. Each of these genes with humans). mycology. Mushrooms will soon from the mushroom may have inherit the earth, so why waste This type of asexual reproduc- one of two alleles (A1 or A2; your time on all that silly stuff? tion can also happen in nature. B1 or B2). Both alleles must Do basidiomycota reproduce asexu- For example, a deer’s hoof differ for two monokaryons to ally as well as sexually? might serve to transfer a plug be compatible. For example, of mycelium from one part A1B1 will cross with A2B2, but The short answers are “Yes”, of the forest floor to another, not with A1B1, A1B2, or A2B1. “Yes” and “Yes”. Fungi (includ- which might make someone Thus, 25% of the monokary- ing Basidiomycetes like Oyster who did DNA fingerprinting of ons from the same mushroom mushrooms) do it sexually, the colony think that it was a will be compatible with each asexually, and every other way. very large (and very old!) clone. other. When the monokaryons Asexual. Fragments of the Some fungi make specialized come from different individuals mycelium (the fuzzy growth mycelium that fragments more of the same species, this pro- that supports the mushroom) easily, thereby facilitating asex- portion may be much higher, can form an infinite number of ual reproduction. Wind or rain since different individuals genetically identical clones. In could easily move mycelial frag- usually have different mating fact, this is how spawn (mush- ments. Basidiomycetes (and type alleles (A3B3, or A4B3, room “seed”) is made: small many other fungi) are proficient or A9B22, depending on how at asexual reproduction. many alleles there are in the 16 OMPHALINA population). Any of them might blocks had cross with A1B1 or A2B2 from dropped about the first mushroom, since the 75%, the alleles of both genes differ. To concentrations some degree relatedness be- of most micro- tween mushroom individuals nutrients that I can be quantified by measuring could measure their percentage of compatible (N, PO4, etc) monokaryons. Outbreeding is did not drop a favored by this system, but not lot. However, to the exclusion of inbreeding. possibly they were not in the In the dikaryon, the two nu- right form. For clei reproduce separately as example, if the hyphae grow, but sexual the mushroom reproduction (mixing of the can digest only genetic material or fusion of lignin, and cel- the genetic material in both lulose is left, nuclei) does not occur—yet. then the car- The dikaryon will continue bon and other growing until some signal (rain, good stuff in temperature change, CO con- 2 the cellulose is centration change) triggers it to not available have sex. To mark the occasion, to the mush- the dikaryon elaborates mush- room. It would rooms. Within the gills of the be interesting mushroom, in the base of the to test the nu- basidium, sexual recombination trient limiting happens: the two nuclei fuse idea. Perhaps and their genetic material com- adding a nutri- bines (Yipee!). Then it splits ent solution again (meiosis) and once again, to ‘stalling’ millions of genetically distinct mushroom cul- 1N spores are produced. And tures would in- so the cycle continues. crease yields. Photo: Jeff Siddall Your oyster culture is a shame- To this end, less dikaryotic mycelial culture a hydroponic that is probably having both mushroom production system ered aphrodisiacs. Who knows, sexual and asexual reproduc- might have some possibilities. maybe adding a virile young tion, right in front of you! mycelium to the spent sub- From a practical point of view, strate would result in renewed If I could maintain the right condi- the end of a mushroom crop crop production. This may tions in the bag of sawdust that I have is often brought on by con- already be happening as the my oysters living in (on their second taminants, usually other fungi. spores of the current crop rain fl ush right now), would they repro- Trichoderma sp. is very com- down onto the substrate, germi- duce indefi nitely, or what will cause mon, and is quite happy to nate, and 25% of the resulting the reproduction to stop? grow on oyster mushrooms. It monokaryons anastomose in might scupper the above experi- As far as keeping the same the hopes that it may soon be ment. However, if tests were (dikaryotic) oyster culture mak- their turn. Maybe this process made in a sterile growth room ing mushrooms, normally one could be hurried along through that excluded contaminants, gets a series of crops (flush- judicious use of the equivalent nutrient addition might keep es—congratulations for having of mushroom Viagra! Still, the mushrooms coming. the right term!), each succes- the cultured oysters in my sive one with a smaller yield. There may be other possibili- title photo may look flaccid Are the nutrients running out? ties. For example, maybe the compared to Jeff’s tumescent Possibly. With shiitake mush- supporting dikaryotic myce- bagful, but mine have a pearl rooms, I measured the nitrogen lium’s libido has faltered, or (cultured, of course). No ques- and carbon concentrations in whatever the equivalent might tion, but mycology could be a blocks after four flushes. Al- be for oyster mushrooms. lot more exciting than dry old though the dry weight of the Ironic, since oysters are consid- math, chemistry or physics!
