Richard Winder at Nov 7 2024 SVIMS Meeting

This is one of the two SVIMS Presentations in November: the other will be on Saturday Nov 9 with Britt Bunyard, editor of Fungi Magazine. And before those, the Mushroom Show Oct 20 and the Cowichan Foray Oct 25-27. And don’t forget the SVIMS 2025 Calendar.

On Thursday November 7, Richard Winder will talk with us about Mushrooms for All Seasons, his new 4 book series. Look below his photo for the exciting details: not only recipes, but culinary history, biology, and nutrition. He has been cooking up these books for several years and they will finally be available in 2024.

In person and zoom 
St Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill X Rd Victoria 
7pm doors open, 7:15 start, end by 9:30 pm 
Richard Winder, Mushrooms for All Seasons

Richard will discuss the highlights of his four book series, titled “Mushrooms for All Seasons.”  Instead of a field guide or a plain recipe book, Richard has written a series of books that take an in-depth look at the most popular edible mushrooms available in B.C. (and elsewhere). Grouped into the four seasons they are available, mushroom chapters in book take a deep dive into relevant biological, ecological, historical, and nutritional information. As well, each mushroom chapter presents  a savory and enjoyable collection of classical and modern recipes. Highlights Richard will discuss at the talk include the way morels were prepared in the Roman Empire, the traditional way that the Mixtec people of Mexico cook lobster mushrooms, the fascinating ways wealthy people of Medieval Europe liked to consume truffles (as aphrodisiacs), and how fish sauce from Asia led to the evolution of mushroom ketchup and eventually the tomato condiment we all know today.  Whether your mushrooms are wild-harvested or purchased at the grocery store, every season brings a new set of mushrooms to cook and enjoy!

SVIMS 2024 Mushroom Show at the RBCM a Success

The annual SVIMS mushroom show, taking place for the second time at the Royal BC Museum, was a huge success. This year the event took place in Clifford Carl Hall, the main meeting space on the first floor of the museum. Short mushroom talks–four of them–were scheduled in Newcombe Hall on the mezzanine. A smaller room next to the RBCM store became the ID room and edibles/poisonous table. Children’s activities and special displays (lichens, etc) were ranged around sides of the room. The RBCM store put on a special display of mushroom merchandize.

SVIMS members under the direction of mycologist Shannon Berch spent Saturday in Newcombe Hall, receiving collected mushrooms, identifying and labeling them, and arranging them on tables by groups and spore colours. The tables were then moved down to the main hall and placed in a large ring. Signs created by SVIMS graphic artist Leya were placed at strategic locations.

Between 10 am and 4 pm on Sunday (October 20, 2024), visitors were able to enter the hall and take in the displays. Because of the multiple entry points to the hall, an exact count of visitors was hard to come by, but one estimate put the number of people at 1200. The four talks in Newcombe Hall were all attended at room capacity (about 100).

Coordinated by show runner Maggy and SVIMS president Mel, the volunteers–about 20 of them–interacted with visitors throughout the day. About ten volunteers staffed the inside of the ring (the “bull pit”), answering questions and rapping about mushrooms. Other volunteers, coordinated by Ai Linh, engaged visiting children in several crafts. Jenny, with the assistance of Ian and Tina, kept the volunteers fortified with snacks. Kem and Mitch spent most of the day identifying mushrooms brought in by visitors. Sinclair fielded endless questions about edible and poisonous mushrooms. Bob, Elora, and Sky took applications for SVIMS membership (a record number of new memberships for a SVIMS event) and sold about 65 of the SVIMS 2025 mushroom calendars.

Visitors took breaks from the mushroom displays and talks to view two mushroom films (Fantastic Fungi, Fungi: The Web of Life) that Alex, the RBCM Theatre Manager, had scheduled in the IMAX theatre.

Kim and Liz and Amina other RBCM staff were on hand for much of Saturday and Sunday to keep the show running smoothly.

SVIMS offers a big “Thank You” to the many RBCM staff and all of the club volunteers who made the day possible.

In the picture are six of the bull pit staff, left to right Richard, Mel, Josh, Sarah, Steve, and Brandon. (All pictures on this page were taken by Elora Adamson and are used with permission.)

Mary Berbee at Oct 3 2024 SVIMS meeting

October 3rd, 2024, Monthly Membership Meeting

Mary Berbee, professor at UBC, will speak on:

“Exploring Fungal Diversity and Biology: UBC Student Projects on Sooty Moulds, Bird’s Nests, and Pluteus Mushrooms”

— 7pm Doors Open

— 7:15pm Zoom begins

In person:  3821 Cedar Hill Cross Rd, Victoria, BC V8P 2M6

Bring your mushrooms to be identified!

(“Mushrooms of Cascadia” by Siegel and Schwarz will most likely be available to purchase. Very limited amount available! Final cost is still being calculated into CAD, but the USD cost is 40$US + a small fee for processing.)

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New Edition of Michael Beug’s Mushrooms of Cascadia

Michael Beug’s second edition of his illustrated key to mushrooms in our area, Mushrooms of Cascadia, is now available. Unlike his first edition, which we had trouble getting in Canada, this volume should show up in some of our bookstores. It can also be purchased online in Canadian dollars. 

It is a much more handsome volume than Michael’s first edition, with better typesetting and layout. He has also added two sample walkthroughs of his key at the front to show people how to use the book.

The coverage continues to be impressive. The index of scientific names at the back has about 1700 species names.  There are now 1100 photographs. All but 3 of the photos are by Michael himself or from the photographs of Harley and Kim Scates Barnhart, which Michael curates.

Michael has brought the scientific names up to date and has done a thorough rewrite of the text. This time he has included location information, so we can tell whether the mushrooms are found North America, Europe, Asia, and/or Africa.

                       — Kem Luther