2. Why Study Mycology?
• Define mycoremediation and
give a few examples of how
fungi can save the world
3. What is a
Mushroom?
• Mushrooms are
the fruiting
bodies of
certain fungi
-the apple, not
the tree.
• Classified in the
Fungi
Kingdom
4. How Mushrooms are
Categorized
• Most mushrooms are
Basidiomycetes. Specialized cells
called basidia produce spores
(basidiospores)
• Some mushrooms (e.g., morels and cup
fungi) are Ascomycetes; they produce
spores differently, within tube-like cells
called asci
6. Mycelium
• Spores form hyphae, which in
turn form long chains called
“mycelium”
• When conditions are "just so"-
mycelium generate new
hyphae which, within several
weeks, will develop into a
mushroom
• What are these conditions?
8. What We’ll Do Today
• How to find mushrooms
• Mushroom identification
• Mushrooms to find in WNC
– Spring
– Summer
– Fall
– Winter
9. Where to Get Mushrooms
• Grow them (inoculate logs or other
substrates)
• Go on a foray
10. Where and When to Look
• Don’t’ foray along busy
roadsides or in polluted
areas (for edible
mushrooms)
• Watch out: national forests
might prohibit
• In WNC, March through
November
• 1-3 days after rain
11. Foraying
• Basket and knife
• Waxed paper
bags or little
paper bags. Why
not plastic?
• Collect the entire
mushroom,
including any
underground
parts
12. What We’ll Do
• How to find mushrooms
• Mushroom identification
• Mushrooms to find in WNC
– Spring
– Summer
– Fall
– Winter
13. Edible Wild Mushrooms
• Over 10,000
mushroom species in
the US
• About 250 are edible
• Some mushrooms are
difficult to identify
correctly, requiring
years of experience,
Some mushrooms
haven't even been many reference books
named yet! and sometimes
microscopic analysis
15. Types of Mushrooms: Not Just
Cap and Stalk
• What does a typical
mushroom look like?
• Some mushrooms look like
balls; marine coral; cups or
saucers; shelf-like growths
on trees, logs or stumps;
sponges; bushes; or even
cauliflower.
20. Preliminary Mushroom ID
• Where found (ground, tree)
• Season found
• Shape
• If cap and stem:
– Gills, pores, teeth
– Stem
• Spore print…color
21. Beginners ID
• Note the season
• Note where the
mushroom was
growing: on a
tree? on moss? in
leaf litter?
• Note the size,
color
• Look under the
cap for gills, pores,
teeth
22. Identification Keys and Books
• http://www.rogersmushro
oms.com/
• www.ashevillemushroom
club.org
• ID Books
– Bill Roody
– David Aurora
23. Identification Keys
• Most start with shape
– Cap and stem
• Today, we’ll focus on preliminary
identification of mushrooms with caps
and stems
24. Cap and Stem Mushrooms
• Note
young
and
mature
forms
• Note
veil
25. Step 1. Look Under The Cap
• Gills- Agaricales, such as Amanita
• Pores – Boletales, such as Boletes,
Suillis, etc.
• Crevices - Chanterelles
• Teeth - Hydnum
• These all distribute spores for
reproduction
26. Types of Gills
Widely Spaced
Giving off milky liquid
Closely Spaced
Crowded
38. Look at the Stalk for Veils
• Look for a ring of tissue (technically
called an annulus) on the upper
stalk.
• Is there a cup-like sac (a volva)
around the very base of the stalk?
– Feature of the Death Cap (Amanita
phalloides) and Destroying Angel (Amanita
virosa) mushrooms.)
63. Mushroom
Poisoning
• 2% of all mushrooms
• Most not fatal
• 4 types of toxins:
1. Protoplasmic
(Amatoxins)– cell
destruction followed Amanita virosa
by organ failure
2. Neurotoxins Destroying Angel
(Psilocybin)– sweating,
coma, convulsions,
hallucination
Psilocybe
Penicillin, edible, medicinal, dyes, immunomodulation…. Saprophytic Fungi use enzymes to decompose biologic material Parasitic Fungi are able to destroy bacteria and other pathogens Mycorrhizal Fungi remove substances from the biosphere Pic above is from the SF Bay oil spill
Important ID characteristic
Leave 6 hours to overnight
WHITE! Rusty Brown!
looks like an egg.
Find in mulch
L volemus, corrugis, idigo, hygrophous
The brilliantly colored chicken-ofthe- woods (Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.:Fr.) Murr., Polyporaceae syn. Polyporus sulphureus Bull.:Fr.) produces antibiotics strongly antagonistic to S. aureus18 and has been noted to consume E. coli upon contact.
The first record of its use comes from Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong's Scripture of Herbal Medicine [cited in Mizuno and Zhuang 1995]), which was compiled between 200 BC and 200 AD. This scripture states that Keisho (one type of medicine made with Grifola frondosa) "has been used frequently for improving spleen and stomach ailments, calming nerves and mind, and treating hemorrhoids" (Mizuno and Zhuang 1995). There are a variety of other Chinese medicines containing Grifola frondosa, ranging from cancer treatment to remedies for palsy, nerve pain, and arthritis. Other described uses of this mushroom include general treatments for immune stimulation and regulation of homeostasis. e include immunomodulating properties, mostly through the action of inducing and attenuating cytokine production (including tumor necrosis factors) by macrophages (Suzuki et al. 1988, Adachi et al. 1994, Ohno 1995, Okazaki et al. 1995). This immunomodulation is likely due to interaction of the polysaccharides from Grifola with receptors on the cell surface of macrophages. Grifola has also been shown to have antihypertension and cholesterol-lowering effects (Kabir et al. 1987, Kabir and Kimura 1989, Adachi et al. 1988). Other studies have shown that extracts of Grifola can reduce the conversion of cultured cells to adipocytes (fat cells), which can result in reduction of weight gain in experimental animals (Nakai et al. 1999). Along these lines, various antidiabetic effects, such as reduction of blood glucose and modulation of insulin and triglyceride levels, have been demonstrated using extracts of Grifola (Kubo et al. 1994).
Recent research indicates that the hot water/alcohol extract of Lion's Mane stimulates the synthesis of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and promotes the process of myelination.* Increased production of NGF may enhance cognitive functions* and help to slow the onset of dementia associated with various neurological conditions traditionally in China and Japan for hundreds of years, and also known as bear's head or monkey's head. Commonly prescribed for stomach ailments and for cancer prevention, this mushroom was once reserved only for the palates of the royal families. Recently a group of Japanese researchers have patented an extraction process which isolates a NGSF (Nerve Growth Stimulant Factor). They found a compound in Hericium erinaceus which causes brain neurons to regrow, a feat of great significance in potentially helping senility, repairing neurological degradation, increasing intelligence and improving reflexes. Studies also confirm many of its traditional uses, supporting the digestive system, and acting as a tonic for the nervous system.
A natural source of the anti-cancer agent PSK.
protoplasmic poisons (poisons that result in generalized destruction of cells, followed by organ failure); neurotoxins (compounds that cause neurological symptoms such as profuse sweating, coma, convulsions, hallucinations, excitement, depression, spastic colon); gastrointestinal irritants (compounds that produce rapid, transient nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea); and disulfiram-like toxins. Mushrooms in this last category are generally nontoxic and produce no symptoms unless alcohol is consumed within 72 hours after eating them, in which case a short-lived acute toxic syndrome is produced.