OMPHALINA 17 Mushroom Photography: Get the most from your Autofocus
Jim Cornish Determining correct exposure and sharpest If you have read an followed the advice in past ar- focus are the last decisions a P&S camera makes before fi nally taking a photograph. ticles, you are keeping the camera steady, com- The process is largely automatic, complet- posing the picture and selecting the right aperture ed by the camera when the shutter release is pressed halfway. Since sharp focus and for the best depth-of-fi eld. These are important proper exposure often play a large role in steps for shooting great mushroom photographs. our decision to either keep or delete an im- age, getting these settings right in the fi eld However, unless you control the focus, you will be is critical. While exposure, colour satura- cheated out of your great shot. tion, image brightness, and cropping can be adjusted in software later, there is no fi x This article, explains how the auto focus (AF) sys- for poor focus in an image already shot. tem and AF lock works on a P&S camera, and provides some tips on how to work with these camera features to create quality images. The next article will show how you can manually bypass the autofocus in close-up work.
The P&S Auto Focus System beam returns to determine the exact camera- subject distance. Based on that computation, As its name suggests, a P&S camera’s AF the microprocessor instructs the focus motor system is activated automatically. Whenever to turn the lens to where a sharp focus will be the shutter release button is pressed half way achieved. This all happens in less than the blink down, the camera emits a pulse of infrared of an eye! To take the photograph, the shutter light called an AF assist beam, from an open- is pressed the rest of the way. ing usually located near the viewfi nder. This beam is refl ected by the subject back to the Troubleshooting AF Challenges camera. A microprocessor in the camera Because a point-and-shoot’s AF system is light computes the difference between the time based, it can be fooled under some shoot- the beam was sent and the time the refl ected ing conditions, such as photographing mush- rooms close up. Obstructions such as twigs and leaves between the mushroom and the cam- era may block or defl ect the outbound and/or inbound infrared light beam and prevent the camera’s electronics from accurately deter- mining the camera- subject distance. The result is an incorrect focusing of the lens, therefore a blurred image. This is easily fi xed by clearing the path between the camera and the mush- room. This may seem rather obvious, but often the obstructions are not visible in the viewfi nder or upon viewing the image on the LCD, par- ticularly in bright light. It is not until much later, when the image is loaded onto a computer, that the focus problem is discovered. Then, it’s Infrared focus assist beam of P&S camera when the shutter button is depressed half-way. too late to do a retake.
