I’ve always been a little bit mystified by mushrooms. From Alice’s eat-me-drink-me adventures in Wonderland to the Smurf’s one of a kind lodgings, we live in a culture that has adopted mushrooms as a symbol of enchantment and mystery—and why not? It’s sometimes hard for me to believe that these beautiful organisms are a fungus!

A few months ago, I came home to find that a fairy ring of mushrooms had sprouted up overnight in our front yard. I had visions of mischievous little pixies dancing around our lawn, mushrooms sprouting up wherever the imps’ tiny feet touched the ground.

My dad (a plant pathologist) was quick to inform me that the ring was caused by a colony of fungi in the ground that feeds on nutrients in the soil and spreads outwards, forming a ring (read more at http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/funfacts/ringsfct.htm). Still, I couldn’t help but feel charmed and ran straight to one of my favorite books, David Pickering’s Dictionary of Superstitions (available on amazon.com). Pickering writes:

“Great care should be taken to avoid fairy rings… these may even indicate the whereabouts of a fairy village… To be on the safe side, passers-by should reverse their hats to confuse any fairies who might attempt to make them join in their dread dance.”

If you ask me, what’s not to love about that?!

Obviously, there are a lot of mushroom myths out there, and who better to set things straight than Dr. Michael Davis of the UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology? On September 3, 2010, Placer Nature Center will kick off its seventh annual Friday Lecture Series (now on first Fridays!) with Dr. Davis’ lecture, “Fact, Fiction, and Folklore: Fabulous Fungus!”

Dr. Davis will discuss mushrooms’ role in a healthy ecosystem as pathogens of trees, decomposers of wood, and as beneficial symbiotic partners with most trees in a forest. We’ll learn about California species, including mushrooms of coastal forests, the Sierra Nevada, deserts, and urban areas, and find out why some mushrooms are considered the largest organisms on the planet!

The lecture will begin at 7:30pm with free samples of locally grown produce from the Foothills Farmer’s Market served at 7pm. Afterwards, there will be an intimate question and answer period as well as a raffle of local goods and services. Dr. Davis will also be available for personal introductions.

If you just can’t wait for the lecture to learn more, take a look at Cornell University’s absolutely delightful mushroom blog (http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/) for some great tongue-in-cheek mushroom information, including a stunning time-lapse video featuring fungal reproduction and a detailed blog explaining exactly why puffball mushrooms are like wolf farts.

Written by Kaylen C. Wade, Marketing and Public Relations Intern for the Placer Nature Center, graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2009 from UC Davis with a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a concentration in communications. She can be found at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kaylen-c-wade/23/599/a03.

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Feed Your Brain and your Belly!

Come to Placer Nature Center’s First Friday Lectures to feed your brain with hot, fresh and timely topics ranging from current environmental issues to natural history to science and beyond. Each lecture is served up with a tantalizing appetizer of FREE local produce samples offered by growers from Foothill Farmer's Market! Come see what's in season - feed your brain and your belly! Tickets & more information visit www.placernaturecenter.org/lectures/