Newsletter of the Mycological Society of America -- In This Issue -- Caracas Asco Workshop .........................1-3 Thanks from Ian Ross .............................3-4 MSA Official Business Call for Papers ........................................ 4 From the President ...............................5-6 Committee Reports .............................. 6-7 2000 Award Announcements ............. 8- 1 1 MSA MEETING 2000 ................... 16- 17 Sustaining Members ............................. 29 Forms Change of Address .............................20 Gift Membership ...............................24 Endowment & Contributions ............30 Front row (1 to r) - Rick Weinstein, Rosario Medel, Karen Hatisen, Kris Peterson. Society Membership ..........................3 1 Marcela Solo; -Matias Cafaro, Sandy Salas, Paolo Porras, Josi Hernrindez, Mycology On-Line Directory ..................20 Mary Palm, Fernando Fernandez, Don Pfistet; Dick Hanlin. Emory Simmons Mycological News .................. 12-15, 18-20 Mycologist's Bookshelf ......................2 1-24 Ascos in Venezuela: Workshop memories Review: "lllustrated Genera of by Mary Palm Impeifect Fungi" Calendar of Events .............................. 27-28 Former MSA president DI:Palm (of the Beltsville USDA-APHIS Mycological Classifieds ..................... 25-27 lab) shares her and fellow August Asco workshoppers 'happy Positions, Goods & Services, Publica- memories of Enezuela before the devastatingjloods and landslides tions, Workshops, of December: - Important Dates - Late last August (1999), two groups of lucky mycologists were able to attend NSF funded basidiomycete and ascomycete workshops held February 15 - Deadline: Inoculum 5 l(2) prior to the 111 Latin American Mycological Congress in Caracas, March 15 - Deadlines: MSA Research Venezuela. Instructors Don Pfister and Jack Rogers both stressed that awards it is essential to study these organisms throughout the year in order to March 31 - Deadline: MSA 2000 abstracts understand them; therefore the courses were designed to maintain and http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/-jandersol increase taxonomic expertise of those who study in these areas of msa/ high biodiversity. The 25 students in each workshop had traveled from I I April 1- Deadlines: MSA Distinctions, a wide variety of Latin American countries including Argentina, Chile, Student Awards Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, with a few also at- April 3 - Deadline: Mentor Awards tending from Spain, Denmark, and the USA. July 29-August 3 - MSA 2000, Burlington, VT "Students" included practicing mycologists as well as graduate and undergraduate students and a number of Venezuelan mycologists who July 25-29 - MSA 2001 Salt Lake work with plant pathogens at the Venezuelan Department of Agricul- June - MSA 2002. Cowallis OR ture. As Fernando Femandez, one ascomycete instructor from Ven- Editor -- ezuela, noted, "I was really impressed by the level of knowledge of Lorelei Norvell, 6720 NW Skyline Blvd ascomycetes shown by many of the participants." Portland, OR 97229-1309 USA Introductory lecture and laboratory presentations occupied the first 503.297.3296 FAX 503.296.6745 day and a half of the workshops, both held at the attractive Sim6n [email protected] Bolivar University. We then boarded two buses, including the infa- MSA Homepage -- mous blue bus (see photo), for a trip to the Rancho Grande Biological 6http://www. erin. utoronto.~a/-w3msd Station in the Henry Pittier National Park. Rancho Grande serves as a biological station for the hardship in Venezuela. As agronomy school at Univer- Meredith Blackwell wrote "As sidad Central de Venezuela in I sit here remembering my Maracay. Over the next two first experience I am also days, we collected on and thinking of the devastation the around several trails in the region has suffered." cloud forest. There was ample moisture in the forest and a News from Gioconda San number of interesting asco- Blas (former president of mycetes and ascomycetous ALM, Venezuela) and Teresa anamorphs were collected (I Iturriaga (former secretary know that the basidio people general of ALM, Venezuela) also collected some interesting Z indicate that they and their 5 fungi). Many of us remember 9 families are fine but as San Meredith Blackwell's excite- Fi~iil~eSo17 ~Mar~lir~,.Jtrch Rogers Blas writes "Thanks for your ment over the eversion of the A. Romero student from Argentina) concern. We, our family, our belong- quellkorper in what she recalls as wrote, "For me it was wonderful to ings, our institute, are OK. But the "...the fungus close to what Margaret have the chance to work along with country is in very bad shape after the Barr calls Acanthonitschkia in the specialists of each group. This flood. Since Venezuela's main airport Nitschkiaceae (Sordariales, p. 364 in enriched me at the personal level as and port are located in the disaster the text). The Quellkorper is within much as at the professional level. In area, we have been almost incommu- the perithecium and it swells to evert my particular case, it