Royal Roads foray with Paul Kroeger Spring 2024

Pithya vulgaris, a tiny, tiny (1 mm) cup on the decaying needle of a true cedar (Cedrus). 

Paul Kroeger returned on February 6, 2024, for his annual SVIMS presentation. (See the post about his 2023 visit). This year he spoke about urban mushrooms.

The next day, February 7, Paul (helped by Andy and Kem) led a SVIMS foray at Royal Roads. Mushrooms had become rare finds since the last freeze, but after a couple of hours, and with the help of over 20 dedicated pairs of eyes, almost as many species of mushrooms turned up as last year–about 30. The finds have been posted on iNaturalist. 

The photos in this post are courtesy of Steve Strybosch, foray show runner.

Paul tells about his adventures with Auriscalpium vulgare.
Brave Josh shows the risks some people will take to find mushrooms in February!
Andy "No Off Switch" MacKinnon expostulates on the day's finds..
At the end of the foray, a few SVIMS people checked out a Royal Roads wood chip pile.

Monthly Meeting Feb 6 Paul Kroeger

Come to our monthly meeting, either via Zoom or in person at St Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill Cross Rd,  Victoria BC.

7:00 pm start, arrivals no earlier than 6:30 pm, ending 9:30 pm.  Zoom link sent to members by email February 5. 

Refreshments and in-person mushroom identification at St Luke’s Hall.

Paul Kroeger will speak about Urban Mushrooms.  Paul has regaled us every February for some years. Learning and entertainment at its best.

There’s Fungus Among Us: Urban “weed” mushrooms and immigrant fungi

A look at some mushrooms growing in urban areas in landscaping and under street trees, fungi that often have come from elsewhere. Humans create habitats that are home to many common and some unusual fungi, adding diversity, beauty and interest to our city surroundings.

(About 110 slides)

I look forward to visiting all the SVIMers and looking for mushrooms in February.

Paul Kroeger with boletes edit

Paul Kroeger has studied mushrooms for over forty five years and is a founding member of the Vancouver Mycological Society. He’s considered a leading expert in field identification of mushrooms of western Canada and has made a special study of “little brown mushrooms” including magic mushrooms and their relatives. He’s been involved in many projects and studies about diverse aspects of mushrooms; gaining knowledge about fungal biology and ecology, and biochemistry of toxic, hallucinogenic, medicinal and edible mushrooms. Years of experience create unique insights and understanding of fungal life-ways and interactions in temperate ecosystems.

Kroeger has worked at the University of British Columbia researching the biochemistry of medicinal mushrooms. He is a major contributor to the mycological herbarium collections in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC and has been a research associate of UBC Department of Botany for many years. He’s also contributed significant collections to DAOM Herbarium in Ottawa and DAVFP Herbarium in Victoria. He is a regular consultant for the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre, and various other agencies concerned with mushroom poisonings and fungi in human and animal health.

Paul Kroeger has many times served as President of the Vancouver Mycological Society. He published with other mycologists in 2012 The Outer Spores: Mushrooms of Haida Gwaii a book based on a five-year study. He’s considered an entertaining and informative skilled speaker, who presents illustrated talks on subjects such as general mycology, basic mushroom identification, magic mushrooms, poisonous mushrooms, and more.

SVIMS Annual Survivors’ Banquet

January 13th, 2024

Open to active members plus 1 guest per member

Sign up via link on January 2 email.

Sign up by January 10.

 

Where?

St Luke’s Anglican Church Hall

3821 Cedar Hill Cross Rd

Victoria

 

Schedule

  • 4:45pm arrivals begin
  • 5:30pm main course  
  • 6:30 approx – Gift exchange
  • 8:30pm – Take down – volunteers needed!
  • (4-4:45pm set up – volunteers needed)

 

What to bring?

