Volume 11, Part 2, May 1997

A VISIT TO THE ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE SOCIETEMYCOLOGIQUE DE FRANCE - 1996

We made our farewells to the BMS overseas for-ayers on a frosty early October morning inBelfort. The contrast between BMS and SocieteMycologique de France (SMF) forays was evi-dent as one arrived at the Villages VacancesFamille (VVF) at La Colle sur Loup in the AlpesMaritimes. The congress was formally openedby M. Rene Hentic, the President of the SMF.Participants were also welcomed to the jointmeeting by M. Jean-Claude Maire, president ofthe Federation des Associations MycologiquesMediterraneennes (FAMM) and by M. LouisGilli, who had organised the congress with thehelp of his colleagues from the Association desNaturalistes de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes(ANNAM). About two hundred mycologists andmycophagists from all over France attended.

The Alpes Maritimes Region has animmensely diverse set of habitats. The firstforay took us to the Mercantour National Parkwhich boasts 2100 species of flowering plants.There were lots of fungi in the spruce forests andwe were delighted to find Lactarius badiosan-guineus, Lactarius albocarneus, Mycena auran-tiomarginata and Gyromitra esculenta.

Foray lunches and dinners were substantialand took some time. Meals in France follow avery strict code. There are always four courses,and at least two local wines on the table. Thetime spent eating allows the mycophagists toconduct a thorough discussion of how one isgoing to cook, dry, pickle or otherwise preservethe day's finds. A two page congress newsletterwas at each place at dinner every day, with aneditorial, practical information, further details ofthe sites to be visited the next day, a mycophag-ists' corner, and perhaps a small article on thehistory of mycology in France.

On Tuesday we visited Ste Marguerite, one ofthe Lerins Islands, in pouring rain. Just by thelanding stage is a fine specimen of Pistacialentiscus which hosts the only know specimen ofPhellinus rimosus in France. The morning forayyielded Boletus satanas, Leccinum lepideum,Russula amoena, Omphalotus olearius andMyriostoma coliforme amongst many other inter-esting finds. There are regular lectures eachevening at the Congress, tonight's were byJoseph Astier on the rarer Pezizas and ChristianDagron on spore sizes in the russulas.

Wednesday takes us to the dramatic red rocksof the Esterel Regional Park. Signs of past firesare everywhere, as are signs of wild boar rootingin the forest. Boletus queletii, Gyroporus casta-neus and Xerocomus rubellus, are found on the

forest edge, and Russula galochroides, Russulacistoadelpha and Lactarius ruginosus, under theArbutus and Cistus scrub. Tonight, GuyRedeuilh and Gilbert Lannoy describe theLeccinums of Europe. The lecture theatre ispacked.

Thursday takes us up the gorge of the Loup tomountains in the north east of the AlpesMaritimes and the recently established ski resortof Greolieres La Niege at nearly 5000 feet. Theforest is of Scots pine, with juniper, maple andother mountain species, and there are fine pas-tures grazed by what are described locally as'Scottish lawnmowers', probably Scottish black-face sheep. There are lots of Lactarius deliciosusand Tricholoma terreum to keep the mycophag-ists busy, and a sizeable range of Cortinariusspecies for the mycologists.

On returning to the centre each afternoon, themycophagists take their baskets to the receptionroom. The fungi are expertly sorted by a 'middleranking' local mycologist into confirmed edibles(back in the basket), common fungi that he orshe can identify and name, and a 'to be checked'pile. The best specimens of the named commonfungi are then passed with a data card to M.Besson who controls the display in the nextroom. They are entered on to the computerwhich generates a display label and transfers thedata to the preliminary foray list. Only then arethey taken to the large display area. The 'to bechecked' pile is then taken to the 'experts' in thelaboratory and who will identify them thatevening, or dry them for future work. Theadvantage to the mycologists is good display andrecord material and some additional interestingfinds. This is the so called 'cascade system'agreed by the SMF at the Nemours congress. Itseems to work well in 99% of cases. It also pro-vides the substance for what M. Henticdescribed as the symbiosis between mycologistsand mycophagists.

