Volume 49:1 January ⁄ February 2008 www.namyco.org Pipestem Foray Overview An East-Coaster’s Perspective A West-Coaster’s Perspective by Dave Wasilewski by Debbie Viess For about 25 years now I have As Steve Trudell rightly pointed out hunted and studied wild mush- to me, don’t gloat about your mush- rooms, but I’ve never been active in rooms until they are safely in your a club. The NAMA Orson K. Miller basket! The continuing “Curse of Memorial Foray held in Pipestem, NAMA” (some call it global warm- WV, this past August was the first ing) slipped in the back door, behind such event that I have ever at- the earlier and heartening West tended. Virginia thunderstorms. Extreme I must admit that, as I drove heat and lack of rain for the previ- south on Interstate 81 through two ous couple of weeks made condi- solid hours of Pennsylvania rainfall tions on the ground challenging for on an eight-hour trip to a place hopeful finders of fungi. Chlorosplenium aeruginascens, one of where little or no rain had fallen for Luckily, my Southern Belle the many delights found at Pipestem. over a week, for the purpose of hostess with the mostest, Coleman hunting wild mushrooms, I felt a bit McCleneghan, took me on a few names like Gyroporus and Pulvero- conflicted. My mind wandered pre-NAMA forays in Virginia, where boletus, tucked among the through conifer groves in the conditions were much improved. My many shades of forest green and Poconos where imaginary boletes very first walk ever along the brown. Patches of Indian Pipe, the pushed up through the duff. How- Appalachian Trail, at the foot of Mt. ghostly white and transparently ever, upon arrival it did not take me Rogers, was delimited by a huge delicate, monotropic, saprobic plant, long to realize that I was in a real local species of lepidella: Amanita created more pockets of magic on good spot, for everyone in atten- rhopalopus. This monstrous, off- the Southern forest floor. dance had some sort of interest in white, deeply rooting amanita was Farther along the deeply worn fungi. There were scientists, mycol- the most abundant fleshy fungus and root-crossed Appalachian Trail, ogy students, photographers, nature collected; they covered most of a Continued on page 5 lovers, and all sorts of McIlmaniacs specimen table in great stinking like myself. It was my entry into the piles. In this issue: Shroomunity! Continued on page 4 Better even than fat, stinky lepidellas were the big and beautiful NAMA Seeks New Exec Sec ..... 2 fruitings of Amanita jacksonii, or the Wanted: 2nd VP for NAMA ........ 2 American Caesar’s mushroom. NAMA Forays in France ............ 3 Coleman and I found a fairy ring of Recalling Margaret Weaver ....... 6 these edible amanitas along the Appalachian Trail; they were cloaked Book Reviews ............................ 7 in gorgeous shades of bright orange, ‘07 Slide Contest Winners ..... 8, 9 in a moist, verdant and delightfully NAMA Educ. Offerings ........... 10 unfamiliar woodland alive with tulip T. Lockwood Entertains ............ 14 poplars and green-barked birch, rhodies and oaks. ‘07 NAMA Awards .................. 15 Drawing the eye away from the The Editor Speaks ................... 15 French foray participants; see story page 3. spectacular amanitas were colorful Mushroom of the Month ......... 16 Photo courtesy of Alain Bellocq. boletes with unfamiliar generic 1The Mycophile, January/February 2008 Moving? NAMA needs an EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Please send your new address, two weeks before you move, to Ann Bornstein It was announced at the 2007 Board of Trustees meeting in Pipestem that NAMA Membership Secretary because of other commitments, Judy Roger, NAMA Executive Secretary, will 336 Lenox Avenue no longer be able to serve in her current position. Judy has done a superb Oakland, CA 94610-4675 job, and her skills as Executive Secretary will be sorely missed. The Board <[email protected]> of Trustees is eager to find a replacement for this most important post. Otherwise—you may not be getting The executive secretary of NAMA is appointed by and serves at the your newsletter for a while. Each discretion of the Board of Trustees for a three-year term, which may be issue, several Mycophiles are extended subject to annual review. The individual reports to the President of returned as undeliverable because of no forwarding address on file. NAMA NAMA and is a member ex officio of all NAMA committees except the is charged seventy cents for each Nominating and the Awards Committees. This individual is responsible for: returned or forwarded newsletter. ◆ Lending administrative support to the Board of Trustees in keeping with the NAMA Articles of Incorporation and the current Regulations and Policy NAMA is a 501(c)(3) charitable Manual; organization. Contributions to support ◆ Handling routine correspondence for the officers and the committee the scientific and educational activi- chairs of the organization; ties of the Association are always welcome