Featured Fungi Ready to get into the woods? Browse our list of featured fungi for tips and intel from our science advisors, ID specialists, and experienced foragers and learn about some of the common and not-so-common mushroom species you might encounter in the wild. Fort Bragg, 2021. Photo by Hugh Smith We hunt mushrooms for study, for their beauty and/or strangeness, and in some cases for the table. The pages and stories our members provide on this website are not intended for you to use as an ID guide for edible mushrooms. You must must be qualified to positively identify every individual mushroom in your collection as an edible species before eating it. Remember: "When in doubt, throw it out!" When collecting fungi for the table: Learn how to use a formally published field guide correctly. Get help from ID specialists to verify the identity of mushrooms you're still learning to identify. Don't assume nearby or look-alike mushrooms are the same species. Identify every single specimen. If you live in the Bay Area, you can join the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz or a related mycological club to gain more skills. For example, in FFSC's mushroom ID classes you will learn how to use and then practice using the classic field guide Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora, with a science advisor available to confirm/correct your ID attempts. On our local forays and long-distance forays , our science advisors and experienced members can also help you identify mushrooms you've collected. You're also welcome to bring mushrooms you've found to any of our events. Here are a few other useful resources about eating mushrooms The Mycophagist's Ten Commandments Mushroom Poisoning Potluck Essentials What We're Reading (field guides and more) Get intel about some of our favorite mushrooms below, and check out our Fungi Photo Gallery for some of our favorite photos! Filter by Mushroom Close A Bolete by Any Other Name... ... Many mushrooms we see in our local woods now have a new name or spot in the myco tree of life. One of our most prized groups of local mushrooms, the boletes, is no exception. Let's look at some name changes that you might need to be aware of if you're using older field guides. Agaricus Reflections ... When I was a boy, my father, sister and I would pick Agaricus cupreobrunneus, campestris, and sometimes bitorquis . We enjoyed them, by themselves, cooked in a little butter, or with other foods. They were a delicious part of early winter. Coccoras ... Coccoras are one of my favorite mushrooms to see and collect. The distinctive colors, thick cottony cap and striation on the cap edge makes this Amanita a little easier to ID. If I am unsure at any point, it stays in the ground and I take away the memory, image and sometimes a photo. Coprinus comatus -- What Is Going On With That Inky Cap? ... Learn about the fascinating and at times powerful liquification scenario known in biological terms as deliquescence or auto-deliquescence , one of the key morphological characteristics associated with this long-appreciated edible mushroom. Fomes fomentarius, the “Tinder Fungus” ... Most of us enjoy the process of walking through moist forests in search of fungi for the table. For some of us, it is the hope of finding a rare or unusual species that draws us to the woods. But in a time before matches and Bic lighters, a hike in the woods yielded fungi that held the promise of a fire . Four Dry Season Mushrooms ... At the beginning of the season, while we wait patiently for the fall rains to arrive, there are still some interesting sporocarps lurking in our local outdoor spaces. Galerina marginata (autumnalis), aka “The Deadly Galerina” ... In this article we take a look at a little brown job, that is dear to my heart but probably not to most of yours. Honey Mushrooms - Armillaria mellea ... Objects or firewood stacked up against a trunk, misguided nearby plantings, surplus soil or mulch, and other man-made sources can allow certain mycelium to infiltrate oak, maple, grape vines, blackberries, and orchard trees and shrubs. Mark shares some lessons from his professional experience with mitigating and preventing "Oak root rot", a.k.a, Armillarea Root Rot, or Armillaria mellea . Hygrocybe laetissima (Waxy Caps) ... As deep winter settles on the Redwood Coast, you’ll begin to notice many small red, orange and yellow Waxy Caps (Hygrocybe ); sprinkled through the understory of redwood forests; beacons of color in the dark duff. Hygrocybe singeri, Western Witch's Hat ... Have you ever found a bright orange to red waxy cap, and brought it home only to find your once colorful mushroom was dingy black colored? You have found one of the blackening Hygrocybe , or the “Witch’s Hats”. Inky Caps - from "Basic Inky Cap ID for California" ... "Out of the millions of different kinds of fungi out there, I think that inky caps are the coolest by far. They are called inky caps because they dissolve into black ink when they get old. They are also often