Illuminating Fungi - the Science of Fungal Bioluminescence

Fungal bioluminescence was first described by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.), and continues to fascinate and puzzle scientists today. While over 100 species of fungi are known to produce luminescent mushrooms or mycelium, the chemical and genetic basis of the light-producing reaction was only recently discovered, and the reason these fungi glow remains somewhat of a mystery. Come learn about our current understanding of the evolution, ecology and biochemistry of this phenomenon. And yes, there will be lots of pictures of glowing mushrooms! 

Our speaker will be mycologist Brian Perry a Professor of Biology at California State University East Bay, and Director of the HAY Fungarium. He received his master’s degree from San Francisco State University under the guidance of Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University where he studied with Dr. Donald H. Pfister. Brian has been studying fungi since 1995 and has published over 45 papers in scientific journals. In addition to studying the evolution of fungal bioluminescence, he also conducts research on mushrooms and other fungi of Vanuatu, the assembly and biogeography of island fungal communities, endophytic fungi, and the systematics of Mycena and allied genera. Brian teaches several mycology courses at Cal State East Bay and the Sierra Nevada Field Campus.

This month's general meeting will be held on March 19th at 7:30pm at the Randall Museum located at 199 Museum Way in San Francisco.
A social hour with mushroom identification will begin at 6:30.

If you can't make it in person, the Zoom link is:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89184389640?pwd=N2x0V25JNkZaRHZoQ3VBVGJyYURuZz09

In early 2023, Bay Area Applied Mycology (BAAM) was invited to table and present at the Exploratorium’s fungal “After Dark” event (think CalAcademy’s NightLife, where they also kick all the kids out, and start pouring alcohol). The event included multiple speakers, numerous local vendors, and various well known names from the local mycology community. 
 
The event was a great opportunity to connect interested folks to aspects of the mycological world. Our Treasurer, Harte Singer, gave a presentation on DNA sequencing, and we had a never-ending stream of interested folks coming by our table to check out the (relatively) small spread of mushrooms that our members had gathered from the field. It was a lot of fun, and something that both the event-organizers and our group considered to be a huge success.
 
Fast-forward to 2024, when our group was re-invited, but with the option of having a much larger footprint at the event. We were thrilled to be invited back and also to have an even greater interface with event attendees. One of the things I proposed to the event organizer was the possibility of opening-up our involvement at the event– turning our presence there into an opportunity for collaboration with other local mycology groups, including our friends across the water at MSSF. The event organizer was very supportive of the suggestion, and with a green light, we jumped in on the planning.  
With MSSF’s involvement (thank you Maria Pham, J.R. Blair, Mackenzie Hridel, Mike McCurdy, Pascal Pelous, and the other MSSF members who helped out with foraying for specimens), we were able to put on a fungus-fair-worthy display of local specimens, something which brought crowds and crowds of folks our way over the entire evening. We had six tables packed with labeled specimens (Thank you, J.R. and MacKenzie for spearheading MSSF’s identification efforts). It was so great to be able to connect curious folks to the incredible diversity of mushrooms that we have here in the Bay Area and up the coast (Thanks again for the longer drive, Maria!). Both BAAM and MSSF had question-answering members roving around the tables all evening long. And our side-by-side group-info display placements brought in a lot of attendees to talk about what we do, and how they could become involved. Overall, it was an evening of incredible outreach-energy, great collaborative vibes.  
Some highlights of the evening included:

• All the people who lost their minds smelling/learning about candy caps
• Whoever decided to place Amanita calyptroderma (Coccora) next to the A. ocreata (Destroying Angel) specimens Mike provided (Thanks again!), and all the great discussions this resulted in
• All the hilarious hands-on pawing at the display of cat’s tongue mushrooms
• The great spread of library books that MacKenzie brought to further lure folks into our world
• All the discussions about further collaboration between MSSF and BAAM that happened throughout the evening

 
Also, BAAM had the opportunity to present on log-inoculation/cultivation here in the Northern California Climate, and brought in ~100 interested folks to learn about how practices differ here, with our Mediterranean climate and rainless summers. It was another great opportunity to connect people with applied-mycological practice.
 
Overall, the evening was a rousing success and a great experience– all thanks to the folks who contributed and volunteered. We’re so happy to have had MSSF’s involvement!
 
Justin McDavid
Current BAAM President

I was riding with friends who had been there the year before, so they knew the route to drive there.  I was thrilled to attend an overnight foray, stay in a cabin, and see the mushrooms everyone found with experts who could identify them. The was the first time I went to Mendo Camp, I think it was held at Camp Mendocino next to the Skunk Train railway, not where it’s currently held at the Mendocino Woodlands Camp Association. This was the early 1980s when the only book we had for the region was 'Mushrooms Demystified' by David Aurora and I barely knew how to find anything in the book, so I left it at home.
 
