Newsletter Mycology Links Great Gifts for Mushroom Lovers! Content related All For The Love Of Fungi! Hosted as a public service by The Forager Press, LLC, Copyright CNYMS 2003 |
OCTOBER 2003Final Fungal FlurryThe September foray made up for in intrigue what it lacked in abundance.
The fun -gals and -guys from the Utica area were tenacious about their search for the
exact identification of some mystery mushrooms. About a dozen hunters collected enough
specimens to fill the picnic table. We were stymied by a pale Bolete with a compact, tiny
cap and a colorful gilled mushroom that defied classification. We identified Mushroom of the MonthLaetiporus sulphureus. Also known as Chicken of the woods or Sulphur
shelf, is an unforgettable sight when first spotted from afar. Its vivid orange and
sulphur yellow colors seem to glow from an internal light when it is young and tender. It
is one of five edible mushrooms that have no poison lookalikes. It is a shelflike,
stalkless polypore that grows in overlapping clusters on trees, stumps or logs. The upper
surface is smooth to suedelike and bright orange when young, fading in color and hardening
with age. The underside is bright yellow with tiny pores. When young, it exudes a yellow
juice when cut. The flavor and texture are remarkably similar to filet of chicken and is
an excellent substitute for chicken in most recipes. It can also be frozen uncooked with
little or no damage to its flavor or texture. Simply slice and freeze on wax paper,
transferring to a labeled plastic bag when frozen. Do not thaw frozen mushrooms before
cooking. From the NewsA Wall Street Journal article from September 10th by James P. Serba, a
front page Journal reporter and author of a book "Frankie's Place, a Love
Story". A seasoned 'wild mushroom gather', Mr. Serba relates a tale of a "very
minor episode involving our mushrooms and our friends began to be BLOWN TOTALLY OUT OF
PROPORTION…by fear-mongers and fungophobes". He had generously shared some of
his prized Boletus edulis as a gift to friends (and rather high profile people) who had
shared them with friends (other high profile people) on their boat on an overnight cruise.
"They ate the mushrooms on their boat and they were sick all night-tossing their
cookies and fearing the worst." He insisted, however, that "there was no way a
spongy bottomed boletus, a gill-less 'shroom, could do (them) in, of course. But (they)
didn't know that, and had read my new book, in which I wrote about mushrooms used as
murder weapons in mystery novels. And I had quoted the late Donald Malcolm, a New Yorker
magazine writer who wrote in 1958'It is hard to understand why mushroom hunting has been
neglected by lovers of dangerous sports'." Mr. Serba, as a result of this episode,
added a "couple of corollaries to FROM THE ARCHIVESCNYMS founding member Vince O'Neil sends the following information: CNYMS came into existence in early January 1980, when a small group met at ESF. The dues paying members as of 9/23/80 were the following: Bonnie Armstrong, Bill Eichenlaub, Dr. Mildred Faust, W. Elliott Horner, Jed Hyde, Dr. Josiah Lowe, Ann Miller, Jeffrey Morrell, Vince O'Neil, Dottie Podsiadlik, John Polishook, Vaughn Rinner, Gloria, Martin and Sam Sage (present members), Karen Slotnick, Herb Smith, Conrad Strzik (present member), Russell and Virginia Will, Fred Terracina, and Bob and Julie Weibezall. . Early officers were VinceO'Neil as chair, Vaughn as secretary, Jed as treasurer, Karen and Conrad on program committee, Virginia and Russell on organization committee and Jon on field trips committee. The first foray was in search of Morels on May 18th 1980. The site was on a road off route 5 near the boundary of Madison and Onondaga counties. The group picked over 200 morels in less than 2 hours. Dr. Josiah Lowe, professor of Mycology at ESF and well known author of publications on polypores was present, as was Professor Edson Setliff, authority on the effects of fungi on forest preserves. Professor Setliff, who later relocated to Oregon, was the society's initial advisor. Subsequently, Professor Tim Baroni of Cortland provided valuable professional input to the group. Calendar of Events - 2003 Meetings are over for the winter All meetings are at 7:30 pm room 127 Illick Hall on the ESF campus of SU. Just like the Audubon Society, CNYMS will publish a monthly list of Fungal sightings on your walks or in your own backyard! In the interest of science, as well as for the love of fungi, send your list or interesting findings to Jean at "mushroom@zhighway.net" or 445-1463. Got any recipes, stories or info to share? To put it in the Newsletters contact: Jean O. Fahey- Editor Any questions or input for newsletters contact: Don’t miss out by not staying current on your dues. If you don’t remember when you last paid, send your $10 dues made out to CNYMS to Rick Colvin (treasurer) 1948 Conners Rd., Baldwinsville, NY 13027. Bernie Carr, Chair For The Love Of Fungi!Hosted as a public service of The Forager Press and Roy ReehilCopyright CNYMS 2003 |
