Bryophilous fungi of BC–Randall Mindell–May 14

Mniaecia jungermanniae, a tiny inoperculate ascomycete growing on leafy liverworts of the order Jungermanniales. Photo by Johannes Merz.

SVIMS Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

Place: St Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill X Rd, Victoria

Live Meeting with Zoom option. Zoom Link will be emailed to SVIMS members a few days before meeting.

Starts at 7 pm – please don’t arrive before 6:30. Bring mushrooms for ID and display.

Presenter: Randal Mindell

Talk Title “Bryophilous fungi of Coastal British Columbia“

Mosses, liverworts and hornworts are particularly diverse in British Columbia, home to roughly 80% of bryophyte species known to occur in Canada. Despite the abundance of these groups, little is known about the diversity and ecology of the fungi that make their home in and on them. This talk will explore the nature, antiquity, ubiquity and relevance of the relationship between fungi and bryophytes while presenting a mix of historical data and recent observations from the region.

Dr. Randal Mindell is a Comox Valley-based cryptogamic botanist with a particular interest in liverworts and crustose lichens. He completed his B. Sc. at UBC and Ph.D. at the University of Alberta.

SVIMS Stropharia Cultivation Workshop Spring 2024

On the weekend of March 16-17, 2024, nearly 40 SVIMS members learned about adding something new to their gardens this spring. The m orning and afternoon workshops were hosted by member Steve Fischer.

The workshops, centred on cultivating King Stropharia/wine cap (Stropharia rugosoannulata) mushrooms, taught the basics of backyard mushroom cultivation, including creating the ideal environment for King Stropharia.

In preparation for the workshop, Steve gathered and prepared the necessary materials, including multiple substrates, mushroom spawn, and pots for members to take home mini stropharia beds. Generous donations of wine cap spawn by Grow Mushrooms Canada and pots by Saanichton Christmas Tree Farm were greatly appreciated!

SVIMS members enjoyed far better weather for this workshop than the last one. The spring day was warm and bright. Each group worked together to build a full-size King Stropharia bed to learn the fundamentals. They then assembled a mini version that they could take home to try their hand at producing these prized edibles.

Mush luck to these new cultivators!


Emma continues to add spawn while Steve describes ideal conditions for mushroom cultivation

Steve demonstrates adding spawn to the mushroom bed

Members take turns adding sawdust to the bed

Steve demonstrates straw bale inoculation

Monthly Meeting April 9 Marty Kranabetter (SVIMS Members Only)

SVIMS Monthly Meeting April 9, 2024 at

St Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill X Rd, Victoria, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Live Meeting with Zoom option
Start at 7 pm – please don’t arrive before 6:30.
Zoom Link will be emailed to SVIMS members a few days before meeting.

Our presenter will be Marty Kranabetter. Below his photo, see more about his talk and his background. His talk will be

Recent findings on the ecology of ectomycorrhizal  fungi across coastal British Columbia

Marty Kranabetter photo

 Forests along coastal British Columbia face a wide range in growing conditions, from very poor soils (low in nitrogen or phosphorus availability) to highly productive sites. The capacity of trees to thrive in these contrasting ecosystems is dependent upon their symbiotic fungi (‘ectomycorrhiza’). In this presentation I will review recent studies that demonstrate how communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi are adapted to our local soils. In addition, I will summarize ongoing studies into the diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi, and how forest management practices can help retain the impressive fungal biodiversity of our coastal landscapes.  

Marty Kranabetter is the West Coast regional soil scientist with the BC Ministry of Forests and is located in Victoria. Marty’s areas of interest are soil ecology (especially ectomycorrhizal fungi), biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and forest nutrition/productivity. Marty is a member of the provincial soil science group undertaking North American-wide studies on compaction and site organic matter removal (the Long-term Soil Productivity Study).  Most recently he has also been examining nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies inherent to coastal forests and their interactions on conifer nutrition and forest productivity. 

Monthly Meeting March 12 Lorena Polovina (SVIMS Members Only)

 

Mycological Futures: Exploring Biofabrication in Architectural Applications


SVIMS monthly meeting  Tuesday, 12 March, 2024
St Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill X Rd Victoria 6:30pm – 9:30pm. In person and on Zoom. 7:00 pm start, arrivals no earlier than 6:30 pm, ending 9:30 pm.  Zoom link was sent to members by email on March 8.
– refreshments
– bring mushrooms for Show and Tell
Our speaker will be Lorena Polovina –

Mycological Futures: Exploring Biofabrication in Architectural Applications

Lorena Polovina is an interdisciplinary architecture student with a civil engineering background and professional experience in building science and structural design. She is a leader in the embodied carbon space and biogenic material research. She is currently a researcher at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Biogenic Architecture Lab where she researches mycelium biocomposites and their application as thermal insulators to replace toxic materials such as polystyrene. She was also a UBC Sustainability Scholar where she authored the “Rebuilding Better Guide” to inform local government leaders and policymakers on climate change mitigation and adaptation through a low carbon resiliency lens. 

SVIMS Log Inoculation Workshop 2024

Approximately 25 SVIMS members gathered in morning and afternoon classes held at Steve Fischer’s home in the Blenkinsop Valley. Their goal was to learn how to create mushroom-bearing logs.

In the days leading up to the workshop, Steve got ready for the class by gathering and cleaning fresh-cut alder, preparing all the equipment, and ordering fresh oyster and shiitake spawn. Steve and his assistants–Andrew Anderson, Bob Jeffs, and Steve Strybosch–drilled the logs and helped participants inoculate them. Steve introduced the group to a new log-sealing technique using bentonite clay.

The weather was quite rainy in the morning, but Steve was prepared for it. He had set up tarps to keep class members relatively dry and comfortable. The rain subsided in the afternoon, but the wind picked up and temperatures dropped. In spite of the weather, everyone left the workshop happy and satisfied, carrying their own logs freshly inoculated with oyster or shiitake spawn.

Steve shows the group his mushroom log collection.
The morning class was thankful for the tarps that Steven had set up.
Leya happily sealing up her inoculated log.
Steve teaches the people the next procedure, the bentonite clay application
Sawdust spawn used to inject into the alder logs.

Royal Roads foray with Paul Kroeger Spring 2024

Pithya vulgaris, a tiny, tiny (1 mm) cup on the decaying needle of a true cedar (Cedrus). 

Paul Kroeger returned on February 6, 2024, for his annual SVIMS presentation. (See the post about his 2023 visit). This year he spoke about urban mushrooms.

The next day, February 7, Paul (helped by Andy and Kem) led a SVIMS foray at Royal Roads. Mushrooms had become rare finds since the last freeze, but after a couple of hours, and with the help of over 20 dedicated pairs of eyes, almost as many species of mushrooms turned up as last year–about 30. The finds have been posted on iNaturalist. 

The photos in this post are courtesy of Steve Strybosch, foray show runner.

Paul tells about his adventures with Auriscalpium vulgare.
Brave Josh shows the risks some people will take to find mushrooms in February!
Andy "No Off Switch" MacKinnon expostulates on the day's finds..
At the end of the foray, a few SVIMS people checked out a Royal Roads wood chip pile.