Ali Shapiro, Host:

It is estimated that less than 1% of the world’s mushroom species are known to science. So new species are being discovered all the time — and often by citizen scientists rather than academics, reports Ray His Solomon, from his Station KUNC, member of Colorado.

(trail footfall soundbite)

RAE SOLOMON, BYLINE: When it rains in the mountains of Colorado, mushroom hunters are right behind.

Alan Rockefeller: Oh wait, wait…

Solomon: Take Alan Rockefeller for example.

Rockefeller: …this is a good one.

Solomon: He is a serious mushroom hunter and has become a renowned expert in the science known as mycology. And he found something interesting sprouting from the damp forest floor at 9,000 feet above sea level.

ROCKEFELLER: This bright yellow Russula looks like the Russula I found in Arizona that smells like strong bananas when dry, but it’s definitely a new species.

Solomon: Rockefeller travels the world identifying, describing, and analyzing the DNA of wild mushrooms.

Rockefeller: You know, in Michoacán we found exactly the same thing. It also occurs in British Columbia.

Solomon: But he’s excited to find it here in Colorado. Because it means he can add pieces to the incomplete mycological map.

ROCKEFELLER: Mushrooms don’t drop anywhere randomly, so they’re either associated with the same or similar trees or brought by animals. You can start to understand a little more about what is going on.

Solomon: Rockefeller is very much involved in it, but he has nothing to do with the university. There are no letters after his name. He has no degree in biology, no degree at all. He wasn’t needed for his initial career as a professional hacker. Rockefeller is a very outsider scientist, a scientist at the forefront of the outsider movement who has made great contributions to mycology.

JAMES CHELIN: And that’s exactly what we’re doing here – we’re not just going and finding something to eat, we’re advancing science.

Solomon: James Cherin is also a Rockefeller ally, but he’s still a computer expert. He is also Vice President of the Pikes Peak Mycological Society. He leads a curious and dedicated group along winding, often unpaved mountain trails to help find and identify mushrooms in the wild.

CHELIN: Chanterelles are great because if you find something to eat, it’s a bonus.

Solomon: He’s a gateway figure of sorts, escorting casual foragers deeper into the science of mycology.

CHELIN: We’re talking about identifying something unknown to science – it’s something we know to some extent, but not entirely, that there are a few different things. And spores under the microscope. until you observe and start sequencing…

Solomons: In Colorado, it’s common for new mushroom species to emerge during the good monsoon season.

ANDREW WILSON: The last two seasons have been exceptional.

Solomon: Andrew Wilson has a lot of letters after his name, including a doctorate. in biology. He is the chief mycologist at the Denver Botanical Garden.

Wilson: When it rains, it creates so much variety that it can blur everything.

Solomon: That’s why he appreciates outsiders like Cherin and Rockefeller.

Wilson: Most of our collection is from specimens collected by citizen science.

Solomon: Outsiders are extra eyes on the ground, but they also participate in the intense process of documenting these new species in the scientific literature.

Wilson: It takes years of work to get the data and do all the proper reviews.

(Sound of leaves crunching)

Solomon: But all research starts here. Alan Rockefeller kneeling on the ground examining his intriguing yellow russula.

Rockefeller: Every time you find a fellow citizen scientist in the woods, they will notice many new species if they pay attention.

Solomon: Rockefeller is in no hurry to introduce mushrooms to science. Now, his focus is just on this spot in the Colorado Mountains, with another small slice of the mushroom ecosystem in place. The NPR News rep from Denver is Rae Solomon.

(Keith Manfield’s “Funky Fanfare” Soundbite)

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