October 22nd: A Painless Introduction to Fungi

7:00 PM, October 22: A Painless Introduction to Fungi

Presentation at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 680 Hudson Road, Sudbury MA

Learn about the ecological role of fungi, and why our habitats would be even more unhappy without them, for they are the world’s best recyclers. You’ll also learn that all mushrooms are fungi, but not all fungi are mushrooms. For example, you’ll see images of the so-called Noble Polypore, an endangered fungus that can tip the scales at 300 pounds as well as the Deadly Galerina, a species so small that it can’t tip any scale. Likewise, you’ll learn about Emily Dickinson’s mushroom phobia. Please note that this presentation will not focus on edibles!

Lawrence Millman is a mycologist-Arctic explorer-author. His 16 books include such titles as Last Places, Lost in the Arctic, An Evening Among Headhunters, Hiking to Siberia, Fascinating Fungi of New England, and — most recently — Giant Polypores & Stoned Reindeer: Rambles in Kingdom Fungi.

This is a presentation of the Friends of the Assabet River NWR. We hold our monthly speaker series at the US Fish and Wildlife Services’ Eastern Mass. Visitor Center, 680 Hudson Road, Sudbury MA 01776. Talks are free and open to the public. For more information about our programs, membership and the Refuge please visit www.farnwr.org.

Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge is 2333 acres and located in the towns of Stow, Maynard, Sudbury and Hudson. The Refuge has 15 miles of hiking trails and 7.5 miles of biking trails. The Visitor Center for the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex has interactive, hands-on educational exhibits, a multi-purpose meeting room, and a Friends Nature Store.