Mushrooms with Madrona Murphy

— from Helen Huber —

A multitude of mushrooms will be explored in the next Garden Club meeting on Nov. 15

Orcas Island Garden Club welcomes Madrona Murphy who will share her knowledge about local mushrooms on Wednesday, November 15 at 10 a.m. at the Orcas Center.

Madrona locally gathers dozens of edible fungi with exceptional flavors. She includes Lobsters, Shrimp Russulas, Bluets, Princes, and Yellow Feet on her list of favorites, along with crisp, crunchy “milk caps,” long prized in Russian cuisine, and meaty Matsutake, prized in Japan, that preserve their rich fragrance of pine resin even when cooked. Growing up on a Lopez farm, Murphy has gathered mushrooms since she could walk, and says that she continues to add more species to her basket. Madrona works for Kwiáht as a Botanist and Genetic Technician with interest in terrestrial botany, botanical inventories and mapping; habitat restoration; wildlife and wetland buffer design; traditional Coast Salish agriculture; school science enrichment; genetic sequencing, and microsatellite genotyping.

The Orcas Garden Club is excited to host Madrona and learn about local mushrooms. We welcome all members of the community, invite you to visit the Garden Club, and hope you’ll consider becoming a member.