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2023 Past Lectures

Jan 1 / Kenneth Kassenbrock, MD, PhD:
“MAGIC” MUSHROOMS AND PSILOCYBIN:FROM MESOAMERICAN PREHISTORY TO CURRENT CLINICAL TRIALS

NAMA recorded it, and has kindly opened the recording to non-members

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Feb 2 / Madeline DeDe-Panken:
GATHERING KNOWLEDGE: MYCOPHILIA IN AMERICAN CULTURE AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Tracing popular mushroom foraging to the 1880s, this talk will discuss an early iteration of American mycophilia which brought a new population of non-professional mushroomers into the field. Like today, they sought a combination of gastronomic, scientific and personal enrichment. I argue that the mushroom fad legitimized women’s participation in citizen science by tethering foraging knowledge to elevated, economical cookery and as a public safety necessity to prevent poisoning. Enthusiastic laywomen claimed space and belonging as collectors, writers, illustrators, and club leaders. Yet while expanding opportunities for some, privileged mycologists’ insistence on certain forms of expertise fueled exclusion along class, race and ethnic lines. Ultimately, this research seeks to elucidate tensions surrounding sustenance, science and authority that remain with us to this day. 
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Feb 16 / Rosanne Healy:
DISHING ON THE CUP FUNGI: THE PEZIZALES & THEIR VARIED LIFESTYLES

Rosanne will talk about her travels and work to better understand the relationships, ecology, and life history of the group of fungi that we know as “the cup fungi”. These are the fungi that include the famous black Perigord truffle, delectable morels, and iconic scarlet cups. They also include many lesser known, but fascinating truffles and cup-shaped, columniform, and saddle-shaped fungi. Rosanne has traveled and worked with Don Pfister and a team of truffle mycologists for twenty five years, tracking down data to help fill in the natural history of truffles and cup fungi, to better understand how they are related, what their ecologies are, and how their ancestors moved around to where they are now.
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Mar 2 / Donald Pfister:
THE USES OF HERBARIA/FUNGARIA

Using examples from research that has been done on specimens from the Farlow fungarium I will outline how these specimens contribute to modern taxonomic and systematic studies and how curatorial practices contribute to or distract from accurate study of collections. How was it possible to determine that a species suspected to be extinct was found to be widespread in eastern North America? What can collections tell us about the high and unexpected diversity of species of an often-collected genus of tropical fungi? Where was Charles Wright when he collected Puccinia triarticulata and how did he get there? These and other questions will be examined through the eye of a long serving curator.
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Mar 16 / Justine Karst:
DECAY OF THE WOOD WIDE WEB

Justine Karst grew up in western Canada and was curious about forests from childhood on. From that curiosity, she completed a PhD in mycorrhizal ecology and, in 2016, joined the faculty at the University of Alberta, where she is Associate Professor. For the past 20 years, she has studied the mycorrhizal ecology of forests with a preference for the boreal region.  She is currently Vice President of the International Mycorrhiza Society. 
 

The ‘wood-wide web’ has captured the interest of broad audiences. Common mycorrhizal networks, namely fungi that physically link roots of different trees together, are purported to be widespread and mediate transfer of resources and signals from trees to seedlings in forests. In this talk, I challenge popular claims about the function of common mycorrhizal networks in forests and highlight the misinformation that has developed in recent years. 

Justine also shared the link to her paper:  
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01986-1
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Mar 30 / Shannon Adam:
UNVEILING THE ENIGMATIC BEAUTY OF CORTINARIUS

Do you love learning about mushrooms but have heard ‘Cortinarius’ are too hard? It doesn’t have to be that way! Shannon is here to spread her love of the Cortinariaceae and to give you resources to help you get to know the species in your area. She will give us an update on Cortinarius taxonomy (including new genera that have been proposed), pointers on distinctive sub-genera and resources that will empower you to learn more. During the talk you will get to know some of our Cortinarius ‘celebrities’ and have new resources to work with when you find these diverse and beautiful species in your backyard.
 
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Apr 30 / Christian Vollbracht:
MYCOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATION

A presentation to a consortium of mushroom clubs
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May 11 / Greg Marley:
FORAGING FOR EDIBLE & MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS

Greg Marley’s talk for beginners on the Foolproof Few

During the lecture, Greg mentions a helpful Québecois website: https://www.mycoquebec.org/bienvenue.php 

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May 21 / Björn Wergen:
DUNG-LOVING CUP FUNGI

Björn Wergen is founder and director of Schwarzwälder Pilzlehrschau, a mushroom school in Hornberg in the Black Forest, southern Germany. The school offers mycology courses and seminars from beginner to advanced levels. He has been studying fungi since 1994 and has a focus on morphology, taxonomy and photographic documentation. Wergen is author of the monumental Handbook of Ascomycota, Volumes 1a & 1b: Pyrenomycetes s.l. (2018).

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July 12 / Melany Kahn:
MUSHROOMING WITH KIDS

Curious about how to introduce children to the benefits of mushroom hunting? Join Melany Kahn for an interactive webinar. Melany will discuss ‘beginner’ mushrooms,  describing which ones to tackle and how, and will discuss the many fungal treasures that are not necessarily edible but are fascinating to children.