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The great mushroom weekend
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Martin Osis
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This is a Northern Roughstem mushroom.
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Mac Olsen
For Spotlight
Mushroom lovers will have a valuable opportunity to learn about the many types, both edible and medicinal.
The Alberta Mycological Society will hold a foray, or conference, in Grouard Aug. 20-30. It will draw dozens of people from Alberta and those who are not members of the society are also invited.
“Our mandate is education, a little bit of research and a whole lot of fun,” says organizer Martin Osis. “One of the neat things at these forays is, we find … species that have never been found before.”
Wild mushrooms are to be collected in provincial parks, natural and conservation areas, as well as on private lands at the owners’ invitation. Then experts will identify them and compile them into a list, says co-organizer Robert Dale Rogers, adding local residents can bring specimens for identification too.
The schedule of activities for the conference is being finalized, so more information will be provided later.
Grouard was home to Rogers for many years, so he knows the types of mushrooms which grow there. He has written a book, ‘The Fungal Pharmacy: Medical Mushrooms of Western Canada’.
Mushrooms are a key part of ecosystems, says Osis.
“Over 90 per cent of plants have some type of mycorrhizal fungus. Plants would have difficulty flourishing or even surviving without their fungal partners,” he says.
In essence, mushrooms help to destroy bacteria, allowing trees to survive and thrive. They also transfer nutrients from larger to smaller trees and other plants, to help them survive and grow too.
“Mushrooms are an important contributor to ecosystems,” he adds.
For more information about wild mushrooms, please to www.wildmushrooms.ws.
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