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The story of the dyeing ‘witches’, or a new activity of the Danish mycological society
61 within a few days. It would appear therefore that some factor present in MEA and PDA is required to stimulate production of pigment in spore isolates. The observation that all nine isolates can eventually produce pigment would seem to rule out any major genetic defect in those that are slow to exude. Kilpatrick and Chilvers ( I 981) state that the spores of Epicoccum are multinucleate and that this fungus is markedly heterogeneous. It would seem unlikely therefore that variation in pigment production is due to the segregation of a single nuclear type (a monokaryon). It is more likely that pigment production is under cytoplasmic control, altering the quantity rather than the quality of some biochemical factor (Ball, 1980). A further study was made of spore variation into a 'seco nd generation'. One of the isolates which exuded within a few days was induced to produce spores and then the same pattern of subcultures was repeated . Out of the sets of nine isolates from MEA a maximum of three produced pigment within three days on CDA but eventually all had exuded within the time scale of the experiment. From PDA, however, the same 'exuder ' isolate showed an initial three exuding but this decreased to one on the second CDA plate and after a second growth on PDA none of the isolates was able to produce pigment. From these preliminary results indicating considerable variation it would seem that spores might not be suitable inoculum for the production of the pigment. For the present, therefore , a mass inoculum of vegetative mycelium might be more reliable, but the use of senescent material of this type is usually avoided in industrial mycology . The authors wish to thank Mr J A Hodgson for helpful advice and Mrs L Copland for technical assistance . References BALL, C (1980) Genetic modification of filamentous fungi. In Fungal Biotechnology. (British Mycological Society Symposium No 3) (ed. SMITH, J E, BERRY, D Rand KRISTIANSEN, B) pp.43-54 London , UK: Academic Press. BURNETT, J H (1975) Mycogenetics. London: John Wiley. BURNETT, J H (1976) Fundamentals ofMycology. London : Edward Arnold. BURNETT, J H (1983) Speciation in fungi. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 81,1-14 . FLETCHER, H J and DAVIDSON, E (1984) Colourful interactions between Epicoccum and other fungi . Bulletin of the British Mycological Society 18, 130-131 . HOCKENHULL, D J D (1980) Inoculum development with particular reference to Asper gillus and Penicillium . In Fungal Biotechnology. (British Mycological Society Symposium No 3) (ed. SMITH , J E, BERRY, D R and KRISTIANSEN, B) pp.1-24. London, UK: Academic Press. KILPATRICK, J A and CHILVERS, G A (1981) Variation in a natural population of Epicoccum purpurascens. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 77, 497-508.
THE STORY OF THE DYEING 'WITCHES', OR A NEW ACTIVITY OF THE DANISH MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY Dorte Hammelev Laerkevangen 14,2750 Ballerup, Denmark 'First you boil all the Boletus edulis for flavouring the dinner and then afterwards you use them for dyeing . Nothing is wasted here.' This comment, made in the kitchen one night, was one of many heard during the recent international
62 course on mushroom dyeing held by the Danish Mycological Society at the old ranger farm at Kristiansminde in Sjaelland. It soon became clear that dyeing with fungi is a popular activity in the Society and one which is expanding. At present there are around 1800 members in the Society and individuals join for a variety of reasons. Some have joined because of mycophagical aspects, others combine fungal forays with a general love of nature. The more 'serious' members concern themselves with problems of relationships between different species or with adaptation to the environment and role in decomposition processes. Since 1980 many have joined to learn the art of mushroom dyeing and this has now become a popular and regular activity in the Society. Other activities include field excursions all over the country which are led by qualified mycologists. Courses in identification are given and during the autumn Monday nights are devoted to an identification service for members who can have their individual finds named. There are frequent exchanges of knowledge about the characteristics of interesting and rare species as well as those which are good to eat. The current interest in dyeing followed the publication of Mushrooms for Colour (Rice and Beebee, 1980) and has developed strongly under the guidance of the President of the Society, Hjerdis Hall Andersen. A stimulus has also been provided by the 'Use the Nature' movement which has encouraged the use of plants, including fungi, in art, in crafts and as food. Plant dyeing has been known since ancient times but the Danish flora is lacking in plants which produce the red or blue colours. Until the recent interest in using fungi for colouring they had been neglected, probably because of their bad reputation among ordinary folk. However, certain species fill this gap and brilliant reds are obtained from Dermocybe sanguineus and D. semisanguineus (Printz and Printz, 1981) whilst purple and violet dyes can be prepared from Hapalopilus nidulans (Hall Andersen, 1982). Different colours can be obtained by using different fungi or by using different mordants so that a wide range of colours is possible. Other fungi commonly used include Phaeolus schweinitzii and Thelephora terrestris. The Danish 'dyeing witches' as they call themselves have experimented with many different species and methods but are still searching for a true blue dye. During the course many ideas and tips were exchanged and a variety of colour samples made. It became the autumn fashion in Kristiansminde to wear the results around the neck. The participants had brought some of their best works for display so an exhibition was held in conjunction with the workshop and provided an excellent demonstration of the success of a special sort of art. The course attracted a full complement of 2S enthusiasts from as far away as America and Finland and together with participants from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands created a truly international atmosphere and firmly established mushroom dyeing as an enjoyable, rewarding and important activity of the Society. We all left Kristiansminde looking forward to further experimentation and eagerly awaiting the publication of Hjerdis's book on mushroom dyeing. References HALL ANDERSEN, H (1982) Erfaringer med farvning. Svampe 6, 103-105. PRINTZ, M and PRINTZ, P (1981) Farvning med svampe. Svampe 3,32-34. RICE, M and BEEBEE, D (1980) Mushrooms for Color. Mad River Press, California, USA.
