Spring Foray Report 2007

This year, the total of species collected in Spring Foray was above what we did all these years. Total number of species identified was 56. The notion that only few species of fungi are available in spring is proven to be untrue. In the past, we might have overly concentrated on morels so that we over-looked all these other fungi around. We will try to beat this record next year. Though only 540 morels were collected in these foray outings, I knew of members who had bountiful harvests this spring. Even though the season started late, it picked itself up later in the month and produced a decent morel harvest. I would classify this year as a good morel year.

In June’s York Forest foray, many fruitings of Pleurotus ostreatus, commonly known as the oyster mushrooms, were reported growing on dead birch tree trunks. Though many were within reachable range, some bunches grew as high as 30 feet! You need a ‘Hypsizygus tessulatus’ stick to reach them. Foray participants could only salivate watching those high and mighty growths waving in the breeze.

We are continuously recruiting new leaders for our foray program. The new leaders-in-training will assist the foray leaders starting with spring forays followed by fall forays. In a couple of years, they should be able to handle the forays on their own. Of course help is always available from the more seasoned members. So far we have two leaders-in-training this spring. They have gone through the routine of signing up participants, identifying the fungi collected, recording down the names of identified fungi and filling up the foray reports. They will be ready to lead forays soon. If there are any volunteers interested in going through the process, please get in touch with me and arrangements will be made to accommodate them. Besides learning field identification of different fungi, you will learn organization and leadership skills through the leadership process.

Alan Gan, Foray Director