LOCALadk Magazine

40 Fall 2015 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Mushroom Magic: Colors to Dye For Story and Photos by Susan Hopkins When I retired in 2009, I moved to Saranac Lake, NY from New Jer- sey. I moved here for the mushrooms. My family had vacationed in the Adirondacks off and on over the last 55 years. As a child someone had shown me how to draw on the "artist conk," or as I now know, a Gan- oderma applanatum. I learned where some of the best mushrooms spots were before I knew that Aldi's is a grocery store. Mycology, or the study of fungi, is still a very understudied science, with many un- described species, some here in the Adirondacks. It is not possible to know everything about fungi, even in a lifetime. As a member--for 35 years now--of the New Jersey Mycological Association, I have accumu- lated a good working knowledge of the larger fungi, including the ed- ible, the poisonous, and the "dyers": those that contain pigments that will dye wool a variety of colors. I still consider myself an advanced neophyte, or an advanced amateur mycologist. The basic procedure for dyeing with mushrooms is a variation of historical natural dyeing. By drying the mushrooms first, using a food dehydrator, the pigments are concentrated, and the dyeing process can be delayed until a more convenient time. Wool, a protein fiber, uses the least amount of mushrooms for the best or strongest colors, whereas cotton or plant based cellulose fibers produce pale colors even with many more mushrooms. The natural, unprocessed wool yarn must be prepared for the dye bath by tying into skeins, washing with mild soap, and pre-mordanting. Mordants are mineral salts which help fix the pigments to the wool fiber, as well as affect the color ob- tained. Most of the rainbow of colors can be obtained using two mor- dants, which are alum (potassium aluminum sulfate) or iron (ferrous sulfate - copperas) with the correctly identified species of fungus. The dye bath is prepared by breaking up the mushroom into small piec- es, soaking in distilled water, than cooking at a simmer for about one hour to dissolve out the pigments. Then the pre-mordanted wool and mushrooms are cooked together for another hour and allowed to cool completely before rinsing out and drying the wool. One of the best mushrooms for color is Phaeolus schweinitzii, or the "dyers polypore". It is a very common slow pathogen on the roots of conifers, mainly white pine, here in the Adirondacks. Growing at the base of the trunk, it will fruit between July and October for many years before eventually killing the tree, after which it will continue to fruit for several more years. The best time to pick and dry this mushroom is when the outer growing edge is bright yellow with tiny yellow green openings, or pores, underneath. Cooking P. schweinitzii with alum-mordanted wool yarn in a ratio of 1:1, or 1 ounce of dried mushroom to 1 ounce of wool will create a bright yellow or gold dye. Iron-mordanted wool will dye a consistent dark moss green with yel- low tones. As the mushroom ages, turning brown, the color of the wool will be weaker and muddy-looking or subdued.

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