THE STORY OF THE DYEING 'WITCHES', OR A NEW ACTIVITY OF THE DANISH MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY Dorte Hammelev Laerkevangen 14,2750 Ballerup, Denmark 'First you boil all the Boletus edulis for flavouring the dinner and then afterwards you use them for dyeing . Nothing is wasted here.' This comment, made in the kitchen one night, was one of many heard during the recent international
62 course on mushroom dyeing held by the Danish Mycological Society at the old ranger farm at Kristiansminde in Sjaelland. It soon became clear that dyeing with fungi is a popular activity in the Society and one which is expanding. At present there are around 1800 members in the Society and individuals join for a variety of reasons. Some have joined because of mycophagical aspects, others combine fungal forays with a general love of nature. The more 'serious' members concern themselves with problems of relationships between different species or with adaptation to the environment and role in decomposition processes. Since 1980 many have joined to learn the art of mushroom dyeing and this has now become a popular and regular activity in the Society. Other activities include field excursions all over the country which are led by qualified mycologists. Courses in identification are given and during the autumn Monday nights are devoted to an identification service for members who can have their individual finds named. There are frequent exchanges of knowledge about the characteristics of interesting and rare species as well as those which are good to eat. The current interest in dyeing followed the publication of Mushrooms for Colour (Rice and Beebee, 1980) and has developed strongly under the guidance of the President of the Society, Hjerdis Hall Andersen. A stimulus has also been provided by the 'Use the Nature' movement which has encouraged the use of plants, including fungi, in art, in crafts and as food. Plant dyeing has been known since ancient times but the Danish flora is lacking in plants which produce the red or blue colours. Until the recent interest in using fungi for colouring they had been neglected, probably because of their bad reputation among ordinary folk. However, certain species fill this gap and brilliant reds are obtained from Dermocybe sanguineus and D. semisanguineus (Printz and Printz, 1981) whilst purple and violet dyes can be prepared from Hapalopilus nidulans (Hall Andersen, 1982). Different colours can be obtained by using different fungi or by using different mordants so that a wide range of colours is possible. Other fungi commonly used include Phaeolus schweinitzii and Thelephora terrestris. The Danish 'dyeing witches' as they call themselves have experimented with many different species and methods but are still searching for a true blue dye. During the course many ideas and tips were exchanged and a variety of colour samples made. It became the autumn fashion in Kristiansminde to wear the results around the neck. The participants had brought some of their best works for display so an exhibition was held in conjunction with the workshop and provided an excellent demonstration of the success of a special sort of art. The course attracted a full complement of 2S enthusiasts from as far away as America and Finland and together with participants from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands created a truly international atmosphere and firmly established mushroom dyeing as an enjoyable, rewarding and important activity of the Society. We all left Kristiansminde looking forward to further experimentation and eagerly awaiting the publication of Hjerdis's book on mushroom dyeing. References HALL ANDERSEN, H (1982) Erfaringer med farvning. Svampe 6, 103-105. PRINTZ, M and PRINTZ, P (1981) Farvning med svampe. Svampe 3,32-34. RICE, M and BEEBEE, D (1980) Mushrooms for Color. Mad River Press, California, USA.