Friday's foray is to the Pare ForestiereDepartmental de Vaugrenier, an extraordinarysurvival of Mediterranean evergreen forest in thesuburbs of Antibes. It extends over 200 acresbetween the motorway, the railway and the sea.When Margaret Kelly found four superb speci-mens of Amanita caesarea, Steve had great funshaking his head sagely and explaining to theassembled company how dangerous it was to eatan Amanita. By one of those strange quirks offate, only the British contingent found any A.caesarea. A visit later in the day to the Bois dela Garoupe on the Cap d' Antibes yielded nice

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specimens of Boletus lupinus , Aureoboletus gen-tilis , Amanita franchetii, Russula straminea andLactarius {uliginosus var. albipes.

On Saturday, we depart for the Natural HistoryMuseum in Nice, founded in 1863 by Jean-Baptiste Barla. It houses a collection of some5000 plaster models of fungi, and a large collectionof exsiccata. Barla's work is remarkable because ofthe accuracy of the site records and the links tothe exsiccata and models. To mark the centenaryof Barla's death in 1896, a bust was unveiled in thepublic square near the museum, followed by theofficial opening of the 29th Salon du Champignonde Nice at the exhibition centre. Press and televi-

BMS OVERSEAS FORAY 1996

On Tuesday 1 October we arrived at our Nancyhotel just before midnight to be greeted by ourhost, Mr Yves Renaud and his daughter, bothEnglish-speaking.

Next morning a splendid display of fungi andartefacts awaited us at the Faculte dePharmacie, followed by a reception and speeches,the first of many to follow, by senior members ofthe University and the Societe Lorraine deMycologie, and by our President, John Webster.Unfortunately in the afternoon our coach wasunable to follow the pilot car through the narrowroads of the city and we missed the foray in anarea explored by Rene Maire.

Arriving late at Belfort, we were greeted bythe President of the Societe Mycologique duTerritoire de Belfort, Jean-Pierre Chevrolet, andthe Vice-president, Maryse Wasner. TheSecretary-General of the SMF, Mr PierreVanhecke, Dr Regis Courtecuisse and Mr OlivierDaillant, of the Observatoire Mycologique,arrived the next day.

The French breakfast supplied having beenjudged by our hosts as inadequate for our needs, wehad to take the coach to the restaurant within thetown's sports and games extensive facilities, beforereturning to the hotel to prepare for the day's out-ing. This proved to be a little inconvenient.

In spite of disclaimers by our hosts, we mar-velled at the numbers and variety of fungi to befound in the area. Most of them were rapidlyidentified by the local amateurs, using sight, feeland smell, even listening. Nevertheless, throughthe use of the microscope, our party contributedseveral dozen new records.

Volume 11, Part 2, May 1997

sion coverage of these events is good.The congress ended as it began, with a brief

ceremony at which M. Hentic offered thanks toM. Gilli for the superb organisation of the event.Five thousand specimens had been named in thesix days, over 500 species identified so far. The1997 congress will be at Nantes. The SMF con-gress is no better nor worse than a BMS autumnforay, just very different.

Patrick LeonardThe Garden House , Huggets Lane,

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN22 OLH

Some outdoor meals were offered to us by ourhosts who also very generously supplied wine, astiff 'aperitif and an even stiffer 'digest if' . Thishad a very genial effect on communications ifnothing else! Meals in the restaurant were excel-lent three of four-course affairs .

The sites were very well chosen and varied ifsometimes a little distant. Other entertainmentwas offered: we went to two local group exhibi-tions of fungi. These crown the year 's activitiesand are magnificent, in halls the size of that of theRHS Old Hall. They attract hundreds of locals.Apart from fungi , well displayed with commonand latin names and an indication of edibility,there are paintings, models, instructional standsand huge tableaux where fungi are mounted inassociation with moss, leaves and logs.

Other enjoyable activities were a receptiongiven by the deputy mayor of Belfort, a tour of anature centre with an ornithological exhibition; avisit to the beautiful hill-top chapel ofRonchamps designed by Le Corbusier; and a'degustation', very professionally conducted,from which we came back with many cases oflocal wines. Some also visited the architecturallyinteresting town .

On Tuesday 8 October we regretfully left onour long journey home, very grateful to YvesRenaud at Nancy and Jean-Pierre Chevrolet andhis colleagues at Belfort for the splendid organi-sation of the week's activities.

Jack Marriott

St. Swithin's House,

Oldcroft, Lydney,

Glos. GL15 4NF

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