misidentified, so I put together a list of the common inky caps and their differences." Lawn Agaricus ... This featured species turns up in the plastic bags of people attending the Fungus Fair perhaps more than any other fleshy fungus. Invariably, hordes of people will be lined up at the mushroom ID table with bags containing fresh to soggy specimens of Agaricus mushrooms they found “growing in my lawn. Are these edible? Will they poison my dog, cat, kids?” Marasmius plicatulus ... This species has a lot of features setting it apart from the rest of it’s marasmioid brethren: electric-sunset stipe coloration, oddly wiry-stipes (often tipped in pom-poms of creamy-white mycelium), and finely velvety caps often covered in beaded-up water droplets. Meet Amanita pruittii: Arora’s Amanita, Anonymous No More! ... Those of us who are passionate about all aspects of wild mushrooms are a breed apart. As mycophilic outliers to the societal norm, what better focus for our discerning attention than a mycological oddity like the renamed Amanita pruittii ? This mushroom is unimposing, squat and warted, sometimes grows in standing water, and most curiously, is not found with a mycorrhizal partner! Mycophagy Challenge: Ten Edibles to Find this Year ... People come to the love of mushrooms for various reasons, but for most in this club, the main reason seems to be that they are good to eat! By focusing on learning just a few mushrooms really well, you can “pick up” a few new species each year almost effortlessly. Snorkeling for "The Rogue" Mushroom ... Robert Coffan, an Adjunct Professor of water resources at Southern Oregon University, was vacationing with his family on the Rogue River. A bit of wading resulted in a surprise: He discovered a new species. Sorry, it's a Suillus ... "Look at all these Boletes!" As an eager beginner, you spend an hour in the woods collecting what you think is going to be the meal of the year.... Sorry… it's a Suillus . It's the culinary equivalent of a wet sponge, and a maggot riddled one at that! The Chanterelles ... One of the first wild mushrooms that beginning foragers seek out is our local golden chanterelle. That is most likely because it is relatively abundant, is easy to recognize and has a reputation for being a good edible. For many years, these mushrooms went by the Latin name Cantharellus cibarius . It was only recently that the various different chanterelle species have been given their own unique names. Top Ten Poisonous Mushrooms of California ... Many people come to the love of mushrooms through eating them, and many people don’t eat them because they can be very poisonous. Tricholoma Murrillianum (Matsutake) ... Of all the choice edible mushrooms that occur in our area, none eluded me longer than the matsutake, Tricholoma murrillianum . Wavy Caps (Psilocybe cyanescens) ... Psilocybe is the primary genus of hallucinogenic mushrooms, containing such famous species as Liberty Caps (P. semilanceata ), Cubes (P. cubensis), and the topic of this article, Wavy Caps (P. cyanescens ). What is Not to Love About The Prince? (Agaricus augustus) ... Just when you thought the mushroom season was over, “The Prince” may appear, providing mushroom enthusiasts a culinary bounty. Tall, stately, golden-hued and perfumed like almond paste, this royal-sized mushroom often fruits in warm weather. Coming upon the Prince unexpectedly can be an experience to remember.

News & Stories / The NHR (Nate, Henry and Richard) April Adventure We include this report, adapted from an email report to a small group, to give everyone some background about what goes into planning a successful group foray. And also to show you the lengths to which our new Minister of Long Distance Forays, Nate Segraves, will go in search of prime fungi! Nate Segraves • May 2, 2006 Helvella lacunosa. © Darvin DeShazer (from mushroomobserver.org) Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 2007 Spring Foray Species List Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Writings Fungal Anticipation A poem by FFSC member, Christian Schwarz. Christian Schwarz • October 2, 2006 Photo by Susan Triplett Hearken Fellow Fungophile! The Autumn is now just upon us- We have waited for awhile, In summer's sultry, blazing saunas. But soon... From the soil beneath the grass, Tiny buttons will arise. Caps expanding rather fast: Waking dreams before our eyes. Winter knocks upon the door Calling out to those who listen: "Go and search the forest floor When the Redwood needles glisten..." Spring's rebirth is nearly here- Golden sun coaxing flowers. The winter's rain dried up like tears, Soothed by every passing hour. The colder season's passed us by, Leaving many jewels sequestered. We can only sit and sigh- "Perhaps we'll find them next semester." Peace and Love Everyone Christian Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Haikus Celebrating the Secret Life of Fungi Writings Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / MushroomObserver.org — A Place to Share What We Discover