Pacific Spirit Park Foray: October 31, 2009

I joined Terry Taylor for a foray into Pacific Spirit Park at UBC.  I felt less like a raw beginner and more like one of the group which made me more inquisitive.  Terry explained that it is getting late in the season and that some fungi only comes out in colder weather.  As we tromped through the forest we came across Carbon Antlers, Red-Belt conks, Sulphur Mushrooms and Jelly fungi.

As the group was comprised of people with a more specific interest in fungi, Terry discussed mycology in greater depth and detail.  When someone asked him to identify a Mycena mushroom he pointed out the difficulty of identifying specific species and the debates taxonomists have when determining categories.  This is where things become quite subjective — which characteristics to place emphasis upon and which to diminish?  It is interesting to note how these categories and classifications shift and change continually.  The kingdom of Fungi was originally relegated to a category termed “Chaos” by the Swedish Botanist Linnaeus because specimens displayed both plant and animal characteristics.  A separate kingdom of “Fungus”did not come until much later.  Fungi is now recognized as being closer to animals than plants.   Due to recent DNA studies the taxonomy of the Fungi is in a state of constant flux again.  These current phylogenetic analyses often overturn classifications based on older and sometimes less discriminative methods based on morphological features.

From taxonomy to economy… apparently  research into fungus is also driven by economic factors.  Fungus such as the Red-Belt Conk are heavily studied because they cause brown rot in confers.  This fungus plays an important ecological role in breaking down wood into soil.   This saprophyte is however in competition with the lumber industry because it grows on recently cut wood.  The concerns of ecology and industry play out in laboratories through funding and grants.

Terry points out a number of sulphur mushrooms growing on some logs. These are part of  a study at UBC into anti-TB mushrooms.  TB is becoming increasingly resistant to current drug treatments.  This research is focussed on whether compounds in certain mushrooms might inhibit the growth of TB. More information about the research can be found here.

http://www.vanmyco.com/Documents/Fight%20TB%20With%20Mushrooms.pdf

This walk provided a greater sense of the social context of mycology.  The interrelations of fungi and humans continually reveals its complexity.