Many thanks to Fluff Berger, Stephen Bucklin,  Dirk Cappo, Richard Jacob, Sara Klingensmith, Josh Mowris and Jared White, all club identifiers, for volunteering to lead a mushroom walk in Frick Park for a large group of second-year architecture students at CMU. Many mushrooms found and enlightening discussions had.

Here were some of the ideas of points of interest and intersections between mycology and architecture:

  • What the fruiting body is – a way to disperse spores – pores, tubes, gills, fertile surfaces
  • Evolution of fungi in developing the different spore dispersal methods
  • Structure of the fruiting body – different parts stems, caps, veils, etc
  • Structure of the fruiting body -shapes – how architecture imitates natural shapes what sorts of shapes to mushrooms have? Gills compared to roof beams/supports? Umbrellas etc
    • Metropol Parasol, Seville by Jürgen Mayer H
    • Gas Station / Atelier SAD
    • The National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff, UK
  • Structure of the fruiting body – stems – solid->hollow and stuffed->hollow – require less resources but more complex cellular structure
  • Differences in the internal tissues of a fungi – compare Russulas to other mushrooms
  • The importance of mushrooms to the environment – health of trees in the environment
  • Environmental evaluation of building sites, especial large public sites. Do they consider fungi? If the green spaces are too small the temperature is higher and that can affect beneficial fungi.
  • Mycelium bricks as a building material etc

Species list entered by Richard Jacob.

Fungi:
Amanita flavoconia ( Yellow Patches),
Apioperdon pyriforme ( Pear-shaped Puffball ),
Armillaria mellea ( Honey Mushroom),
Arrhenia epichysium ( ),
Aureoboletus innixus ( Clustered Brown Bolete),
Baorangia bicolor ( Red-and-yellow Bolete; Bicolor Bolete),
Calvatia gigantea ( Giant Puffball),
Cerioporus squamosus (Dryad’s Saddle, Pheasant Polypore),
Crepidotus mollis (),( Jelly Crep/Soft Stumpfoot),
Daldinia childiae ( Carbon Balls),
Ductifera pululahuana ( White jelly fungus),
Entoloma abortivum ( Aborted Entoloma),
Ganoderma applanatum ( Artist’s conk),
Geastrum triplex ( Collared Earthstar),
Grifola frondosa ( Hen of the Woods / Sheep Head),
Gymnopilus junonius ( ),
Gyroporus castaneus ( Chestnut Bolete),
Hohenbuehelia petaloide (Shoehorn Oyster),
Hygrocybe conica ( Witch’s Hat),
Hypholoma lateritium ( Brick top),
Inonotus dryadeus ( Oak Bracket),
Irpex lacteus ( Milk-white Toothed-Polypore),
Lacrymaria velutina ( Weeping widow),
Laetiporus sulphureus ( Chicken Mushroom; Sulphur Shelf),
Lentinellus ursinus ( Bear Lentinus),
Lepiota cristata ( Malodorous Lepiota),
Lepiota rubrotincta (),( Red-tinged lepiota),
Leucoagaricus barssii ( ),
Mycena crocea ( Walnut Mycena),
Mycena haematopus ( Bleeding Mycena),
Mycena inclinata ( Clustered bonnet / oak-stump bonnet cap),
Mycena leaiana ( Orange Mycena),
Neofavolus alveolaris ( Hexagonal-pored Polypore),
Orbilia delicatula ( ),
Panellus stipticus (Luminescent Panellus, bitter oyster),
Phellinus gilvus ( Mustard Yellow polypore),
Phellinus robiniae (Cracked cap polypore, Locust polypore),
Phlebia incarnata ( ),
Pleurotus ostreatus ( Oyster Mushroom),
Pluteus cervinus ( Deer mushroom),
Polyporus badius ( Black-footed Polypore),
Radulodon copelandii ( Asian beauty),
Schizophyllum commune ( Split Gill),
Scleroderma cepa ( ),
Scleroderma citrinum ( Pigskin Poison Puffball),
Stereum complicatum ( Crowded Parchment),
Stereum ostrea ( False Turkey-tail),
Stropharia rugosoannulata ( Wine Cap Stropharia),
Trametes aesculi ( ),
Trametes betulina ( Multicolor Gill Polypore),
Trametes gibbosa ( Lumpy bracket),
Trametes ochracea ( ),
Trametes versicolor ( Turkey-tail),
Trichaptum biforme ( Violet Toothed-Polypore),
Trichia favoginea ( ),
Tyromyces chioneus ( White Cheese Polypore)

Partially identified species:
Russula sp.
Lactarius sp.
Scutellina sp.
Pholiota sp.

Photos by Stephen Bucklin and Richard Jacob.