MUSHROOMS MAKE CAPE CENTER OF INTEREST

What brings people to Cape Girardeau? The answer is as varied as the people who come.

Many visitors and newcomers are attracted by the mighty Mississippi River, historic homes, ample shopping opportunities, Southeast Missouri State University or top-notch medical facilities.

But recently, more than 200 people came from across the United States and Mexico to share a single passion: mushrooms.

Cape Girardeau was the site of the four-day, 39th annual North American Mycological Association Conference. It was quite an honor for the city to be chosen as conference headquarters. A number of regional and statewide meetings have picked Cape Girardeau. But this might have been the first time the city was the choice for a North American gathering.

It underscores the importance of conventions. They brings people to Cape Girardeau who might not have otherwise have a reason to visit our fair city. Hopefully, they'll be so impressed that they'll come back and, of course, tell their friends about local hospitality.

Cape Girardeau's location and its proximity to prime mushroom hunting grounds didn't hurt its selection. And the choice paid off. One of the finds was a rare mushroom called a Cercophora scortea in the Mingo swamp area. It is only the second of its kind ever found in North America.

Another exceptional discovery at Mingo was a Chameota fungi. It is extremely rare and found only in Missouri.

These were but two of more than 1,000 samples found and categorized by the mushroom hunters, many of whom were amateurs. They were gathered from scores of area sites in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Much of the mushroom hunters' enthusiasm went beyond the hunt. Cooking with mushrooms was a popular conference theme. Others were simply interested in the poisonous varieties, of which a few varieties were found.

The conference not only provided good hunting ground for mushroom enthusiasts, but it helped educate the public on the wonders of this often overlooked and underappreciated food. And it underscored the importance of convention traffic to Cape Girardeau.