18 OMPHALINA engage AF lock on just about any camera, P&S or dSLR. 1. Look through the viewfi nder and position its central focus point on the most important part of the scene, usually the main subject. 2. Press the shutter button halfway down, until the green “focus OK” light in the viewfi nder glows steadily. 3. While holding the shutter button halfway down, reorient the cam- Cortinarius caperatus. Note large out-of-focus branch in left foreground, spoil- era so that your desired ing picture. It was suffi ciently blurry that it was not obvious in the viewfi nder. The composition appears in same branch in the middle could block or defl ect the infrared focus beam, result in a the viewfi nder. blurred mushroom, not visible until you get home. 4. Press the shutter button all the way down Certain lighting conditions like black surfac- to take the picture. es, bright subjects and bright lighting (even candle light) can affect the AF system. Black Some advanced P&S cameras may have a surfaces may absorb some of the infrared light separate button dedicated to AF lock which and bright lights might make it diffi cult for the does not require the use of the shutter release, camera to “see” the refl ected infrared beam. likely marked by an asterisk. This too can be easily fi xed. Focusing on a surface other than a black one will eliminate light absorption. Shading the subject will help eliminate the brightness problems. Today’s P&S cameras are nearly as sophisticated as some of the top Auto Focus Lock selling dSLR cameras. In fact, some Subject placement may also cause problems of the image processing capabili- for the AF system. P&S cameras have their fo- ties being added to the latest P&S cusing sensor centered in the viewfi nder. If the cameras can only be done using mushroom, or any other subject, is not exactly post processing software on im- in the middle of the viewfi nder, the beam can ages shot with the latest dSLR. Dif- go right past it and bounce off something in ferences between the two camera the background. The result is that the wrong types is decreasing rapidly. In fact, part of the image is in focus. Centering the when some professionals have to subject will solve the focusing problem, but it do a fast shoot, some of them will may create a compositional one. Quite often, whip out their P&S to get the job a slightly off-centered subject is creatively bet- done. Some day soon, we will all ter. Fortunately, the camera has some built-in be using P&S cameras with inter- technology to solve this problem—the auto- changeable lenses and full framed focus (AF) lock. sensors—a very familiar concept to those who once owned the early As its name suggests, AF lock means the version of some P&S fi lm cameras. camera is deliberately focused on the subject, and the focus is locked at that exact distance until the picture is taken. The follow steps will
OMPHALINA 19 body, is relatively when pricked with raw Shiitake but Shiitake symptomless, but not with cooked Shiitake, indicat- has been re- ing that they have developed an ported along the allergy. Some workers in Shiitake dermatitis throat and upper grow houses develop an eczema- airway, where it like rash due to Shiitake specifi c may cause critical immunoglobulin.8 There are also alert breathing prob- documented cases of allergic and Michael W Beug lems. chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis induced by spores of Shiitake.
Photo: Michael Burzynski Pathophysiology The rash is a toxic Information about this toxic reac- History Shiitake dermatitis was reaction, not al- tion to mushrooms will be added fi rst reported by Nakamura in lergic, and is believed to result from to the toxic mushrooms syndromes 19771,who later reviewed 51 cases2. lentinan, a starch-like polysaccha- page on the NAMA website The cause is consumption of either ride found in Lentinula edodes. It is
Andrus Voitk In the recent McIlvainea Michael Beug describes Photo: Roger Smith polyporic acid, a potentially lethal toxin in some polypores, that causes kidney failure and brain dam- age. Such conks turn violet on contact with KOH (circled in the title banner). We have identifi ed three Photo: Maria Voitk polypores in Newfoundland and Labrador that turn violet with KOH, a presumed sign of polyporic acid. There may be more mushrooms with these toxins and other chemicals may also turn purple with KOH. Polyporic acid is closely related to vulpinic acid, found in Vulpicida pinastri, the beautiful powdered sunshine lichen used to kill foxes [OMPHALINA II(7):13, Aug 2011]. Fungi with these toxins produce beauti- ful pigments for dyeing. Here is a brief description of the three conks. Hapalopilus nidulans. Title banner and upper photo. Found on birch and alder, reported rarely on conifer. Annual, August-November. Causes white rot. Loose- ly attached. Gregarious to nestled conks, 2-8 x 0.5-4 x 1.5-6 cm. Cap cinnamon, fi nely fuzzy, azonate, smoothly radially ridged in age. Edge sharp. Context light brown. Poremouths brown, pores round to ir- Photo: Aare Voitk regular, 2-4/mm. Sporeprint white. Leptoporus mollis. Middle photo. On conifers only, primarily spruce. Annual, May-August. Causes