In the late 1800s, a man by the name of Charles H. Peck became one of the most prominent mycologists of his time. Born in Sand Lake, New York in 1833, Peck’s fascination with mushrooms began as a young man when he discovered the edible puffball mushroom growing in his backyard.

After studying botany at Union College, Peck began working for the New York State Museum in Albany. It was there that he began collecting and studying mushrooms in earnest. Peck soon became known as a leading authority on North American fungi and went on to publish over 400 scientific papers on the subject.

Peck’s research took him all over the country, but he had a particular interest in the Adirondacks. In 1879, he published a comprehensive study of the mushrooms found in the region, which he had been working on for several years. The study, titled “Report of the Botanist: Cryptogamic Flora of the Adirondack Region,” remains a valuable resource for mycologists and mushroom enthusiasts to this day.

Peck’s work in the Adirondacks was not without its challenges, however. In his report, he describes the difficulty of traversing the region’s rugged terrain and the often-unpredictable weather conditions. He also recounts encounters with bears and other wildlife while out collecting specimens.

Despite these challenges, Peck continued to return to the Adirondacks year after year. In addition to his scientific work, he also found great pleasure in the region’s natural beauty and often wrote about the scenery and wildlife he encountered during his expeditions.

Peck passed away in 1917, but his legacy lives on through his extensive body of research and the many specimens he collected over the years. Today, the Adirondacks remain an important destination for mycologists and mushroom enthusiasts alike, offering a rich diversity of fungi for study and exploration.

Sources:

• Peck, C. H. (1879). Report of the Botanist: Cryptogamic Flora of the Adirondack Region. Annual Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History, 32, 29-191.
• New York State Museum. (n.d.). Charles H. Peck Papers. Retrieved from https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/charles-h-peck-papers
• Mycological Society of America. (1968). Charles Horton Peck. Mycologia, 60(3), 451-457.