Humans' Favorite Fungi is Also a Sign of Spring

4/4/2001

              BOZEMAN -- When you ask people to name their favorite sign of spring, some say daffodils, others crocus. Cathy Cripps is more likely to say "mushrooms poking through a snow bank."

            For Cripps, better known as Montana State University's "mushroom lady," this form of fungi is both work and pleasure.

            Her work as an internationally recognized mycologist ("mycology" being the fancier name for the study of fungi) includes research on alpine fungi for the National Science Foundation, teaching mycology classes and identifying mushrooms for the MSU Plant Diagnostic Lab. In her spare time, she helps lead a mushroom club.

            Cripps, who has a doctorate in mycology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, describes mushrooms as "essential," "underappreciated" and "delicious."

            The essential role of the type of fungi that produce mushrooms is becoming better known as more are identified, but there's a lot of work left to do, she says. Of the estimated 1.5 million species in the world, only five percent are named and fewer understood.

            "We know little about their crucial roles in the environment," says Cripps.

            Mushroom producing fungi fall into three categories: decomposers, symbionts and parasites. Some are almost microscopic, others quite large, and there are edible varieties in each category.

            Decomposer mushrooms have miles of microscopic tendrils called "mycelium," which basically act like tiny straws. They suck in the nutrients they liberate from dead plants and then release them for living plants to use in a cycle somewhat like our respiration. The details of how they make nutrients and water available are still being studied.

            Symbiotic mushrooms have taken their "servant" relationship so far that they and their "partner plant" could not live without each other. A well-known symbiotic mushroom is called the King Bolete in the United States (famous in Italy as the porchini mushroom). The King Bolete is symbiotic with pine, spruce and fir trees and is found in Montana's forests.

            Parasitic mushrooms don't wait for a plant to die before starting to decompose it. Some of these are the big shelf-shaped fungi you see at work on tree bark. Such destructive fungi cause 60 percent of plant disease, and pathologists work hard to combat them.

            While Cripps finds all mushrooms fascinating, she says the 50-or-so people in the Southwest Montana Mycological Association (translation: Mushroom Club) are mainly interested in learning which mushrooms are safe to eat.

            Morels are the most famous and mouth-watering local mushroom, but each edible variety can lend unique flavors to foods.

            The main nutritional component of mushrooms is protein. Their flavors vary widely. Some, says Cripps, taste rather nutty. Others lend fruity or sweet flavors, while at least one tastes like shrimp!

            "Even though there are edible mushrooms in our yards, there are also fertilizers, pesticides and pets. Since mushrooms sponge up everything in the area, we only recommend eating edible mushrooms found in more pristine sites," she says.

            Cripps' mentor, Orsen Miller, is president of the Mycological Society of America and one of the most distinguished mushroom experts in the world. That, reasonably enough, has led to his wife writing one of the best known mushroom cookbooks in the country. (One of Cripps' favorite recipes from that book is given below).

            There is a resurgence of popularity in the study of mushrooms and other fungi, with a core group at MSU looking at their different aspects. Not only do fungi help feed a whole variety of plants, from conifers to orchids, but there may be ways they can help Montana crops as well, as both symbionts and biocontrol agents.

            To find out about that and whether mushrooms can be used as indicators of climate change, Cripps is collecting and identifying high elevation alpine mushroom species under a National Science Foundation grant. Her work is part of the NSF's overall "biotic survey and inventory program" dedicated to discovering and recording life on earth.

            "Alpine mushrooms in the Rockies are simply not known, and new species are expected," says Cripps.

            Results of the NSF study will be presented at the 2002 International Mycology Congress in Norway in a symposium chaired by Cripps and Miller.

            "A lot of plants couldn't live in harsh climates without fungi providing nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus," says Cripps. "This is especially true of alpine plants, which must withstand short growing season, cold nights, dry winds and harsh sunlight. That's why it's quite likely that we can find species that can help commercial crops and horticulture plants gather in water and nutrients they couldn't reach on their own."

            If that's the case, a mushroom's "underappreciated" status could be in for a dramatic change.

            The NSF grant is helping pay for the work of several undergraduate and graduate students, including: Todd Osmundson, Leslie Eddington, Sarah Klingsborn. Other students who have been supported by this project in the past include: Amy Lindahl, Amy DeMers, Esther Campbell, Katherine Mohatt and Katy Carplus.

            To learn more about the mushroom club that meets about once a month, stop by the mycology lab in the MSU Agricultural Bioscience Facility's room 109 or call Cripps at 994-5226. To have a mushroom identified, contact the Plant Diagnostic Lab at 994-5150 for instructions on how to send a sample to the lab.

 Hope Miller's Hot Mushroom Dip

2 lbs fresh mushrooms

6 tbl. Butter

1 tbl. Lemon juice

4 tbl. Chopped parsley

2 tbl. Minced onions

three-fourths to 1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. Bouillon granules (or 2 bouillon cubes)

Chop the mushrooms quite fine. Place in pan with butter. Add lemon juice and simmer 10 minutes. Add the onions and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add bouillon granules or cubes. Simmer 10 minutes more. Make a paste of 1 tbl. Soft butter and 1 tbl. Flour. Add to mixture and stir until thickened. Serve hot.

Recipe from "Hope's Mushroom Cookbook," Mad River Press, 1992. 

Photos: Cathy Cripps in the MSU mycology lab.
            A dired specimen of panusstrigosus mushroom from the MSU mycology lab.

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Send questions or comments to Carol Flaherty, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717 or email Flaherty at carolf@montana.edu.

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