cubi- cal brown rot. Firmly adherent, often incorporating surrounding matter. One to a few conks, 3-8 x 1.5-4 x 3-10 cm. Cap white to pink, turns red with handling; ferrous brown and insect-eaten in age; thick stubby hair in youth, becomes velvety, azonate. Edge blunt. Context white, soft, stains red. Poremouths white to pink, stain red; pores round to irregular, 2-4/mm. Pychnoporellus fulgens. Lower photo. Found on birch and fi r, reported often on wood invaded by oth- er polypores. Annual, May-August. Causes cubical brown rot. Firmly adherent, often incorporating sur- rounding matter. Several fused conks, 4-10 x .5-3 x 2-8 cm. Cap bright orange, markedly hairy in youth, smoothly ridged in age, strongly zonate. Edge sharp. Context orange. Poremouths orange, pores angular, irregular, partly lacerated, 2-3/mm. Sporeprint light. OMPHALINA 21 Meet the Boreal Felt Lichen Mac Pitcher
Named Boreal Felt Lichen, by Nova Scotia li- described in 1948 by Swedish lichenologist Sten chenologist Wolfgang Maass, it is also known by the Ahlner and reported as being endemic to Norway scientifi c binomial, Erioderma pedicellatum. and Sweden. Jørgensen also determined that BFL Look for this conspicuous grayish to khaki-coloured had been found by W. G. Farlow in New Brunswick lichen, often at about eye-level, on the boles of old in 1902. At that time, the species was described as Balsam Fir of relatively small-diameter, most fre- new to science (Hue 1911), and given the name Pan- quently in moist sites. It also rarely occurs on twigs. naria pedicellata. In 1972 Jørgensen examined mate- It occurs more widely on the Avalon Peninsula and rial from both North American and Scandinavia, and South Coast, often accompanied by the reddish- determined them to be the same species. He assigned brown tree liverwort Frullania asagrayana and by the name Erioderma pedicellatum, a combination of the somewhat similar looking (and related) lichen the two. Coccocarpia palmicola. Today Boreal Felt Lichen is of Special Concern, This attractive macrolichen of moist coastal conifer even if well-represented in Newfoundland; endan- forests was fi rst found in Newfoundland by Teuvo gered in Nova Scotia; and extinct in New Brunswick. Ahti in 1956, in the vicinity of Swift Current. It was subsequently found at many Newfoundland loca- tions during the early eighties by Wolfgang Maass in his extensive lichenological explorations of the island and of southern Labrador. Wolfgang was also responsible for a number of fi nds of the species in Nova Scotia. The Ahti collection remained unidentifi ed in the herbarium at Helsinki for nearly fi fteen years, until examined by the leading authority on lichens in this family (the Pannariaceae), Per Magnus Jørgensen of Norway. Jørgensen (Ahti & Jørgensen 1971) determined this lichen to be Erioderma boreale, Photo: Claudia Hanel 22 OMPHALINA The species also occurs on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered. In recent years, the species has also been found in Denali Park, Alaska, and in north- east Siberia. While it still occurs in Scandinavia, at present a single thallus is known in Norway, and the species has not been seen since the 1940’s in Swe- den. Indeed, it appears the species has never been common in Scandinavia, and all historic Norwegian records combined identify a total of only 14 thalli. During the mid- 1990’s, the presence and possible rarity of Boreal Felt Lichen was brought to the table during the District One Forest Ecosystem Planning Process of the former Department of Forest Re- sources (and Agrifoods). Initially dismissed as of no concern, considerable effort was (and continues to be) expended by both NGO and government agen- cies, with the net result that the species was listed Photo: Aare Voitk by COSEWIC for Newfoundland in 2006 as Special Concern. Although not as rare in this province as initially assumed, Boreal Felt Lichen appears to have the bulk (estimated 99%) of its global population here. Consequently, Newfoundland has an interna- tional responsibility to ensure the health and persis- tence of this species. Dr. Christoph Scheidegger, lichen specialist of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, has referred to the Boreal Felt Lichen as ‘the Panda Bear of lichens”, and a “fl agship species” because it is globally rare, and both distinctive and conspicu- ous. It is representative of a whole suite of other less Photo: Aare Voitk “attractive” lichens which are in peril globally from the combined threats of habitat loss, air pollution and climate change. In Newfoundland, this rare lichen community is further threatened by habitat loss arising from over- browsing by the introduced moose. Balsam Fir, the preferred tree species of Boreal Felt Lichen in New- foundland, is being gradually replaced by spruce due to the over-browsing. A similar fate haunts other rare Newfoundland lichens that thrive on old-growth Yel- low Birch. As these old trees die and collapse, they are not being replaced since moose are browsing the regenerating seedlings. Eventually there will be few hospitable trees for these rare lichens, and they may eventually disappear altogether from our landscape.