and may be deductible as ◆ Referring non-routine phone calls and letters to the appropriate officer(s) allowed by law. Gifts of any amount or committee chair(s); may be made for special occasions, ◆ Maintaining the organization’s office, mailing address, and telephone; such as birthdays, anniversaries, and for memorials. ◆ Printing and distributing publications (e.g. The Mycophile, McIlvainea, the Special categories include association’s directory, association brochures and materials); Friend of NAMA: $500–900 ◆ Distributing special mailings to new members and to life members as di- Benefactor: $1000–4900 Patron: $5000 and up rected by the Membership Secretary; Send contributions to ◆ Duplicating and distributing reports of actions of the Board of Trustees Judith McCandless, Treasurer and the Association’s committees; 330 Wildwood Place ◆ Acting as chair of NAMA’s Inter-Society Liaison Committee; Louisville, KY40206-2523 <[email protected]> ◆ Assembling and distributing an annual report of NAMA that summarizes the activities of NAMA during the year; ◆ Maintaining the historical files of the organization: minutes, lists of The Mycophile is published bimonthly officers, lists of awards; by the North American Mycological ◆ Attending and participating in the Annual Meeting and meetings of the Association, 6615 Tudor Court, Gladstone, OR 97027-1032. Board of Trustees; NAMA is a nonprofit corporation; ◆ Preparing and distribute the agenda for each business meeting of NAMA contributions may be tax-deductible. and its Board of Trustees prior to the annual meeting; and Web site: www.namyco.org ◆ Submitting an annual report to the Board of Trustees. Isaac Forester, NAMA President A modest annual stipend of $5,000 goes with this position. The individual P.O. Box 1107 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659-1107 selected to fill the job will be announced following the 2008 Trustees <[email protected]> Meeting in McCall, Idaho. If you are interested in applying, please submit a brief biographical description of your qualifications and experience to Robert Judy Roger, Executive Secretary Fulgency, NAMA 1st VP, 5620 Code Avenue, Edina, MN 55466. 6615 Tudor Court Gladstone, OR 97027-1032 <[email protected]> Help Us Find Our New 2nd VP! <[email protected]> Maggie Rogers has resigned, after several years as NAMA’s Second Vice Britt Bunyard, Content Editor President, so that position is now open. Nominations may be submitted by W184 N12633 Fond du Lac Avenue the general membership and must be received prior to the 2008 NAMA Germantown, WI 53022 Annual Meeting in McCall, ID, for distribution to the Trustees. All nomina- <[email protected]> tions must include in writing (1) the nominee’s consent to serve and (2) a Judith Caulfield, Production Editor brief biographical description of the nominee’s qualifications and experi- 1205 Hanover Street ence. Please send nominations to Robert Fulgency, NAMA 1st VP, 5620 Chattanooga, TN 37405 Code Ave., Edina, MN 55436. <[email protected]> The Mycophile, January/February 2008 2 no box lunches—trust the French to beyond our linguistic capability, but NAMA Forays take their food seriously. we enjoyed the great food, lots of There were a few optional van wine, and watching the French in France trips in the afternoons for sightseeing laughing tears. by Ursula Hoffmann or mushroom collection. We were Diane Derouen Chambliss, in back for the bar and dinner, the her good French, invited our hosts to Seven intrepid NAMA members evening lecture or study or the next year’s NAMA foray and went off to France, courageously display area, then went home to our thanked them for their gracious coping with strikes, delays, mis- hotel for after-dinner drinks, conver- hospitality while the rest of us placed baggage, and people talking sation, a bit of sleep, a big breakfast flanked her on the stage. very fast in a foreign language, buffet (including all those very edible In the region, the foray was a especially every time we asked for croissants and cheeses), and back for big deal: all the local newspapers directions. Of course, all of us have the next day’s foray. No mycophagy, covered it, and the mayor of Poitiers a great sense of humor so we but champignons de Paris were on held a reception with special men- surmounted most obstacles with a several lunch and dinner menus at tion of us American guests. The lot of laughter. the school cafeteria. people in charge of the foray did a While northern France had fantastic job organizing, disseminat- Poitiers enjoyed good rain and a spectacular ing information to the registrants, We rented cars at the PARIS mushroom fair in Paris the week and publicizing the event to the airport and—via Chartres and its before, central and southern France town. Congratulations and thanks! cathedral—drove to Poitiers to join had a drought, so the total checklist the annual six-day meeting of la was estimated at about 400 species, Tours Société Mycologique de France, the instead of the usual 1000 plus.