Spore Print The Alberta Mycological Society Newsletter Winter 2014 Photos and article by Paul Sinclair Last year’s Great Alberta Mushroom Foray held at collections recorded with about 250 separate spe- the Castle Mountain Ski Resort was a huge suc- cies, some still to be confirmed. The most com- cess! Some participants slept in hostel bunk beds, mon mushroom was Suillus tomentosus (15 col- others stayed in well-appointed villas, and still lections), Hygrophorus erubescens (14 collec- others camped out in the forest by a bubbling tions), and Tricholoma flavovirens, (11 collec- stream. Everyone enjoyed traipsing through tions). mountain forests and partaking in the great food The area was intriguing for other reasons. We for- and fellowship in the spacious chalet at the foot of aged in sites which varied from the alpine to the the mountain. riparian areas along the Westcastle Wetland Eco- The 2013 foray also had considerable mycological logical Reserve. We also surveyed areas with a significance. The AMS had never surveyed the variety of trees, including subalpine fir, Engel- southern mountainous region of Alberta. Before mann spruce, Douglas fir, old-growth aspen, and foray participants brought in bushels of specimens Lodgepole Pine. This diversity was reflected in the from mountain forests, there were almost no col- mushrooms we brought in. lection records for the area. There were 470 (Continued on page 3) 2013 Executive President’s Alberta Mycological Society President: Author Rose O’Bertos Vice President: Message Michael Avenanti Secretary: Liz Watts Treasurer: Rosemarie O’Bertos John Holmes Membership: In the winter, the forests and our foray stomping grounds Fran Sandul Foray Coordinator: have a special, quiet hush and the fallen leaves no longer rus- Bill Richards tle on their branches but settle into cozy, white carpets that Webmaster: blanket the “would-be” palette for mushrooms to come. Ryan Armishaw Past President: Do you recall the bitter sweetness of the last foray, the last Martin Osis fresh pick converted to your favourite recipe? With pen in Directors-at-Large: hand, record your memories and stories; share them with us Melanie Fjoser and who knows, you may be featured in a newsletter that will John Samoil preserve your experience for others to enjoy for years to Robert Simpson Pieter van der Schoot come. Chad Moss Relish the memories and know that your fabulous Board of Di- Dr. Roland Treu rectors is working tirelessly behind the scenes throughout the Liz Reid Regional Reps: winter, scheduling events, smoothing out the lumps and Peace River - Ken Dies bumps and planning the adventures of tomorrow. Calgary - Russ Green / Barb Don’t permit winter to make you blue about not seeing your Shworak mushrooming friends! Take out a big, red marker, circle Satur- Email Contact day, March 29, 2014 on your calendar and plan to attend the [email protected] President’s Dinner. Reconnect with all of your foray buddies Submit an article to Newsletter and enjoy a fabulous meal! Better yet, join us during the day Editor Paul Sinclair at (before the dinner) on March 29 and attend the AGM. This is Newslettersubmission @wildmushrooms.ws where the birth of the new season really begins. You are an integral part of the AMS so come on out...allow your passion MAILING ADDRESS: to fuel a rewarding experience for yourself this season! Alberta Mycological Society P.O. Box 1921, Standard Life Bldg. Looking forward to seeing you real soon! 10405 Jasper Avenue The Alberta Mycological Society is saddened to hear that Yasuyuki Edmonton, AB T5J 3S2 Hiratsuka, a long time member of our Society, passed away on October www.wildmushrooms.ws 12, 2013. A globally recognized expert in Mycology, Yasu was a passion- ate scientist who, at almost 80 years of age, still maintained collabora- tions around the world. Yasu was predeceased by his wife of 41 years, Haruko in 2000. Winter 2014 No. 1 2 www.wildmushrooms.ws Great Alberta Mushroom Foray 2013 Author (Continued from page 1) However, the most exciting aspect of the whole a few well-known boletes in Alberta forests can be weekend was feeling that we watched mushroom puzzling. Dr. Patrick Leacock from the Field Muse- history being made. The lead foray mycologist, um in Chicago talked about field description. All of Dr. Tom Bruns of UCLA Berkeley, explained in a our foray mycologists patiently answered ques- workshop how DNA sequencing is transforming tions and endured countless interruptions as they our ideas about mushroom taxonomy. Dr. Bruns examined yet another rare species. is also leading the development of a North Ameri- Speaking of rare species! This year we thrilled to can Mycoflora, a comprehensive survey of North discover a Lyophyllum shimeji, a choice edible America which relies heavily on the contribution of prized in Japanese food culture. The discovery