Photos illustrate the colour variation seen with this lichen, depending on moisture, light and other variables. Note the association with liverwort. Photo: Claudia Hanel
OMPHALINA the mail bag or why the passenger pigeons assigned to serve the lavish Corporate and Editorial offices of OMPHALINA get hernias
Hey, if mistakes = more issues of OMPHALINA Response to the Taxonomy issue, up- ...... make a few more mistakes. dated (mostly because the next issue GREAT newsletter! came too soon and comments kept coming in, and also to fi ll the page, Bill Roody for goodness’ sake!) Your review … of Larry Millman’s book … is so Overall good reading, with reference to positive and well reasoned that you would be in taxonomy 11. great demand as a promoter should I ever strive Unbelievable! 11 favourable comments on [for a] career as a writer. the idea of a Taxonomy issue, even if Tony (Wright) most were from the pros. (1 said taxon- omy is “interesting” and 1 said it is “con- Thank you for the splendid review! I agree with almost fusing”). every word… Thus far you’re the only person who’s Breakdown: even mentioned the Lophodermium at the end. For Professional mycologists — 4. Very advanced amateur mycophiles — 6. which you get high marks. “Neophyte” mycophile — 1. Larry (Millman) Liked the Macrotyphula article 6. Walt Sturgeon, faculty member of the 2012 foray, writes to tell us of a new Hygrocybe book to ap- Liked the Phyllotopsis page (the last- pear soon. It can be preordered at a reduced rate minute non-taxonomic fi ller, inserted from Amazon at
To complement it, you may Loved the cover photo 1. also want to get David Boert- mann’s superb “Th e genus I really loved the Christmas Issue 1. Hygrocybe”, primarily treating Ed note: The most diplomatic way yet to comment European species, which has on the Taxonomy Issue... excellent coverage of northern species. Not as easy to get in North America, but Will be sure to try the recipe 1. you can fi nd European distributors by Googling it. Ed note: there was no recipe!
24 OMPHALINA OOURUR PPARTNERARTNER OORGANIZATIONSRGANIZATIONS
People of Newfoundland and Labrador, through Department of Environment and Conservation Parks and Natural Areas Division Wildlife Division Department of Natural Resources Center for Forest Science and Innovation People of Canada, through Parks Canada Terra Nova National Park Gros Morne National Park Model Forest of Newfoundland and Labrador Forest Communities Program RED Ochre Develpoment Board Memeorial University of Newfoundland Grenfell Campus St John’s Campus Tuckamore Lodge Quidi Vidi Brewing Company Rodrigues Winery
OMPHALINA LICHENS added!
2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 Terra Nova National Park Headquarters: Terra Nova Hospitality Home September 28-30, 2012
GGUESTUEST FFACULTY*ACULTY*
DDavidavid BoertmannBoertmann GGroro GGuldenulden NNilsils HallenbergHallenberg JJermyermy HHaywardayward RRenéeenée LebeufLebeuf FFayeaye MurrinMurrin TToddodd OsmundsonOsmundson AAndréndré PaulPaul MMicheleichele Piercy-NormorePiercy-Normore RRogeroger SmithSmith GGregreg ThornThorn SSteveteve TrudellTrudell JJukkaukka VaurasVauras
**tentativetentative atat timetime ofof publicationpublication
PPleaselease checkcheck ourour websitewebsite iinn tthehe Spring,Spring, 2012,2012, forfor IInformationnformation & RRegistrationegistration FForms:orms: <