When I first started collecting mushrooms, I was ten years old and my mother was the local authority. She recognized chanterelles and Russulas. She taught me what an Amanita is and to never, ever, ever eat one. Nathan Wilson • November 2, 2006 Chlorophyllum molybdites. © Nathan Wilson (from mushroomobserver.org) However, she also knew that she didn’t know a lot of the species we were finding, so we got some books and joined the Mycological Society of San Francisco. At the time I assumed that all these mushrooms we were finding had names and it was just a matter of getting the right books or finding the right person to figure it all out. Ever since then I have continued to collect and study mushrooms. Ultimately, I broke mom’s rule about the Amanitas , but only after David Arora taught me to recognize Amanita velosa and Amanita calyptrata . Along the way I have also learned that there is a huge amount of basic research that still needs to be done. By some estimates less that 5% of the world’s species of fungi are known to science. While things are slightly better for the large fleshy fungi known as mushrooms, it is still a common experience to come across a mushroom that cannot be easily identified in the available books or which doesn’t really fit the definition of any recognized species. For example, one of those familiar and tasty Amanitas David taught me still needs more scientific work. In particular, it is not completely clear whether the proper scientific name is Amanita calyptrata , Amanita calyptroderma or Amanita lanei . Personally, and I believe David agrees with this, I now call them Amanita calyptroderma . However, there’s still that pretty light-yellow form that shows up in the spring that may or may not be the same species. One of the other things I’ve learned is that there are far too few professional mycologists in the world. However, there are a lot of us amateurs and if we could find a way to channel some of our enthusiasm, I believe it is possible for us to make a meaningful contribution to these problems. With that in mind I have created the website www.mushroomobserver.org . The purpose of this site is to record observations about mushrooms, help people identify unfamiliar mushrooms, and expand the community around the scientific exploration of mushrooms (mycology). Ultimately, I hope this site will become a valuable resource for both amateur and professional mycologists. I like to think of it as a living field journal of mushrooms. The site is designed to provide a permanent place for anyone to contribute to our basic knowledge about mushrooms. Anyone who joins can record mushroom observations, upload images, and get help in identifying mushrooms. All contributions are welcome. The site allows people to make comments on others’ observations and create lists of observations to use as species lists for events or locations. There are still a bunch of features I want to add, but it’s now at a point where I think it’s useful and interesting. The membership has been growing and people are really starting to add data. There are currently over a 1000 photographs of more than 500 species. I hope you get a chance to check out the site and look forward to getting to know those of you who decide to dive in and share what you find. - Nathan Wilson Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts D.I.Y. Mycoblitz Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / 2007 Fungus Fair — Thank You In spite of dry weather we had a good showing of fungi, with a total of 232 species represented. Chilly weather during setup kept the mushrooms fresh. Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Committee • March 2, 2007 33rd Santa Cruz Fungus Fair 2007 T-shirt The well-chilled human setup volunteers were quite pleased to have hot soup provided by Vernetta McGuire and Marilyn Diamond to keep them warm. In all, 60+ dedicated FFSC volunteers and 40 dedicated Museum volunteers and staff worked to setup, run and take down the fair. Always a popular Fair Exhibit. Photo by Catherine Campos Each year we marvel at how much time and effort go into setup and how quickly it all goes away at the end. This year’s teardown set a new record: in one hour and ten minutes it was all done and we were devouring Bob Wynn’s wonderful dinner of mushroom lasagne, quiche and salad! Thanks to all who helped, from picking mushrooms to setup, identifying, staffing tables, cleanup and compost-ing the mushrooms at the end. It would be impossible without you! I’m not naming everyone because, well, I lost my list in transition to a new computer and relying on my poor memory will ensure that someone is left out. But bear in mind that anonymous good deeds count for double credit in the universe! Exhibit at the 2007 Fair. Photo by Catherine Campos Attendance was a bit lower than usual, with about 150 attending the Friday night Members’ Reception and 2200 at the door Saturday and Sunday combined. Vernetta McGuire and the Museum Association put on a wonderful reception Friday