January 16, 2016, Fun Finding Fungi Mushroom Walk

Joanne and Doug Schwartz lead an excited group out on the Sycamore trail hunting for a variety of mushrooms to learn about.  She explained the differences in the parts of the mushrooms, that they reproduce from spores spread by wind, animals, water and insects and that the main part of a fungus is the white mycelium, which they will only fruit when conditions are just right.  Fungi are important for many reasons but with out their decomposing and symbiotic characteristics the world would be a very different place.  We came across many mushrooms that looked very much like the ones in the grocery store but others had pores rather than gills, a few different kinds of red colored ones and some when scratched or were cut oxidized blue.  Joanne demonstrated the environmentally friendly way and the tools you need to study fungi.  It was a perfect day out with a wonderful group of people.  Thank you Joanne and Doug!