FUNDIS Newsletter February/March
Letter from the Editor
Fellow Fungi Fans,
Midway through March, the month marking the transition into springtime in North America, its nice to see fungi starting to appear across the continent on iNaturalist! As we experience a collective emergence from winter hibernation, there is a palpable sense of anticipation in the air—a feeling that anything is possible. That feeling is pervasive at FUNDIS, and we have experienced an action-packed start to 2024. This year we have expanded our team and happily welcomed several new employees, thanks to support of the State of California and the California Institute for Biodiversity.
As we bid farewell to the darkness of winter and embrace the light of spring, let us take a moment to reflect on the beauty and resilience of the natural world. Fungi remind us of the power of rebirth, renewal, and our inherent potential for growth under any conditions. I encourage you to immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and scents of spring, remembering to be fully present and open to the multitude of possibilities that lie ahead.
Warmest regards,
Mandie Quark, FUNDIS Communications Lead
Califunga T-shirts
Last month we were thrilled to unveil the winning design in our Califunga T-Shirt Design Contest! After receiving some creative submissions, the design that captured the essence of California’s fungal diversity was by Taye Bright @symbiiotica 🎨 Congratulations to Taye for her stunning design that beautifully celebrates the importance of fungi in California’s ecosystems. A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the contest and shared their talent and passion for mycology 🎉 💚 Show your support for fungal diversity in California while rocking this stylish and meaningful tee. Grab your shirt today at bonfire.com/califunga
CA FUNDIS Spotlight: Porpolomopsis calyptriformis
Last April and May, CA FUNDIS Collector Mandy Hackney made a series of collections of a provisional species related to Porpolomopsis calyptriformis in Humboldt County, California (iNat ID: 160668229). A member of the waxcap family Hygrophoraceae, the common name of this mushroom is the ballerina waxcap, a rather cute ode to both its relatives and its gentle color scheme. This soft pinkish-orange hued fungus with the satisfying name and pointy cap certainly is a tall drink of water! 🩰
The habitat of Porpolomopsis calyptriformis is declining, perhaps due to environmental pressures such as deforestation and changing agricultural practices. As a result, the type species is of global conservation interest and is listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Porpolomopsis calyptriformis is not currently on our West Coast Rare Fungi Challenge list, but it is certainly considered a rare mushroom in California.
The new species Mandy found goes by the provisional name Porpolomopsis “calyptriformis-CA01.” That means, the provisional species was first documented in California, and its DNA barcode sequence is unique enough (only a 87% match) to consider it distinct from the type collection of Porpolomopsis calyptriformis, which was collected in Germany. Mandy’s collections constitute the only records of Porpolomopsis “calyptriformis-CA01” on iNaturalist made by the CA FUNDIS Collections Team. Take a peek at the photos below to see what type of habitat the ballerina waxcap prefers. If you are in Humboldt County this spring, be sure to keep a lookout for these pretty pink Porpolomopsis standing tall amongst the redwoods!
Photo credits: Mandy Hackney @jellybaby3000
Sequencing Update
Year 2 of our California Fungal Diversity Survey is off to a great start! We are using this renewed momentum to finish sequencing and validating the remainder of Year 1’s collections before delving into newer collections. To support this year’s efforts we have greatly expanded our sequencing capacity by establishing a lab annex at Cal State East Bay in Hayward, California. This will build the foundation for effecting one of our most ambitious and important goals, empowering more people with the skills and experience to push forward our knowledge of fungal biodiversity through the use of modern molecular biology techniques.
Another year of greater-than-average rainfall across the dry regions of southern California presents us with another fantastic opportunity to collect members of taxa that likely only fruit during these unusual conditions. In our first year of CA FUNDIS, SoCal was one of the premier hotspots for collections with novel sequences, and some incredible range extensions including Mycena quiniaultensis, described from the damp forests of the Pacific Northwest. Most notably we discovered that Mycena albidolilacea, previously only known from Europe, has a disjunct population in southern California.
While the Northeast and Southeast Rare Fungi Challenges await the warming embrace of spring, the West Coast Rare Challenge provided 2 new sequenced collections of Hygrocybe flavifolia as well as the enigmatic Amanita pruittii. iNaturalist user bcharny recently observed the Hygrophorus nemoreus var. raphaneus in southern California, one of only two observations of this exceedingly rare mushroom on the iNaturalist platform. In this case, we did not receive a collection to sequence, so we encourage folks to keep a look out for more occurrences, and make a collection if possible.
Harte Singer, FUNDIS Sequencing Lead
West Coast Rare Fungi Challenge Update
Thank you to those who sent in specimens of Saproamanita pruitii and Hygrocybe flavifolia! Photo of Hygrocybe flavifolia by iNat user dietel is included below.
For those of you who want to know what else is rare in your area, check out the "Bonus 100" West Coast Rare Fungi project and filter by state. You can even filter by username to see if you've already observed anything on this more extensive rare list!
Christin Swearingen, FUNDIS West Coast Rare Fungi Challenge Coordinator
Northeast Rare Fungi Challenge Update
Good news from the Northeast, George Christie of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey wrote an article in support of documenting rare fungi. My favorite quote from this article is, "we routinely say that, in nature, everything is connected. We forget to mention however, that the connection is most often fungal." Check out the article using the button below!
FUNDIS and the Northeast Rare Fungi Challenge will have a presence at the Northeast Natural History Conference in Albany, NY the weekend of April 19th - 21st. Please consider joining us at this event!
Hannah Huber, FUNDIS Northeast Rare Fungi Challenge Coordinator
Southeast Rare Fungi Challenge Update
Since launching the Southeast Rare Fungi Challenge last June, we have documented 84 observations by 44 observers that cover 15 of our 20 target species! The only states yet to be represented are Oklahoma, Texas, Delaware, South Carolina and Washington DC. Our most represented species so far is Wrightopora austrosinensis with 13 observations, and Wolfina auratiopsis comes in second with 11 observations. We are absolutely thrilled that the second rarest species on our list has one observation, and it was collected - Russula lilacipes! A bit of this collection was sent to Dr. Bart Buyck in France for further study. The five species we have yet to document are Hygrophorus cokeri, Podoscypha aculeata, Hydnellum geogenium, Mycena carolinensis, and Entoloma gainsvillae. We are excited and optimistic about the upcoming season so we can continue to find and document these rare species! You can check out the current observations for the Southeast Challenge in the iNaturalist project using the button below!
Alisha Millican, FUNDIS Southeast Rare Fungi Challenge Coordinator
2023 Annual Report
In January FUNDIS announced our 2023 Annual Report titled People Protecting Fungi: Surfacing Statewide Fungal Conservation Action. The link to read the full report is here
FUNDIS Merch
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