ARCATA,
CALIFORNIA—
A marvelous array of locally collected fungi
greet Mushroom Fair attendees
Humboldt
Bay Mycological Society holds a Mushroom Fair every year,
and we were lucky enough to be in Arcata for this year's event
on December 8. In spite of heavy rain, over 450 mushroom lovers
turned out to enjoy displays and learn how to dye wool and
cook with mushrooms as well as how to identify and preserve
them.
David
Largent, professor of botany at Humboldt State University,
is one of the founders of the Humboldt Bay Mycological Society.
Other active members on hand to answer questions were Drs.
Bruce Kessler, Bill Wood, and Joanne Olson. They are often
called upon by emergency rooms to identify mushrooms suspected
of being poisonous.
Mushroom
identification can be very tricky, and edible varieties look
exactly the same as lethal ones to the untrained eye. We came
away with new appreciation for the skill and attention it
takes to classify fungi.
