David Hibbett, PhD, presents Lentinus tigrinus, the “Tiger Sawgill”
How a mushroom lost its gills: development and evolution in the Tiger Sawgill, Lentinus tigrinus
With David Hibbett, PhD, Professor, Biology Department, Clark University (Massachusetts)
June 5, 2023
7:30 p.m. CT
This presentation will be held on Zoom. Members will receive the link via email.
David’s talk will focus on an unusual mushroom, Lentinus tigrinus, also called the “Tiger Sawgill.” This species occurs in two different forms. One form is a typical gilled mushroom and the other is a “secotioid” form with enclosed spore-bearing structures. The two forms look very different, but they are the same species and are capable of mating. David’s presentation will consider what the Tiger Sawgill might teach us about the evolution of gasteromycetes, such as puffballs, stinkhorns, and truffles. The Tiger Sawgill is common in the Midwest, but it is not frequently collected, partly because of its unusual (for a mushroom) habit, which is emergent wood in or beside bodies of water. David and his PhD student, Thomas Roehl, are trying to launch a new research program on Lentinus tigrinus, for which local collections would be much appreciated. The talk will include more about the project and how you can participate.
David is a professor at Clark University in Worcester Massachusetts and a long-time member of the Boston Mycological Club. He received his PhD from Duke University and held postdoctoral appointments at the Tottori Mycological Institute (Japan) and the Harvard University Herbaria. David has diverse interests in mycology, from phylogenetics and genomics, to paleomycology and mushroom development. His favorite fungi are the “lentinoid” mushrooms, including Lentinus, Panus, and Lentinula (shiitake).