Appalachian
Wildflowers and Fungi -- Identification and Medicinal Properties
Wildflower and Fungi
Identification and Use
Dates:
Times: See below for individual sessions
Prices: Pre-registration: $80 for the 8 hour series, $10 for each 1 hour session, $25 for each 2 hour nature walk. Walk-in: $95 for the 8 hour series, $15 for each 1 hour session, $30 for each 2 hour nature walk. Under 16, half price at all times (must be accompanied by an adult). Please inquire about family rates. Price includes handouts.
Form of payment: cash, check, money order, and Paypal.
Where to meet: Community Bon-Fire area
What to bring: pen and paper for all sessions; hiking clothes, small cardboard box, paper bag, or basket for nature walks, wild plant and mushroom field guides if you already have them.
Workshop Schedule:
Saturday Session I: Foraging for Wild Mushrooms (Buddy Kilpatrick):
Foraging for wild mushrooms is safer than many people might think if one follows a few basic rules, such as never eat a mushroom that you cannot positively identify and always learn to identify mushrooms from other people who have experience, rather than attempting to identify from a field guide until you have accumulated enough experience on your own to do otherwise.
Buddy will discuss edible & poisonous mushrooms, emphasizing that only knowledge and positive identification is a barrier to poisoning, but many people have learned and pick their own mushrooms with little risk. He will show and discuss field guides, mycological websites, photos and mushroom habitat, as well as items necessary for a successful mushroom foraging trip, and how to prepare positively identified edibles for immediate consumption or preservation. Safety will be emphasized, especially since Buddy has never lost a student and wants to keep his record intact.
Saturday Session II: Natural History of Wildflowers (Lonnie Murray):
Plants plant an important role in
all of our lives, by providing food, medicines, the air we breathe, natural
beauty, and more. Just like people different families have different
personalities. Learn to tell the difference between different families of
plants like lilies, orchid, asters and others. Learning the plant families
is a great way to begin identifying wildflowers, and opens up a window into
ages long past.
Have you ever wondered why some plants are colorful, some have fragrance and some have neither? We’ll discuss the natural history of plants and the unique ways they’ve evolved over time to adapt to their changing environments.
Saturday Nature Walk:
Buddy and Lonnie will lead you in a 2 hour walk at the campsite to identify
wildflowers, plants and fungi, describe any culinary, medicinal or ornamental
value any might have as well as discuss any poisonous plants and fungi that
might be found on the property.
Sunday Session III: Wildflower Identification and Conservation (Lonnie
Murray):
By looking at individual plants
and how they’ve adapted to their habitat, we can develop a better appreciation
of the important roles each play in our ecology and landscapes. We will
learn the qualities that make each species of plant unique, and how to identify
them. Many wild plants are also in great danger, and the workshop will cover some
of the greatest threats they face and how we can all play a role in protecting
them.
Many of our beautiful wildflowers also can also be used in our yards and city landscapes to bring a little of the wild back into our lives. This workshop will cover which ones are appropriate, and how we can responsibly use native wildflowers as a resource without harming them in the process.
Sunday Session IV: Medicinal Mushrooms (Buddy Kilpatrick):
Mushrooms have been used in
Sunday Nature Walk:
Buddy and Lonnie will lead you in a 2 hour walk to identify wildflowers, plants and fungi. It will include the same agenda as the Saturday walk, except this one will cover a different area. It may involve a short trip to nearby public forest depending upon interest and conditions.
About the Workshop Hosts / Instructors:
Henry E. “Buddy” Kilpatrick, Jr.
703-509-5517
eat_more_toadstools@yahoo.com
Buddy has been studying, picking, and eating wild edible
mushrooms and plants for about 20 years. He was president of the Mycological
Association of Washington in 2003 and was its newsletter editor for a number of
years. Buddy has also taught adult education courses in mushroom foraging at
Chautauqua Institution and
Lonnie Murray
540-823-1496
Lonnie first developed an interest in native wildflowers as
a child after learning that Venus Flytraps lived in the Pine Savannahs near his
grandparents’ home in
He has an avid interest in growing native plants, including
wild orchids, and has cultivated many rare species currently unknown to the
nursery trade. He specializes in wetland
plants, and has done bog garden installations and consultation on wetland
gardens throughout central
He's been a member of the International Carnivorous Plant
Society, and the Virginia Native Plant Society, an active member of an
interfaith environmental group in