night, with great food. Wine was a cut above the usual, with Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards pouring. Massimo Caporale of Gelato Massimo provided Candy Cap Gelato. Marilyn Fenn outdid herself in decorating the Louden Nelson hallway gallery. A few new features were included in this year’s Fair. The addition of Toxicology talks to the Mushrooms 101 room proved timely in the wake of the Amanita phalloides poisoning of a family just prior to the Fair. OurMany thanks to Bill and Louise Freedman for their encouragement and assistance in this endeavor. Rhiannon Crane and Judd Nelson brought two new activities to the Kids’ Room (both of which were popular with adults as well): Guided microscopic tours of a variety of fungal cultures and mushroom dyeing on silk. Book and T-shirt sales were brisk, and 47 new members joined during and since of the Fair. It was a fine event - our sincere thanks to everyone! The Fair Committee Horst Kuhlmann, Chair Bill White, CEO Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Fungus Fair 2009 — Better Than Ever! FFSC 37th Annual Fungus Fair Rocked Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / ACCF 2007 — We Kept the Fun in Fungi The All California Clubs Foray in Mendocino held January 26 - 28 was a sell-out, with attendees from Santa Cruz to Clearlake and Humboldt. Deb • March 2, 2007 Gliophorus (Hygrocybe) psittacinus. © Hugh Smith (from mykoweb.com) Our most distant member was from Minnesota; he joined to attend the foray, and found that he likes leaving the snow for a while and collecting mushrooms in relative warmth. Attendees of ACCF 2007 Debbie Dawson served up fabulous food all week-end and the weather gods were accomodating: it rained for the drive up Friday, and Saturday was sunny and clear. Fungi were more abundant than expected, given the preceding dry, cold conditions, and many people cooperated to put names on the collections. See Douglas Smith’s synopsis and species list below. Dr. Terry Henkel from Humboldt State gave a wonderful talk on wood rotters, providing valuable insight into a process we sometimes take for granted. The foray was a joint effort of the FFSC and BAMS. Many thanks to Debbie Viess and David Rust for all their efforts in making the weekend run so smoothly. The last ACCF was held two years ago, so plan to join us for the next one in a couple of years! Thanks to our ace team of identifiers: Dr. Terry Henkel, Phil Carpenter, Henry Young, Douglas Smith, John Brown, Herman Brown, Debbie Viess, David Rust and a special virtual guest appearance by Dr. Dennis Desjardin, who nailed the ID on our “moth-ball” fungus, Camarophyllopsis foetens . For an interesting account of this mushroom, see this Mushroom of the Month article on the Bay Area Mycological Society website. All California Clubs Foray Species List It wasn't that good a year for edibles. Except for candy caps, which were found in abundance, the other edi-bles were scant. But it was a very good year for number of species found and ID'ed. As this was the All-California foray there were people working the id table from all over California, from Santa Cruz to Humboldt. And I think people spent time in the field looking for little weird guys, since the edibles weren't really coming. Russula stuntzii . © Douglas Smith (from mushroomobserver.org) One of the stars of the weekend were the Hygrocybe psittacina , which are usually rare, but this time every-one brought in a few and there was a pile at the end of the day. Also Russula stuntzii was found for the first time, never found or ID'ed before. But this time almost everyone brought one in. This list has 140 species, the most found for a January foray in the history of keeping lists. There were also about 20 other incompletely identified mushrooms on the list as Genus sp. This list was compiled and com-pared between me ad Debbie Viess, with input from others. As a team effort we were able to get a more complete list. There were 24 new species added to list, which brings us back to 15-20% of species found each time are new to the list. In December only 8% of species found were new. This means were are still not finding a "complete" list of species to find up there, and there is more to find. Which is either good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it. Agaricus hondensis Agaricus subrutilescens Alboleptonia sericella Amanita constricta Amanita franchetii Amanita gemmata Amanita pachycolea Armillaria mellea Auriscalpium vulgare Bisporella citrina Boletus edulis Boletus zelleri Calocera viscosa Camarophyllopsis foetens Camarophyllus borealis Camarophyllus pratensis Camarophyllus russocoriaceus Cantharellus cibarius Cantharellus infundibuliformis Cantharellus subalbidus Caulorhiza umbonata Cholorociboria aeruginascens Clavulina cinerea Clavulina cristata Clavulinopsis laeticolor Clitocybe nebularis Clitocybe nuda Cortinarius alboviolaceus Cortinarius collinitus group Cortinarius luteoarmillatus Cortinarius rubicundulus Cortinarius vanduzerensis Craterellus