My two friends had a small car, so our sleeping bags and backpacks went into the tiny trunk. We met up with about a dozen other MSSF members on the road to the camp entrance around noon so we could go on a foray before the main group arrived in the early evening. We were told we should eat our lunches and follow the lead car out to the redwood forest for afternoon collecting. It was starting to drizzle lightly so we ate our lunches in the car. I'd packed my favorite sandwich, kippered herring.
~My first error. Nobody wants to smell your lunch when they're eating in the car.
 
I lived down the coast in Gualala for about a year in the mid-seventies, so I knew how to dress for the weather. The raincoat was as waterproof as available before Gortex was invented. I'd worn it in Yosemite camping in snow. I had jeans and a sweater and good leather hiking boots sprayed with waterproofing. I spent my teenage years tramping around the Ponderosa Pine Forest in Coconino County, Arizona so I knew how to travel cross country and find my way back to the logging roads.
~My second error was overconfidence.
 
After driving up several dirt roads the group stopped in a flat spot off the dirt road. We got our collecting baskets out of the car and gathered for instructions. Collecting mushrooms would be downhill from where we were parked, and nobody else had been there so there was going to be a lot of interesting stuff. The redwood forest was second growth, but the trees were very tall. Logging had changed the hillsides into a series of small hillocks between the big trees. We were instructed to meet back at the cars in a couple of hours.
 
I kept the group in sight while I picked mushrooms I had never seen before. Coral Fungus. Red ones. Yellow ones. Purple ones. The variety was insane. And there were a lot of Russula species of course, but I wanted to pick the mushrooms I'd never seen before. Everyone was exclaiming 'Oh, Wow' so it wasn't hard to keep track of the group as I moved downhill. When my basket started to get full, I looked around. Nobody else was nearby.
~Greed had deafened me to listening for the group.
 
I had never been lost before. I always knew where the sun was, but it was drizzling. I started remembering all the stupid things people teach children about getting lost. Moss does Not grow on the north side of trees like those stupid stories say...Hansel and Gretel. Well, I've got a basket full of stuff to drop, so I began to empty it out as I searched for the group. They were not where I thought they would be. So, I started walking back uphill to see if I could find the road. And it started drizzling harder and getting darker.
 
I came to a tiny streamlet with a hollow burned-out log next to it. Realizing I was really lost, I decided to stay put. That allows people to find you faster. I pulled off fern fronds to line the inside of the log, drank some water from the creek and snuggled inside as the light faded from the sky. About 30 minutes later I heard cars going by on a road that was totally in the wrong direction. I knew where the road really was now. But it was too dark to climb out. I'd be spending the night.
 
It was so cold inside that log. Maybe 40 degrees F. Clothing that protects you from the weather is not designed to keep you warm if you stop moving. I slept fitfully, cursing myself for my stupidity. And finally woke when it was light. I got another drink of stream water and set out in the direction where I heard cars. It took about half an hour to finally get to the road. And then I didn't know which direction to hike.
 
As I was trying to decide which way to hike one of the MSSF members came up in his car. He told me they had contacted the Sheriff who was gathering up county prisoners to hunt for me, and now they could call off the search. I was totally embarrassed. And hypothermic. They took me to the camp to meet up with my friends, clean up, and eat. I got to see what other people collected but somehow my mind wasn't really focused on that. I cleaned off some of the soot from the log, but I really needed a good hot soak in a bathtub to warm up and clean up.
 
That Christmas my best friends gave me a fanny pack with a flashlight, compass, matches for a fire, and romance novel to read in the next log I'd spend the night in.
 
- Bewitched by Fungi

~checkout, Becoming Unlost in the Woods, Wren Hudgins~

Mushroom and Pecan Paté

Serves 10 at a party

The combination of mushrooms and pecans is outstanding. This pâté is delectable served hot with the creamed mushroom sauce. 1-1/2 pounds mushrooms, chopped (you may use a combination of several varieties, for example: 1 pound common store mushrooms and 1/2 pound chanterelles or 1 to 2 ounces dried Italian Porcini) 1 onion, minced 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 thyme sprig, chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 8 eggs, slightly beaten 1 cup grated Emmenthaler cheese 1 cup ground pecans Creamed Mushroom Sauce, following

If you use dried mushrooms, soak them for about 15 minutes in hot water to cover, then drain and squeeze dry. Reserve the soaking liquid. Cook the onion in the butter over low heat in a heavy pot until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms, salt, and thyme. Cover and raise the heat for a few minutes. Empty into a strainer and press out as much juice as possible. Reserve the juice. Allow the mushrooms to cool, and then mix them with the eggs, cheese, and pecans. Taste for salt and correct seasoning. Pack the mixture into a buttered loaf pan and cover with foil. Place the loaf pan in a larger pan and pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the side of the loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 325º oven for 1 hour or until the pâté is firm and slightly puffed. Allow it to set for 20 minutes before serving.

