Biodiversity of Chanterelles and Hedgehog Mushrooms in New Brunswick with Dr. Alfredo Justo

Talk: Biodiversity of Chanterelles (Cantharellus, Craterellus) and Hedgehog Mushrooms (Hydnum) in New Brunswick with Alfredo Justo – Curator of Botany & Mycology at the New Brunswick Museum

All are welcome to the February meeting of the Saint John Naturalists Club!

This month’s webinar will feature guest speaker Alfredo Justo – Curator of Botany & Mycology at the New Brunswick Museum. It will take place via Zoom at 10AM on February 18, 2023.

REGISTER HERE: https://form.jotform.com/223395148331253

Despite their popularity as edible wild mushrooms, the actual diversity of chanterelles (species of the genera Cantharellus and Craterellus) and hedgehog mushrooms (Hydnum) in New Brunswick is understudied. We lack data about which species occur in the province or what are their distributions, ecology and population trends. The lack of baseline knowledge about fungal diversity is a common problem across North America, and mostly stems from (i) the generalized used of European species names for similarly-looking species occurring in North America; and (ii) the need to study fungal diversity by a combination of traditional (morphological, ecological) and molecular (DNA sequencing) approaches. We will present a preliminary catalog of chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms in the province, based on the research carried out since 2021 at the New Brunswick Museum, with partial funding by the NB Wildlife Trust Fund.