of a shimeji in the mountains of Alberta shows how much we have to learn about mushrooms and their habitat. Mark your calendars for the September long week- end in 2014 when the Great Alberta Mushroom Foray will be held at Goldeye Centre near Nor- degg! Foray Mycologists Dr. Tom Bruns, Associate Chair, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology Chair, UC Berkeley Paul Kroeger, UBC Herbariaum affiliate, “citizen science”. With our growing database of president of Vancouver Mycological Society Alberta fungi created through our extensive for- Dr. Patrick Leacock, Adjunct Curator, Chica- ays, Martin Osis explains, the AMS is playing a go Field Museum key role in this exciting project. Martin Osis, AMS Past President and found- Participants learned a lot in the evening lectures, ing member, Western Canadian mushroom too. In his lecture entitled “Darwin’s Elves—Poison expert Mushrooms”, Paul Kroeger explained the com- Dr. Roland Treu, Athabasca University fac- plexity of mushroom poisoning phenomenon. Mar- ulty, Scientific Advisor to AMS, Mycena ge- tin Osis showed us how even the identification of nus expert Winter 2014 No. 1 3 www.wildmushrooms.ws The Shimeji and Japan Author Paul Sinclair Lyophyllum shimeji, or “hon-shimeji”, as it is Lyophyllum shimeji known in Japan, is one of Japan’s mystery mush- Habitat: Mixed Japanese Red Pine forests in soil rooms. with good drainage; September-November L. shimeji is first of all valued for its modesty; the Growth: Individually and in clusters; mycorrhi- mushroom has always been relatively rare, and is zal sought after like its cousin matsutake, Tricholoma matsutake. L. shimeji was long thought to be Cap: Slightly silky; patches of color; 4-10 cm “uncultivatable” because the mushroom is mycor- Stalk: White; bulbous base; 7-10 cm in length, rhizal, forming symbiotic relationships with tree .5-1 cm diameter roots. Gills: White to light cream; notched or attached Then there was the problem that the general public called other things shimeji. L. shimeji be- “hon-shimeji”, not understanding their egregious longs to the Shimeji genus as well as the family mistake (according to mushroom snobs). Hypsiz- Ki-shimeji, which confused things. People also igus marmoreus is now widely consumed in Japan called “buna-shimeji”, Hypsizigus marmoreus, and has been cultivated since 1973. Adding to the confusion, the company which patented the culti- vation of “hon-shimeji” in 2006 slyly tried to make their brand “Daikoku shimeji” the new “official” name for the mushroom. Believe it or not, the shimeji taste is shrouded in mystery as well. “The fragrance of the matsutake, the taste of the shimeji” one saying goes in Ja- pan. But what is that taste? Japanese chemist Ikeda Kikunae identified a flavor in 1908 which he identified as “umami” which he added to salty, bitter, sweet, and sour spectrum. “Umami” has been identified as one taste often associated with food such as the Japanese flavor given to soup stock by bonito flakes and kombu dashi. It turns out that L. shimeji is abundant in guanylic, glu- tamic, and aspartic acids which give foods “umami”. Plenty of nostalgic lore is attached to the mush- room as well. Hongo Tsuguo, the mycologist who published the mushroom in its current genus, re- calls fondly in his memoirs collecting shimeji with caps more than 10 cm in diameter and eating them braised in oil with green onion with his fami- ly. There is also something other-worldly about the price: a 500-gram gift box can cost $60 CDN. Winter 2014 No. 1 4 www.wildmushrooms.ws The AMS Database Author BarbMartin Shworak Osis You may wonder how the mushrooms we pick at other data to create one long string that previously our Great Alberta Mushroom Forays are recorded. the users would have had to type in. When the There are several steps: identifying the mush- user picks the foray location, a default latitude and room, assigning a scientific name, entering the longitude are entered, eliminating the need to en- find into the database, photographing the speci- ter this data at a later date. The form was de- men, taking photos, taking DNA samples, waiting signed to closely match the data cards we fill out for DNA results, and correcting data if necessary. today when picking mushrooms, so it is visually familiar for those doing the data entry. As you can imagine, this data entry process can be sped up with an effective electronic entry pro- AMS ID card about to be filled out Barb Shworak is our Regional Co-Representative for the Calgary region. At the 2013 Foray, she im- mediately noticed that our database entry system could be improved and took it upon herself to de- cess. However, the current process for typing the sign our new input system, which took many, data for each mushroom into the data base has many hours of her time. All of us who volunteer been tedious.