I said it before and I'll say it again, it pays to advertise. On Monday, March 31 we had a turnout of close to 100 people to listen to Peter Banks talk about mushrooms. The article in the Observer along with a colour photograph undoubtedly was the reason. Peter was thoroughly introduced by George Sunaitis wearing the most colourful piece of clothing in the room, a very striking pair of mushroom pants.

Peter began by talking about the generic term, fungus. He said many years ago they tended to be divided into toadstools and mushrooms, but today they are all called mushrooms. Mushrooms are the fruit of the fungus and some are edible, some inedible and some poisonous. There is no positive proof for which is which except to eat them and see if you survive. At one time there was a popular misconception that if you could peel them or not was an indication, but this is not true. Also a silver spoon test (did the spoon turn black?) was supposed to be a test, again not true. Peter emphasized that if you are unsure of what you have you should refrain from eating it.

In 1753 Carolus Linnaeus published Species Plantarum. He was the first to frame the principles for defining genera and species of organisms and to create a uniform system for naming them. This was the start of the two word naming system with the first word being the genus and the second word the species. As well the first person to identify and record a plant was often given recognition in the name. However, mushrooms were handled differently. In 1820 Elias Fries published a treatise on mushrooms called Systema Mycologica and any name published earlier was considered invalid, although he recognized Linnaeus' contribution. It was subsequently decided to start naming mushrooms back to the 1753 system although names sanctioned by Fries remained, so much name confusion resulted. With the advent of DNA testing much will undoubtedly change again.

Peter then took the audience through a mushroom slide collection giving the Latin names for each as well as frequently giving the common names. He started with various morels and explained that they were much sought after as they are quite delicious when prepared properly. In fact in California they are now considering limiting access to these as many people are collecting and selling them, damaging a lot of outdoor space in the process. He mentioned the beefsteak morel as a particular favourite and said many people in Europe have died as a result of eating improperly prepared ones. He mentioned the annual morel festival held in Michigan and attended and written about by George Sunaitis in a previous issue of Earthways.

Other edible varieties include earth cups, edible if cooked properly, Pig's Ear fungus, a good edible, Calvatia Fumosa, edible but bitter, the best eating Calvatia Sculpta, a puff ball and Velvet Foot which has a black, furry stalk and is found here. It is also called Velvet Shank. He also mentioned the giant puffball Lycoperdon giganteum which is delicious if fried. The fruit can be huge weighing as much as 50 lbs.

Other mushrooms that Peter covered included coral mushrooms that resemble coral, crown coral which have tips that look like crowns, slime fungus which can move around and gilled mushrooms including the amanita genus with about 100 species which include several poisonous varieties. Amanita verna and Amanita virosa are known as the destroying angels and are the deadliest of all mushrooms. Amanita phalloides is also deadly and is known as death cap. Amanita muscaria, known as Fly Agaric was once used to kill flies by putting it in a saucer of milk. It has been used as a sacred mushroom as it has hallogenic properties and Peter remarked that if you drink the urine of someone who has ingested the mushroom you can get high. It has an orange cap and is frequently found in children's books or as lawn ornaments as it is very picturesque.

Finally Peter briefly discussed a number of mushroom books which he has found useful and particularly recommended one called Mushrooms of North America by Roger Phillips published by Little, Brown and Co. Our thanks to Peter for a fascinating look at mushrooms.

Gord Catterson

Please note the information on the Ontario Trails Council convention and annual general meeting to be held at the Best Western Guildwood Inn in Pt. Edward on June 6,7 & 8, 2003 that was published in last months Earthways.

The Lambton County Regional Trail Committee agreed to sponsor this event a year and a half ago. The LCRTC is the committee of County Council that is spearheading the creation of a trail system throughout the county, and was formed about three years ago. The committee is co-chaired by Jane Marsh and Bev MacDougall while the convention committee is chaired by Brenda Lorenz. Floyd Elliott, George Sunaitis and myself are on the convention committee. George and I representing Bluewater Trails and L.W.I. (H.W.N.T.) respectively are on the County Committee, so L.W.I. is well represented. I wanted to encourage people to look at the information on the convention, which promises to be fun and interesting, and seriously consider attending.

Also an update on the HWNT east of Mandaumin Road. In 1994 the County approached L.W.I. with a request that we manage this portion of the trail as we were doing west of Mandaumin Road. This we agreed to do for an initial period of three years which was subsequently extended for another five years. The agreement expired last fall. We were again asked if we wanted to sign a new agreement which I have not yet done. In November I asked the L.W.I. Board for permission to negotiate a new agreement with the County which would be more in line with the arrangement we have with the City. There is no longer a formal agreement with the City but rather an understanding that L.W.I. and Bluewater Trails will co-manage the trail with L.W.I. looking after the flora on the sides and B.W.T. looking after the centre packed portion. In fact the way things are working out we really co-manage pretty well everything.

I have written to Jim Kutyba of the County suggesting a similar arrangement with L.W.I. and the Lambton County Regional Trail Committee co-managing the portion east of Mandaumin. So far the committee has not met to consider the request but I expect will do so. My reason for updating you is that you may hear that L.W.I. is no longer involved in the section east of Mandaumin. Technically this is true although I intend to include it on the upcoming clean up day and hope to formulate a new understanding with the county.

Gord Catterson

In a stunning victory for conservation, Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) ruled in December 2002 that The Hearn Group Inc., a Windsor-based developer, cannot build an 18-hole golf course on its 79.5-hectare portion of Marshfield Woods, a swamp that is classified as a provincially significant wetland. At 133 hectares, Marshfield is one of Essex County's last remaining Carolinian woods, containing rare species such as pin oak and shumard oak (Seasons, 2000).

The win could not have come without the tireless efforts of Dr. John Spellman, an area resident who, without legal representation, was successful in persuading OMB to take the highly unusual step of changing the zoning on someone else's land. The board "downzoned" the Hearn property to a wetland designation from the previous agricultural one. The wetland zoning prevents the establishment of a golf course.

FON, represented by Sierra Legal Defence Fund, played a small but important role in the process, helping to convince Ontario's Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) to overturn the Town of Essex's decision to allow the golf course. In a welcome move, both MMAH and Essex Region Conservation Authority agreed to join Dr. Spellman and other local environmentalists in opposing the golf course. At the hearing, FON filed a written witness statement outlining the importance of adhering to the policies for protecting provincially significant wetlands as stated in the Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act. Dr. Spellman addressed additional issues raised earlier in the process by Friends of Marshfield Woods and Essex County Field Naturalists.

While Hearn may seek to appeal the OMB decision, the 73-page ruling is a testament to the great ecological significance of southern Ontario's remaining wetlands and woodlands. The Marshfield case exemplifies the importance of identifying and protecting significant natural features across Ontario through municipal official plans.

Linda Pim, FON

At press time, it appears that the proponent is not seeking leave to appeal the OMB decision through the courts. One more step towards protection for this wetland!