Personalities & Products

This page will help you get acquainted with both, the people involved and the mushrooms you may encounter on your "treasure hunts."

Who's Coming in 2010

Personalities:

Paul Kroeger - Founder & past President of Vanc. Mico. Soc.Myco- Paul is a researcher, collector, and consultant, in forest mycology, toxicology, medicines, and identification; if anyone knows wild mushrooms, it's Paul! He will be guiding informative tours by identifying mushrooms from the days forays at the Red Barn. Don't miss his Magic Mushroom slide show at the evening sessions.

See a list of mushrooms Paul identified at the 2008 Fungi Festival.

                           

Larry Evans - Larry Evans, featured in the new feature film Know Your Mushrooms by Ron Mann and refered to as the Indiana Jones of mushrooms, is a fellow so at home in the forest that he does not mind being called feral. He has been
teaching classes and leading mushroom expeditions since 1980. For 4 years
he has been collecting mushrooms in Bolivia. More biographical information
is available at www.fungaljungal.org.
                                             

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Tyson Ehlers Is a biologist from the Slocan Valley who specializes in forest mushrooms. He studies the ecology of wild edible mushrooms harvested from the forests of British Columbia and has intimate knowledge of species found in the Kootenays. He shares this knowledge with eager mycophiles through his research and annual mushroom workshops.

 

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What Will You Find?

Products (mushrooms):

 

		King Boletus - (Boletus edulis) Or (Porcini, Steinpilz, or Cep) This mushroom is known world-wide as one of the best edibles. It is called the cep in France, the Steinpilz in Germany, porccini in Italy--and the "king bolete" in English speaking countries. It has many close relatives and varieties, most of which are almost indistinguishable in their excellence.
		Morel - (Morchella) Morels are among the most highly prized of all the Wild Harvest Mushrooms. The reason is plain. Their taste is superb! Their great value may also be found in their elusiveness. While they often grow in profusion they may be very difficult to see - especially for the inexperienced.
		Chanterelle – (Cantharellus Cibarius) Chantrelles are trumpet shaped with considerable variation in the thickness and taper of the stem. The golden chantrelle is yellow to yellow-orange; the white chantrelle is off-white and bruises yellow-orange. The spore bearing surface is vein like with folds and ridges, as opposes to the gills of typical mushrooms. The flesh is firm and fibrous.
		Lobster - (Hypomyces lactifluorum)   Not really a mushroom, it is actually a parasitic fungus that covers certain other species, engulfing the entire mushroom in a bumpy crust that resembles the shell of a lobster. The color is almost fluorescent-like with a reddish hue. It has a firm crunchy texture and is mild in flavor, slightly nutty taste. Excellent eating for stir fries, gravies and soups.
		Pine - (Matsutaki) Matsutake is a robust mushroom that is first white but soon develops pale brown to yellow-brown stains, The stout stem is solid, tough, and fibrous. It is smooth above and scaly below the tick, sheathing ring that flares out on young specimens. The cap edge develops from a cottony and in rolled form to one that hangs down, with a distinctive vertical aspect at maturity. The magnificent aroma is spicy-aromatic, similar to a sweet cinnamon. The spore print is white.
		Oyster - (Pleurotus ostreatus) Here's a mushroom that lives up to its name—it looks, smells, and tastes like oysters. With virtually no stalk, this mushroom's oyster-shaped caps usually grow in layers on dead deciduous wood (or on some supermarket shelves), like clusters of oysters. The moist, hairless, fragrant, white to smoky-gray caps are 2-8 inches wide.

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Medicinal Mushrooms

		Red Belted Conk - (Fomitopsis Pinicola) Very tough or hard, grows on dead conifers, very common and can be boiled down to a tea and used to fight cancer and other known illnesses. Not recommended to eat as they are too tough.
		Reishi Mushroom, Ling Chi - (Ganoderma lucidum) Called "the mushroom of immortality," people in the Far East have been using this mushroom for centuries as a tonic. There's evidence that it strengthens the immune system and helps the body fight off a variety of ailments, and it's even used for cancer in traditional Chinese medicine.