Creamed Mushroom Sauce

Makes about 3/4 cup

Reserved mushroom cooking liquid and mushroom soaking liquid if dried mushrooms are used. 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup wine (dry sherry, Madeira, or dry white) 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter or more

Place all the ingredients except the butter in a heavy saucepan. Cook until the liquid is reduced to a syrup, with only 6 to 7 tablespoons remaining. Cut the butter into 8 pieces and add one piece at a time over low heat, stirring gently. Do not add too much butter at one time. If the sauce seems too tart, add more butter. --Paul Johnston

From Wild About Mushrooms
The Cookbook of the Mycological Society of San Francisco

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MSSF Culinary Group

The MSSF Culinary Group is open to all members interested in the gastronomical aspects of mushrooming. We meet on the first Monday of each month, with a few exceptions when a holiday falls on the first Monday, to enjoy each other’s company and have a delicious meal. The dinners are open to current members of MSSF and the Culinary Group, and their guests. We are united in our love of cooking as well as our love of mushrooms.

All participants contribute, either as part of the team that prepares the dinner, or by bringing an appetizer to share. Traditionally, the dinners have been designed to take advantage of the wild mushrooms available, as well as the best and freshest food of the season. The menus are centered on mushrooms, ethnic foods, a particular main ingredient, or a holiday near the time of the dinner. Each dinner is led by a “captain” who sets the menu and organizes volunteers to cook the dishes, as well as handle setup and cleanup.

The Culinary Group is a participatory cooking group. It’s an opportunity to practice your skills and to learn from more experienced cooks. We also help with special events such as the Fungus Fair, and snacks for the general meetings.

To be part of the fun and food, here are the practicalities:

• Your regular MSSF membership dues must be paid up. (Regular membership dues cannot be paid at Culinary dinners, you must use the online membership billing feature of the MSSF web site.)
  • The Culinary Group has an annual $10 per family membership fee. This is a Special-interest-group membership fee that is separate from, and in addition to, regular MSSF dues. The Culinary dues can be paid at the dinners to the Culinary Group bookkeepers.
  • To cover the cost of the facility rental and the dinner’s ingredients, most dinners cost $20 for MSSF-Culinary Group Members. MSSF-members attending the Culinary group for the first time pay $25. And non-MSSF members who attend as guests of members pay $25. (Occasionally, a dinner may have a different cost due to ingredient expenses, if so, it would be stated on the dinner reservation page.)
  • The Culinary Group is participatory - each member is expected to participate as part of a dinner team once per season.
  • At dinners where you are not part of the team, you should bring an appetizer to share with the group.
  • The facility can hold 60 members seated for dinner, thus that is the limit for reservations.
  • Reservations are required and must be made no later than the Wednesday before the dinner.
  • Members bring their own dinner beverage, tableware and table covering. Dishes, utensils, glassware, linens, etc. are not provided.
  • The MSSF Mushroom season is Sept - May.
  • Regular dinners occur Oct-Nov, and Jan-May.
  • December features a special Holiday Dinner open to all MSSF members and their guests. Over the years, the Holiday Dinner has been done in a variety of formats: potluck, partial potluck (some catered items, some member contributions), fully catered, and hosted by a restaurant.
• MSSF Online Calendar then click on the event, or go to the Members Only area and after logging in, click on event registration.
  For assistance or additional information, email Culinary Group questions to Paul Lufkin or Maria Pham.

MSSF Library Goes Digital!



I'm so excited to announce the launch of MSSF's Online Library Catalog! Members and non-members can see every resource that is in the MSSF library (and more): scroll through the physical collection where you can see images of everything in our library, read a summary of the book, and get other publishing information. Members and non-members can also browse our digital catalog, which contains links to books and papers that have been published online and are free to access for anyone!
 
https://www.libib.com/u/mssf
 
Although the website is launching, some aspects are still a work in progress. Please reach out if you encounter any issues with the new online catalog!
 
NOTE: Only active members of MSSF that don't have holds on their account are able to reserve books. Book reservations are still made through the library page of the MSSF Member Portal.
 
Happy Reading!
MacKenzie