  • Your own: cutlery, napkins, mug/cup, bowl, plate. BYOB/Drinks, tea or coffee.
  • One dish (main or dessert) that will feed avg 6 people.
    • Must include a displayed list of ingredients!
    • May or may not include edible mushrooms. 
    • Serving utensils for your dish.
  • A gift for the raffle/gift exchange
    • Handmade, refurbished, new or regifted gift baskets or individual items.  Examples: books, puzzles, survival gear, soaps, teas, libations, squashes, dried mushrooms, walking sticks, artwork …
  • Cash or card for the raffle/gift exchange tickets
    • 2$ each ticket, 3 for 5$ and 10 for 15$. This is a fundraiser and a funraiser.
    • It is not mandatory to participate in the gift exchange
    • There is a draw for gifts, but the gift you win is likely to be exchanged by a later winner (the fun part).

 

 

The kitchen will be available for use of minor items, such as:

  • Sink 
  • Water
  • Kettle
  • Coffee maker
  • Fridge
  • Stove top

 

Please clean what you use.  The club pays extra for the use of the kitchen. 

Thank you!

 

SVIMS Foray with Daniel Winkler 2023

For their last foray of the year, SVIMS members met with speaker Daniel Winkler for a quick tour of the Pearson College path that runs along the inlet.

On the previous evening, December 5, Daniel presented a slide lecture on edible mushrooms in BC and the US Pacific Northwest. The talk was based on his new book, Fruits of the Forest.

About 40 different species were found and IDed on the foray. The list (and pictures) can be found on iNaturalist. The number and freshness of the fungal fructifications were amazing for the first week in December. 

 

Photos of people by Steve Strybosch.

Kem Luther and Andy MacKinnon review the mushrooms found during the foray with guest Daniel Winkler
The foray group listens to Daniel expostulate on puffballs.
Daniel in a discussion with Kem, Josh, and Elora
The mushrooms found on the foray
Phaeotremella foliacea, the Leafy Brain, parasitic on Stereum sanguinolentum

Monthly Meeting Dec 5 — Daniel Winkler

Please join us for our December 2023 SVIMS meeting at St. Luke’s Cedar Hill, 3821 Cedar Hill Cross Road, Victoria.

Meeting details. We suggest 6:45pm arrival for a 7 pm meeting. This meeting is in-person only–no simultaneous online broadcast. (A short-term recording, only accessible by active SVIMS members, will later be available on this website.)

Foray. A foray with the speaker will take place on Dec 6. Time and location TBA.

Talk Title: “Fungal Fruits of the Forest – Edible Mushrooms in the PNW and Beyond”

Talk summary: The Pacific Northwest may be the richest region in the Western Hemisphere for great edible mushrooms. Choice edibles–Chanterelles, Hedgehogs, Matsutake, King Boletes, Oysters, Conifer Bearhead, and Cauliflower mushroom–are fairly easy to identify. There is also a variety of often-overlooked mushrooms in our woods that are superb edibles, such as Sweetbread Mushroom, Conifer Woodtuft, and White Coral Fungus. In this richly illustrated presentation, Daniel will help us learn to identify, collect, and prepare many great edible mushrooms.

Speaker bio: Daniel grew up collecting and eating wild mushrooms in the Alps. For the last 27 years, he has been living in the US Pacific Northwest. He shares his enthusiasm as a mushroom educator, photographer, and guide on his mushroaming.com website. Daniel recently published Fruits of the Forest – Field Guide to Pacific Northwest Edible Mushrooms. (It will be available at the talk.) This 400-page, gorgeously illustrated book, which focuses on the edible mushrooms of the PNW, distills a lifetime of mushroom hunting from around the world. Daniel previously published a series of fold-out field guides: Edible Mushrooms of the PNW, Edibles of California (both by Harbour Publishing), Amazon Mushrooms, and Medicinal Mushrooms of North America.  He has also published the MycoCard set “Boletes of Western North America.” His ethno-mycological cordyceps research in Tibet and other Asian locations has been featured in National Geographic, New York Times, NPR, and BBC World Service.