Greg Marley of Rockland, who has been hunting, studying, growing and cooking mushrooms for more than 35 years, shared his expertise with members of the Garden Club of Wiscasset November 1 at the club's monthly meeting held at Wiscasset's First Congregational Church on High Street.

There are between 2,500 and 3,000 species of wild mushrooms in Maine, he said, as he passed around several he had collected, including "Hen of the Woods" that grows in clusters at the foot of trees.

Mushrooms are the visible fruity body of a group of fungi. "If you pick a mushroom, you are picking a fruit," he explained.  The remainder of the fungus is still present in the soil or in the log from which you picked the mushroom."

Some "fairly lethal" mushrooms look like ones that are edible, he told the group, and it takes knowledge to be able to identify one from the other.  "You need to go slowly, before eating any mushroom," Marley said. "Not only do you need to know about the mushroom itself, whether it's safe to eat, but you also need to know how your body will react to that particular mushroom."

Different people have different reactions to the same mushroom, he explained, adding that "some people can't even tolerate a store-bought mushroom, even if it's cooked." Marley recommended eating a small amount of a new edible mushroom the first time it is tried.

Marley has organized and led numerous mushroom courses and public walks to identify mushrooms in the wild. His enthusiasm for the subject has turned many others into avid "mushroomers."

He illustrated his talk with slides showing some common edible and medicinal wild mushrooms found in Maine in the summer and fall. Like perennials, mushrooms have a season during which they show their fruit, he said.

Marley is also an active mushroom identification consultant to the Northern New England Poison Control Center. For the past six years he has focused his research on medicinal mushrooms and has now formed the company "Mushrooms for Health" to provide education and health-promoting products made with Maine medicinal mushrooms. He is currently at work writing "The Medicinal Mushrooms of Maine and New England."

He holds a B.S, in botany and chemistry from The University of New Mexico and a master's in social work.

Prior to his talk, the Garden Club held its monthly flower arranging session, followed by luncheon and a business meeting.

The seven or so arrangements were Thanksgiving table centerpieces that included a combination of flowers, leaves, fruit, or vegetables.

Anyone who is interested in joining the Garden Club of Wiscasset should contact Jackie Weare on 207 633-5905. The club's goals include community involvement and the promotion of education so members become caretakers of the air, water, forests, land and wildlife.