cornucopioides Crepidotus mollis Cystoderma fallax Entoloma bloxami Entoloma rhodopolium gp. Fomitopsis cajanderi Fomitopsis pinicola Galerina autumnalis Gandoderma tsugae Gomphidius oregonensis Gomphidius subroseus Gomphus clavatus Gomphus floccosus Gomphus kauffmanii Gyromitra infula Hebeloma crustuliniforme Helvella lacunosa Hydnellum aurantiacum Hydnellum peckii Hydnum repandum Hydnum umbilicatum Hygrocybe coccinea Hygrocybe conica Hygrocybe flavescens Hygrocybe psittacina Hygrocybe punicea Hygrocybe singeri Hygrophorus agathosmus Hygrophorus bakerensis Hygrophorus chrysodon Hygrophorus eburneus Hygrophorus erubescens Hygrophorus gliocyclus Hygrophorus hypothejus Hygrophorus pudorinus Hypholoma aurantiaca Hypholoma capnoides Hypholoma fasciculare Hypomyces cervinigenus Hypomyces hyalinus Hypoxylon thouarsianum Inocybe fuscodisca Inocybe geophylla Inocybe lilacina Inocybe pudica Inocybe sororia Jahnoporus hirtus Laccaria amythysteo-occidentalis Laccaria laccata Lactarius argillaceifolius var. megacarpus Lactarius deliciosus Lactarius fallax Lactarius pseudomucidus Lactarius rubidus Lactarius subflammeus Lactarius subvillosus Lactarius xanthogalactus Lenzites betulina Leotia lubrica Leotia viscosa Leptonia violaceonigra Marasmius quercophilus Melanopus badius * formerly Polyporus badius Microglossum viride Mycena californiensis Mycena pura Nidula candida Nidula niveotomentosa Oligoporus chioneus Oligoporus fragilis Omphalotus olivescens Phaeolus schweinitzii Pluteus cervinus Psathyrella gracillis group Psathyrella longipes Pseudohydnum gelatinosum Ramaria botrytis Ramaria formosa Ramaria rasilispora Rhizopogon ochraceorubens Russula abietina Russula amoenolens Russula brevipes Russula brevipes var. acrior Russula cremoricolor Russula cyanoxantha Russula nigricans Russula olivacea Russula sanguinea Russula silvicola Russula stuntzii Russula tenuiceps Russula xerampelina Sarcocypha coccinea Sarcosoma mexicana Sowerbyella rhenana Stereum hirsutum Stropharia ambigua Suillus caerulescens Tapenella panuoides* formerly Paxillus panuoides Thelephora terrestris gp. Trametes versicolor Tricholoma aurantio-olivaceum Tricholoma flavovirens Tricholoma imbricatum Tricholoma saponaceum Tricholomopsis rutilans Tubaria furfuracea Douglas Smith Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 2007 NAMA Annual Foray Report Collecting Conditions in Mendocino at ACCF 2014 Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / New Treatment in Mushroom Poisoning On New Year’s Day a family of six set out for a walk and encountered a good variety of mushrooms. The mushrooms were identified by the grandmother, who had some experience collecting mushrooms in Mexico. They gathered six different varieties, then headed home and made mushroom tacos. Deb • March 1, 2007 Silybin is a compound within Silymarin, an extract of Milk Thistle (from christopherhobbs.com) On January 2 they came to the Dominican Hospital Emergency Department complaining of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Samples of four of the six species were available and identified by FFSC member Mark Gillespie as Lyophyllum decastes , Russula brevipes , Russula chamaeleontina and Lactarius alnicola . Only the L. alnicola is considered inedible due to its acrid latex. Based on liver enzyme levels, it was presumed that one of the other two mushrooms consumed was Amanita phalloides . Treatment for amatoxins in the US is generally supportive, as there is no known antidote. The end result can be a liver transplant (see An Amanita Poisoning Account ) or death, though some come through with liver intact. But a very different path was taken in this case. Dr. Todd Mitchell, hospitalist at Dominican Santa Cruz Hospital, was caring for the family. In researching mushroom poisoning, he came across references to treatment with milk thistle extract for liver damage. Intravenous silymarin extract has been used in Germany with promising results for treatment of mushroom poisoning. This is often discussed in mycological circles but apparently not widely disseminated in the medical community. Indeed, it had never been used in the US for this purpose. Drs. Todd Mitchell and Wendy Knapp made extraordinary efforts to contact the manufacturer in Belgium, obtain protocols for use, solicit emergency FDA approval as an investigative drug (without which shipment was illegal and impossible) and rush the drug, Legalon-Sil, to California. All of this happened extremely quickly, as time was critical. (For a detailed, suspenseful account, BAMS has reprinted a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about the incident, written by Jondi Gumz.) In the meantime, Bio-Silymarin milk thistle extract capsules from Aloha Medicinals here in Santa Cruz were administered to the patients. Five of the six were then transferred to California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, which has a large liver transplant program and greater capacity to care for such a large influx of patients. They agreed to utilize the