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Scientists Discover No Two Mushrooms Alike
In a development that has thrown mushroom identification into a virtual tizzy, professional mycologists have discovered through a multilocus phylogenetic overview that the clades they’ve been accepting as fact are quite suspect. “We found that we were using such a small section of the DNA, we missed a lot of stuff ”, says Dr. Harry Lincough.
An overview of the phylogeny of a six-gene region supermatrix reveals that two mushrooms growing side by side can look quite different. Bayesian analyses of 5611 nucleotide characters of ribosomal RNA genes recovered six major clades, which are all recognized informally and labeled as Cantharellus cascadensis.
“Sometimes it’s chrome yellow; sometimes it’s lemon yellow,” says mushroom expert I. Buyzalot. “Cantharellus cascadensis is genetically very similar to Cantharellus subalbidus. When Cantharellus cascadensis is completely covered with duff, it is all white. Who can tell them apart, really, when acidification is a possible cause of fading?” adds Buyzalot.
This debate will go on for some time, experts in the field have boldly predicted. “We don’t know for sure if they’re hybridizing or cross-breeding, but we can’t tell one from another,” says Dr. Lincough. “There is no happy ending.”
Next month: Care and breeding of Cornish game hens.
Fungus Federation Opens New Office
Thanks to a generous grant from the FourOne Foundation, FFSC has opened an office in the Costco Santa Cruz. “We’re here every day anyway, buying supplies for some club event, so why not just make it an official place for Fungus Federators to come visit while we’re shopping,” says Debbie Johnson.
In addition to a great way to recruit new members, the FFSC office has other benefits. “We can sell mushrooms that people collect on commission, and 10% of sales benefit the club treasury,” says Minister of Stores Toni Gillespie. “We’ve even started a line of dried mushrooms, which is quite popular.”
According to CEO Bob Sellers, staffing is no problem since there’s almost always an FFSC member in Costco. “The new office has been very successful,” says Sellers. “Come see us soon.”
Get Certified in Mushroom ID
Groceries and farmers markets all over California are gearing up for a new program to have staff-certified mushroom identifiers on site beginning in 2011. No more messy poisonings: trained identifiers will be available to give a thumbs up or finger down the throat for novice mushroom collectors everywhere. Learn the difference between “Edibles,” the “Lose your lunch bunch” and “Call 911 NOW” types of fungi.
Looflirpa College is offering Master Identifier certificate classes starting in June. Their knowledgeable, high-powered instructors, Dr. Henry Gnuoy and Dr. Philip Retneprac, have years of experience in this exacting yet profitable field. To take advantage of this exciting opportunity, sign up today and get a jump start on your next career! No prior training required.
Looflirpa College is an equal opportunity institution. We’re an accredited university offering on-campus and online college degree programs. Visit us at www.looflirpa.edu.
New Species from Lockheed Fire Area
These pics just in from the Lockheed Fire Area. This new species is being named Californicus gigantorel.
