Boston Flora

Tag: mushroom

  • Sunday, November 9, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Mushroom Hunt

    Hundreds of mushrooms hide beneath the Arboretum’s canopies, silently blossoming into unique forms then withering away again just as quickly. Join local mushroom enthusiast Maria Pinto on November 9 at noon at the Bussey Street Gate to search for these fascinating organisms on the Arboretum grounds, both edible and poisonous alike. Along the way you will learn what mushrooms to look for in different habitats and seasons, how they move through ecosystems, and what the Arboretum’s unique collections affect what mushrooms you might find here.

    Accessibility: Participants will need to navigate woodchip, gravel, and dirt paths, and climb moderate hills (Hemlock Hill, specifically).

    Audience: This program is geared towards adults.

    Inclement weather policy: Participants will be notified via email at least one day in advance if a program needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather, and will be notified by phone if a program must be cancelled with less one day’s notice. Click here to view our full inclement weather policy. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu (inbox monitored on weekdays) or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209. Register at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/

  • Mondays, September 20 – October 18 – Boston Mycological Club Fall 2010 Mushroom Classes

    The Boston Mycological Club is pleased to announce its lineup for fall classes.  Designed for beginners, all are welcome.  Classes start at 7 pm on consecutive Mondays in the Harvard Herbaria, at the end of Divinity Avenue (Harvard Square T stop), and you may choose to come to one class or the entire series.  Admission charges for non-members of the BMC are $15 for any single class, $40 for any three, $45 for four, or $50 for all five. Member prices are $10, $25, $30 and $35.  Note that if non-members attend all the classes, they may become Club members for only $5 extra (what a bargain!)  Non-members are also invited to the Sunday forays that precede these classes, and are welcome to stay after class for I.D. sessions.

    On September 20, Erin Page Blanchard will speak on “A Beginner’s Guide to Identifying Fungi.” Whether you’re collecting edibles or just enjoying another part of the natural world, putting a name to what you see is important for both pleasure and knowledge.  It may take expertise or time to fill in genus and species, but we can all learn to classify mushrooms into groups by visual characteristics, and this tells us where to look next.  Erin is from California, where she has been an official identifier for many fungal events, and moderates a message board for mushroom hunting.  As a consultant to wild food businesses, and part of a team identifying Yosemite fungi, she is the ideal person to lead us into the fungal maze.

    September 27 brings “Identifying Boletes” with Noah Siegel.  Noah is a nationally known award-winning photographer and mushroom identifier.  He is co-President of the Monadnock Mushroomers Unlimited in Keene, New Hampshire, and is a Trustee for the North East Mycological Federation.  Noah has hunted mushrooms throughout North America as well as in New Zealand and Australia.  He’ll host his Annual Fungus Fair on September 19 in Athol, MA from 10 – 5 at 100 Main Street.

    October 4 and October 18 feature George Davis.  He will speak on “Identifying White and Light Spored Gilled Mushrooms” and “Identifying Dark Spored Gilled Mushrooms.” It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of accurate identification for mushroom hunters.  Not only is it a fascinating puzzle, but it’s the difference between a delicious meal and a delicious meal followed by a night in the ER.  Identification is tricky enought that we devote a Monday night to it after every single Sunday foray.  Luckily, the BMC has experts to help.  George and Karen Davis are the people we’re most likely to turn to for assistance, theaching us how to figure out what we’ve found.

    Finally, on October 25, enjoy “All The Rest,” with an instructor to be announced.  Polypores, puffballs, truffles, and all the other weird and wonderful fungi that don’t fit into the above categories, including many scrumptious edibles, will be examined.  You may pay at the door, or send a check made payable to BMC to Marcia Jacob, 118 Presidents Land, Quincy, MA 02169.  If you have questions, email Marcia at mjacob5@verizon.net, or call her at 617-471-1093.  You may also contact pamnicki@ix.netcom.com (617-964-2992) or susangoldhor@comcast.net (617-976-7252).  Photo below by Richard Seaman.