Legalon-Sil according to the new protocol to treat the two most gravely ill patients, the 83 year old grandmother and the 29 year old man. The grandmother, due to her advanced age, was not a good transplant candidate. The young man seemed destined for a transplant. The other family members recovered and were discharged. Sadly, the grandmother died as a result of the mushroom poisoning. Her liver was recovering and then her kidneys failed. The 29 year old, however, recovered without transplant. Was it because of the silymarin? Unknown. But the significant development is that now this potential treatment can be utilized here, and data collected and evaluated. “We’re going to work closely with the Poison Control Center, Madaus (the manufacturer) and the FDA to allow us to maintain a supply of this medicine in Northern California so it’s available to be used within 12-24 hours,” Mitchell said. In conclusion, Drs. Mitchell and Knapp, Dominican Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center are to be commended for taking bold steps not taken elsewhere in this country. Common names : St. Mary's Thistle, holy thistle. Sometimes called silymarin, after the Latin name Silybum marianum . History : Native to the Mediterranean. Used for thousands of years as a remedy for ailments, especially liver problems. Typically used to treat liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and gallbladder disorders. How it is used : Silymarin can be extracted from the seeds, believed to be the biologically active part. Important : Eating milk thistle or taking a milk thistle supplement is not a cure for mushroom toxicity. Silymarin is a highly purified, intravenously administered extract. If you believe you or someone you know may be experiencing mushroom poisoning or an adverse reaction to eating a mushroom, call 911. To learn more, see Mushroom Poisoning . Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts An Amanita Poisoning Account Matsutake or Amanita? Thank You, Debbie Viess! Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News An Amanita Poisoning Account I had a very big surprise recently. As I was coming upstairs from my shop, I saw a strange truck pull into the driveway. A man, somewhat familiar, walked up to me and said, “remember early September?” Phil Carpenter • March 1, 2007 "Club Dead" - Amanita phalloides. © Debbie Viess (from mushroomobserver.org) “Oh, my god, you came by after eating Amanita phalloides ”. “Yes, and one of the things I recall vividly is that you said I might need a new liver. Well, I’ve got one!” I asked him if he’d mind if I got his full story since I didn’t get any details at the time of the incident. It’s really difficult for me to grill people about their names and the circumstances of how they managed to poison themselves on deadly Amanitas, especially when it’s clear that they are really, really sick. He did tell me in September that he’d let me know how things came out with his experience. It turned out to be an incredible horrific story. When he and his wife showed up at my house on 9 Sept. ’06, it was clear that he was in bad shape. They had examples of the mushrooms and even though it was long before any rain had fallen and the examples were small and quite pale in color, it was clear that they were death caps. I was somewhat puzzled because they had their copy of Mushrooms Demystified along but had deduced that the spore print they had taken was pink and not white. At that time, I told them to delay no longer and go immediately to the closest hospital, in this case Watsonville. Saturday, I found out that it was only AFTER he had eaten them that he checked the reference. He said he went by memory back to a nice tasting mushroom he’d picked 15 years previously that he thought the current Amanitas looked like. He said that he spent a delirious 30 hours at the hospital in Watsonville where he was on IVs for dehydration and lots of oral charcoal. He was then transported up to the medical center at UCSF where he spent another awful three or four days before his liver transplant. He recalled being in absolute misery and pain and felt sure that he would die. He even dictated a will to his family. After the liver transplant, major complications set in, predominantly kidney problems. He said he spent three full weeks after the surgery in incredible pain with only IV feedings and heavy medication the full time. During that time he said he could not eat anything and he could barely function. He says he still has tightness in his stomach muscles, numbness at the point of the incision and a lot of numbness in his right arm, an remnant of either the IV or some other issue with the hospital stay. He said that his body is just now starting to produce red blood cells again. As a consequence his energy level is extremely low. The good news is that his liver is in great shape although he is still on anti-rejection meds, something he said may go on the rest of his life. He related that the major impact of the meal he ate, besides a very painful near-death experience, has been the cost. At this point medications are running him $1500 per month. The stay at the hospital in Watsonville was over $150,000, the ambulance ride up to San Francisco was $34,000 and the total to date (6 months later) is over $800,000! And the clincher? NO INSURANCE! What amazed me was he appeared to be a very happy man. He joked around a lot and seemed to be in excellent spirits. He told his story as if it were some kind of pleasant book he read or something. I didn’t ask how he was possibly going to pay for his expenses and he didn’t volunteer. At least he is still alive but what a story!!! