On Saturday, September 14, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts will host the New England Botanical Club for a day-long meeting with options including a field trip to the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area with Pete Grima (10 – 2), a fungal walk with Dianna Smith at the Smith College MacLeish Field Station (12 – 3), and a lecture by Dr. Lynn S. Adler, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on Floral Traits Mediating Pathogen Dynamics in Pollinators.
The Montague Plains cover several power line corridors on the Montague sand plain and adjacent Will’s Hill, where the focus will be on the amazing asters, gorgeous goldenrods. lingering legumes, and genteel fringed gentians that will be in their prime. There may be orchids, too. This is an easy walk of 1.5 miles with 200 foot elevation gain. Be prepared for ticks and open, sunny conditions.
The Fungi Walk will introduce you to the fascinating world of the fungi kingdom during our three-hour guided walk starting at noon at the Smith College MacLeish Field Station on Poplar Hill Rd in Whately, MA. In addition to helping attendees learn to identify particular morphological groups of fungi, Dianna will provide essential information about their lifestyles and functions in forest and garden ecology; their evolutionary history; habitat preferences; edibility; toxicity; and potential medicinal uses. By the time you complete this walk, you will know more about these curious representatives of the mostly hidden kingdom of fungi than 99.9% of the world’s population.
Register at http://www.rhodora.org/meetings/upcomingmeetings.html