was additionally nicado to the outside world since and open the cleistothecium in a very useful to meet so many wonder- December 15. It is only now that the regular way. Some species also have a ful people and to learn new ways to airport (where you entered the country subiculum which absorbs water very work and think. I sincerely appreciate last August) is slowly recovering and quickly (water uptake increases the opportunity that was given to me starting operations. The whole beach quellkorper eversion). The other neat when I was granted one of the zone was destroyed, some 30 thousand thing is that the subiculum is home to fellowships for attending." people died, and an additional 200 many small invertebrate animals - thousand lost their houses. It was especially nematodes." JosC Hernandez (a J. Hennen student from Argentina) expressed, "I was impressed with the beauty of the rain forest, the flora and fauna, and appreciated the opportunity to visit and collect fungi in such an incredible place. I was also impressed with the hospitality of the Venezuelan people in general and in particular the staff of the Universidad Sim6n Bolivar. The Ti~rueilrgerl~ir~c~~rri nrj~co/ogi.s/s - Mario university is well-organized with a .Y~ir~ti~i,qoC11~1cor7, For~17a17cio Fert7~111(ic,:, Rosario Medcl Rajcl1e17berg.JosP Herriciriric.--. Mofios Coforo beautiful campus and was a verv Emory Simmons notes that "any enjoyable place to study and to attend really catastrophic. Universidad Simon ascomycete workshop that lets me the course and the Congress which Bolivar (where we held the LA illustrate that Alternaria, Stemphylium, followed. I want to take this chance Mycological Congress) has (had) a Nimbya, and Embellisia are perfectly to say thank you to NSF and the campus in the area, where they gave good ascos has a lot going for it! organizers for the opportunity to courses in 15 disciplines. Of the 1 1 ...Contacts with the Maracay group attend the workshop." buildings conforming the campus, 9 were fruitful on the Alternaria front, were completely destroyed and the 2 particularly Raisa Rumbos (Venezu- We all join him in extending our remaining were severely damaged. ela), who collected fresh material of an sincere appreciation to NSF, to those This has been the worst ever natural undescribed species on bean and that made this workshop possible, and catastrophe in Venezuela's recorded Mauro Albarracin (Venezuela), who 4- especially to Teresa Iturriaga, who history." wheel-drove me all over Aragua State took care of all of the details needed looking for likely Alternaria leaf spots to make the workshop a success. And as Teresa writes, "I am only on Solanaceae." today reading my Email, since I have After having such a wonderful been working at different centers I have also received comments from experience it was painful to hear helping with this devastating situation two of the students. Marcela Soto (an about the recent devastation and we have had in Venezuela. Since last To end on a more positive note, in addition to seeing lots of interesting fungi -- we saw beautiful birds, monkeys swinging through the trees, and incredible vegetation. Meredith Blackwell and Matias Cafaro (an R. Lichtwardt student from Argentina) were lucky enough to happen upon a very large, speckled snake. We also saw a memorial for a graduate student who died after falling from a tree in the forest while doing his research. We ate great food and drank fresh fruit juices prepared by the Station's manager. The blrre hrrs -fin/ row (1 to rL Pave1 Lizon. Mario Rajchenberg, Josepa Gene, J. Guarra, Javier CoNodo, J~rlietaCarranza, Esperanzo Fronco All in all, the workshops gave both middle row Fernando Fernandez, Sharon CantreN, Pidal Vidol, Jean Lodge, Dick Hanlin, Jack students and instructors alike an Roger.7, Nils Hollenberg, Jose Hernandez, Mary Palm, Emory Simmons, Peter Robert last row - Tim Baroni, Karl-Henrik Larsson, Felipe San Martin, Don PJster opportunity to interact, a better appreciation for the diversity of fungi week, Simon Bolivar University has this situation the news media have not in the tropics, and a desire to return to lodged 160 people who lost their exaggerated, and now it appears that the Biological Station to collect in the homes, and we have been working the devastation is even worse than future. organizing food, medical attention, reported. and information." It seems that in To the Mycological Society of America ... on the occasion of ~~~~~i~~ a sitting in a corner and Charles led the was an array of DMs that was terrify- "Distinguished Mycologist." way to introduce me. I must say that ing to this shaking speaker - both Ken Cap was a tall man, and he had very and John Raper, E.W. Olive, E. large feet- a point of importance as Bessey, C. Alexopoulos, J. Karling, R. I would like to thank the members of you will see. I was a nervous graduate Emerson, L. Olive, F. Sparrow, J. the society, the Awards committee and student and as I approached Cap, my Couch, F. Wolfe, and a galaxy of other all those who so kindly worked and feet bumped into what I thought was a lights.