Thursday, February 3, 2011

Fungi for Fun and Food

Auricularia auricula 
Sunday afternoon was the organizational meeting of a new Springfield Chapter of the Missouri Mycological Society, (MOMS).  After an enthusiastic presentation by Michael Baird, all 15 attendees signed up as members.

MOMS is an "organization of individuals and families dedicated to the study and enjoyment of mushrooms. There are regular forays, meetings, and education focused on mushrooms."  The founding group includes individuals interested in collecting and cooking, growing, identifying, or photographing mushrooms as well as some just looking for another reason to walk around in the woods.  The skill levels range from very knowledgeable to rank amateurs.

We plan on chapter meetings every two months with education programs and (somewhat) organized group hunts in the woods (called forays).  Since we have selected the initial officers, it is now safe to attend a meeting without being recruited into an office.  If you are not yet a member but are interested in getting on the email list for meeting notifications, send me an email titled MOMS? at rkipfer@sbcglobal.net.

Our next meeting will be at 6:00 PM on Friday, March 18th at the Springfield Nature Center before Maxine Stone's program at 7:00 PM.  Maxine is very active in MOMS in St. Louis and is the author of Missouri's Wild Mushrooms, a great new book on mushrooms and their recipes.  Her book will be available for purchase and autographing.

This night will be a great way to be introduced to "Fungi for Fun and Food."


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