Biology of Fleshy Fungi

Botany 360 Lecture

Fall 2006

 

Instructor: Terry W. Henkel, PhD.

Office: 123 Science B

Telephone: 826-4841

Email: twh5@humboldt.edu

Office hours: 2-3 pm Tues & Thurs; 9-11 am Wed; or by appointment

 

Meeting times: Tues./Thurs. 12-1:20 pm, Science B 128

 

Course format: Bot. 360 lecture will consist of selected topics concerning the systematics, genetics, ecology, and applications of higher basidiomycetes. The lectures are designed to complement the laboratory portion of the course, which emphasizes identification of California mushrooms. No textbooks are required for Bot. 360 lecture.

 

Blackboard: Regular use of Blackboard is REQUIRED of all students in Bot. 360. Lecture notes, powerpoint presentations, lab handouts, reading assignments, and other items will be available (sometimes exclusively) through Blackboard.

 

Readings: Periodically, journal articles, book chapters, and other readings will be assigned. Students are expected to read these materials; there will be questions drawn from them on the examinations.

 

Grades: A studentÕs grade will consist of scores from three lecture exams.

Examination

Dates

Points

1

September 26

100

2

November 2

100

3 (final)

December 14

100

 

Total=

300

 

Grades are based on percentage of total points as follows:

 

A: ³ 93

C: 73-77.9

A-: 91-92.9

C-: 70-72.9

B+: 89-90.9

D+: 68-69.9

B: 84-88.9

D: 60-67.9

B-: 80-83.9

F: ² 59.9

C+: 78-79.9

 

 

Curve: Grades will be scaled at the end of the semester based on the highest score achieved in the class (i.e. the highest score will form the 100% mark), not including any extra credit points.

 


Schedule:

 

Date

Topic

Aug 22/24

Introduction

Aug 29/31

Basidiomycete classification

Sep 5/7

Basidiomycete life cycle and mating systems

Sep 12/14

Fruiting body form and function

Sep 19/21

Molecular systematics of higher basidiomycetes

Sep 26

Lecture Examination #1

Sep 28/Oct 3

Nutritional ecology of fleshy fungi

Oct 5/10

Wood decomposition

Oct 12/17

Litter decomposition

Oct 19/24

Ectomycorrhizae

Oct 26/31

TBA

Nov 2

Lecture Examination #2

Nov 7/9

Fungal bioremediation

Nov 14/16

Medicinal mushrooms

Nov 21/23

no class - holiday

Nov 28/30

Mushroom Toxins

Dec 5/7

Ethnomycology

Dec 14

Final Examination (12:40-2:30 pm)

 

 

 

Biology of Fleshy Fungi

Botany 360 Lab

Fall 2006

 

Instructor: Terry W. Henkel, PhD.

Office: 123 Science B

Telephone: 826-4841

Email: twh5@humboldt.edu

Office hours: 2-3 pm Tues & Thurs; 9-11 am Wed; or by appointment

 

Meeting times: 8-10:50 am Tues/Thurs, 128 Science B (begins Oct. 17)

 

Required Textbooks:

 

How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus I. Macroscopic Features. D.L. Largent

How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus VI. Modern Genera. D.L. Largent & T.J. Baroni

Mushrooms Demystified. David Arora

 

These books will be available from the instructor; payment in full must be received by Thurs, Aug. 24.

 


Required equipment:

 

1) 10 X handlens, Bausch and Lomb preferred. Order from:

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?ID=5250

2) Mushroom collecting basket

3) Plastic fishing tackle boxes for collecting

4) Pocket knife

5) Clean, unlined white paper for spore prints

 

Course Objective: Bot. 360 Lab will provide you with the skills to identify the families, genera, and selected common species of fleshy fungi of Northern California.

 

Format: The laboratory for Bot. 360 is designed to provide ample field and laboratory experience in identifying fleshy fungi of Northern California. The first three lab sessions (Oct. 17, 19, 24) will provide introductory material in macrofungal collecting, morphology and classification schemes. Beginning Oct. 28/31, the laboratory will function as follows: 8-8:30 am: quizzes on scheduled dates; 8:30-10:50 am: verification of student collections; review of families and genera.

Required Field Trips

 

Sat/Sun

Date

Potential location

Sat.

Oct. 21

Big Lagoon

Sat.

Nov. 4

East Fork Trinity River

Sat.

Nov. 11

Skunk Cabbage Trail

Sat./Sun.

Dec. 2/3

TBA

Sat./Sun. (optional)

Nov. 18-19

Fungus Fair, Redwood Acres, Eureka

Quizzes & examinations:

Examination

Date (s)

points

Quiz (20 pts. each)

Oct 31; Nov 7; Nov 14; Nov 28; Dec 5

100

Field Exam 1

Nov 11

50

Field Exam 2

Dec 3

100

Collection

 

100

 

total points =

350

 

Grading scale:

 

A: 93 or more

C: 77.9-73

A-: 92.9-91

C-: 72.9-70

B+: 90.9-89

D+: 69.9-68

B: 88.9-84

D: 67.9-60

B-: 83.9-80

F: ² 59.9

C+: 78.9-78

 

 

Schedule:

 

Date

Topic

Oct. 17

Trip to Arcata Community Forest; collecting protocols, spore prints

Oct 19

Macroscopic features; stature types; uses of required textbooks

Oct. 21 (Sat)

Field trip

Oct 24

Uses of keys; practice identification of student collections; keying

Oct 26

Begin checking and discussing student collections

Oct 31

Quiz; check and discuss student collections

Nov 2

Check and discuss student collections

Nov 4 (Sat)

Field trip, practice examination

Nov 7

Quiz; Check and discuss student collections

Nov 9

Check and discuss student collections

Nov 11 (Sat)

Field trip, field examination

Nov 14

Quiz; check and discuss student collections

Nov 16

Check and discuss student collections

Nov 18-19

Fungus Fair

Nov 21/23

no labs - holiday

Nov 28

Quiz; check and discuss student collections

Nov 30

Check and discuss student collections

Dec 2-3 (Sat/Sun)

Overnight field trip, field examination

Dec 5

Quiz; check and discuss student collections

Dec 7

Check and discuss student collections

 

Expections:

 

Students will be expected to recognize selected genera and some easily identified, common, edible or toxic species of fleshy fungi, as well as macroscopic morphological features important in mushroom identification. The list of required genera and species will be periodically updated as the collecting season progresses. Your laboratory and field examinations will cover this list.

 

Collections:

 

You are required to collect mushrooms for each lab meeting and to identify each collection to genus. Your grade in the course will be affected by how many different genera you identify over the semester. You will get credit by having each correctly identified genus on the family synopsis sheet signed by an instructor.

 

Miscellaneous comments on collections:

 

The first time you want an identified genus to be initialed on your family synopsis sheet, you will have to have:

 

spore print or some verification of spore color

stature type of collection;

family name for collection;

the key step numbers you used from Mushrooms I & VI

the Friesian genus

the Modern genus

 

You can go on collecting trips together, but you can not share collections. Collections thought to be shared by the verifier will not count regardless if correctly identified.

 

All collections have to be in excellent shape and consist of various stages of development.

 

To get the full amount of points on the collection (100), you must have at least 50 correctly identified genera. The numbers of genera required within each family are noted in parentheses next to the family on the check-off sheet. The total number of required genera may be lowered depending on the quality of the collecting season and discretion of the instructor.