Puget Sound Mycological Society Talk on Urban Weed Fungi by Paul Kroeger Tuesday Jan 9th 2024 at 7:30pm. "We will meet in person tomorrow evening at the Center for Urban Horticulture, but the presentation itself is by Zoom since Paul is in Canada" http://www.psms.org/index.php https://www.facebook.com/events/1432885810598933/?ref=newsfeed ... It is apparently open to members and non-members but have not found the link yet... "Our Membership Meeting on January 9, 2024, will again be both in-person at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington and broadcast via ZOOM. In-Person Attendees will be let into the hall at 7:00 pm and the meeting will begin at 7:30 pm. Zoomers will be let in beginning at about 7:20 pm. The speaker this month will be Paul Kroeger from Vancouver B.C. He will be presenting a talk entitled There's Fungus Among Us: Urban "Weed" Mushrooms and Immigrant Fungi. This presentation will highlight mushrooms growing in urban areas in landscaping and under street trees, fungi that often have come from elsewhere. Humans create habitats that are home to many common and some unusual fungi, adding diversity, beauty and interest to our city surroundings. In addition to the main talk Paul will also give a short 10 minute summary of interesting BC fungi poisoning cases of 2023. As Paul cannot be with us in-person, he has offered to present via ZOOM from Vancouver. Though he will be remote, we plan to allow a Q and A after the presentation via ZOOM. Paul has studied mushrooms for over forty five years and is a founding member of the Vancouver Mycological Society. He's considered a leading expert in field identification of mushrooms of western Canada and has made a special study of "little brown mushrooms" including magic mushrooms and their relatives. He has been involved in many projects and studies and has gained knowledge about fungal biology and ecology as well as the biochemistry of toxic, hallucinogenic, medicinal and edible mushrooms. Years of experience have provided him unique insights and understanding of fungal life-ways and interactions in temperate ecosystems. Paul has worked at the University of British Columbia researching the biochemistry of medicinal mushrooms. He is a major contributor to the mycological herbarium collections in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC and has been a research associate of UBC Department of Botany for many years. He's also contributed significant collections to DAOM Herbarium in Ottawa and DAVFP Herbarium in Victoria. He is a regular consultant for the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre, and various other agencies concerned with mushroom poisonings of humans and animals. He is also a Co-Author of "The Outer Spores: Mushrooms of Haida Gwaii" published in 2012."
