As part of this year’s Big Read program based on the environmental novel "The Bear," Eastern hosted two nature-themed strolls around campus in early October. Biology Professors Jon Hulvey and Bryan Connolly led a “fungus walk” on Oct. 1 and an “edible plant walk” on Oct. 10, respectively. Students from each professor’s classes and local community members joined in on the walks.

Like the plants and fungi encountered on the walks, "The Bear" (by Andrew Krivak) also takes place in the New England region. During their walks, the professors examined the natural history, biology and modern uses of the several local plants and mushrooms.

Fungus walk

Hulvey’s extensive background as a mycologist prepared and excited him for the walk through Eastern's arboretum. “I’ve been hunting mushrooms since I was a kid. I used to memorize the field guides,” he said.

Hulvey explained that fungus species grow like clockwork: in the same spot, near the same trees, at the same time every year. Mushrooms grow in association with trees and have symbiotic relationships with insects.

He explained that mushrooms are essential to local ecosystems and are important for the health of the forest and soil, unleashing nutrients from rotting plant material. One student explained that through fungal networks connected to plants' roots, fungi assist in the disease resistance of neighboring plants.

“They connect with each other in a sort of human characteristic,” said another student, adding that fungal networks alert surrounding plants of diseases, signaling them to produce defenses.

There are more than 15,000 named species of fungi, said another student, and many more unnamed. Of those named, 3% are poisonous, with consequences from ingesting ranging from a minor upset stomach to death. “It’s quite easy to mistake a toxic mushroom for one you can eat.”

Foraging for mushrooms is a risky endeavor with a lot of opportunities for error. Another variable to consider when picking wild mushrooms is the quality of the soil, as mushrooms often concentrate pollutants and heavy metals from their environment.

Hulvey and students encouraged mushroom foragers to never eat anything until consulting an expert.

On the positive side, mushrooms can also be nutritious with medical benefits ranging from boosting immunity to repairing the nervous system.

Edible plant walk

The “edible plant walk” meandered around campus and into the arboretum as well. Connolly toured a group of students around campus to examine many trees and other plants that have served as food sources, largely for Native American populations.

Additional guests accompanied Connolly and his students, including Faith Kenton of the Garden Club of Windham and Amanda Leiss, assistant professor of anthropology, as well as her students, whose project was to examine the plants to find food that could sustain them for a day.

Given that most of the plants on the walk were edible, Connolly clarified that “the big problem is how palatable they are.” In other words, the edible parts of these plants may not taste very good and many contain digestion inhibitors. In other words, everyone reacts in a different way digestively to the plants.

Several plants encountered on the walk had utilities beyond eating, including the white ash. This tree is used for baskets, snowshoes and other handmade goods. “I’m not sure why this one looks so good,” said Connolly while standing under a white ash outside the Student Center.

The shagbark hickory, named after its easily stripped bark, is used for hickory smoke flavor, said Connolly. The tree is also known for its durability and water resistance.

The honey locust is a “common street tree” native to eastern North America, said Connolly. This species was likely “dispersed by woolly mammoths and other extinct megafauna,” he added. As its name would indicate, “the pulp around its seeds is very sweet; people ferment it for beer.”

One of the region’s most recognizable trees, the sugar maple is also widely known for its flavor, as it is “most efficient to tap for maple syrup," said Connolly, compared to other types of maples.

Students and faculty members ate the fruits of the Kousa dogwood, which are soft and taste vaguely like peaches. The small ones, however, are poisonous.

Just because many common local plants are edible doesn’t mean eating them would be pleasurable. Take the invasive Callery pear, for example. “You can eat them, but I don’t recommend them,” said Connolly. “When I don’t recommend something, it’s not a good sign,” he joked.

While tough to eat, acorns are the “most abundant source of calories in our woods today,” said Connolly. Crabapples, meanwhile, are sour but “would probably make a killer jam” – killer as in “tasty,” not “deadly.”

Other plants encountered on the walk are outright poisonous. The rhododendron can contaminate other plants with its poison, and when these plants are pollinated, their honey contains neurotoxins. This honey is known as “mad honey,” said Connolly.

The so-called “tree of life” is “a bit of a misnomer because it’s slightly toxic,” said Connolly. Meanwhile, the common yew is a bush containing small, toxic red berries. “The poison isn’t all bad; they’ve made chemotherapy drugs out of it,” said Connolly. Ancient bows were also made of yew wood, which is utilized for its flexibility.