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Yikes! Theres a Fly in My Mushroom! Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Yet Another Dose of Propaganda (April 1 2007) This issue of Duff was a lot of fun to put together, mostly because my collaborator (whose nom de plume just might be Mr. Fe₂O₃) did all the heavy lifting. All I had to do was laugh, and it wasn’t hard! We enjoyed doing it, and hope you have an even better time reading it. - Deb Bo Letos • April 1, 2007 Psilocybe cubensis. © Alan Rockefeller (from mushroomobserver.org) New Arora Book Coming Soon Mushrooms ReMystified - April 1 2007 Edition The long-awaited revision of David Arora’s masterful mushroom reference guide is about to hit local bookstores. In Mushrooms ReMystified , Arora has taken some dramatic steps toward making mushroom identification more accessible to the general public. Some readers might be in for a shock, though, as they learn of some of the book’s new features. “I took out all the confusing keys,” says the author, from his comfortable home on 100 acres in Anchor Bay, California, recognizing that most people just look at the pictures first anyway when they need to identify a mushroom. “And if it’s poisonous, I just call it a toadstool,” he says. In our first preview of the new book, we did notice that the Toadstools section is quite extensive. MRM includes color plates of Arora’s junco feeding station, a whole bear roasting on the hearth, and his favorite fish in the koi pond. Readers will truly enjoy Arora’s attempt at redefining fungal systematics. “Almost all the mushrooms in MDM are West Coast mushrooms with European species names. In MRM, I’ve reclassified and reorganized the genera,” says Arora. All 2,000 or so species now have a California flavor, starting with A garicus arorae , Amanita arorae , Boletus californicus , Cantharellus californicus , Russula arorae , and so on. Even with the publication of this new scientific tome, mainstream academia continues to reject Arora’s body of work until he has earned a “PhD” after his name. Colleagues have peppered UC Santa Cruz Professor Emerita Tanya Hafling with questions about Arora’s academic pursuits. She says he once aspired to study under Dr. Harry Theirs at SFSU, but he just wasn’t taken seriously because he had long hair and a beard, and he was from Santa Cruz. ( The Duff has learned that Arora often spends part of each day tackling online mycology courses through the University of Phoenix.) Mushrooms ReMystified , by David Arora. Three Speed Press, Mendocino, CA. 1,223 pages with 923 color plates, mostly of juncos. This colorful, leather-bound edition retails for only $126; exclusively available for one day only, on April 1, 2007. Long Distance Forays Abolished Nate Segraves, Minister of Long Distance Forays, says the FFSC will no longer hold so-called long distance forays. With gas prices already well over $3.00 per gallon, this might be a wise move. Henceforward, Seagraves will be known as Minister of Medium Distance Forays . “We’re just shrinking things up a bit so people don’t have to drive so far,” he says. “Just hunt in your own yard, like Henry Young,” he offered. Segraves chided members for wanting to go to faraway places like Eldorado county, where nobody ever finds many mushrooms anyway. Segraves hinted that if people want truly long distance forays, they should join NAMA. Some members have cried foul, though, and say they suspect that Nate simply wants to spend more time at home on the weekends with his new baby. Brown Wax Bags No Longer Available A serious problem has arisen in the Santa Cruz mushrooming community. The company that has made brown wax bags for over 100 years has gone out of business. In the future, FFSC members may be forced to use the less desirable opaque wax bags manufactured by Waxtex© Corporation. Some members have tried reusing their bags, but they’ve found that fungi like Suillus pungens and Hygrophorus eburneus make this responsible practice difficult to follow. One member, who has secretly stockpiled eight cases of the more popular and eco-friendly brown wax bags, refuses to share with others. He fears, rightly so, that if he were forced to carry Waxtex© bags in the field, he might be confused as a member of that mushroom group in San Francisco. Recipe Ingredients Questioned Our roving Duff reporter has learned that some of the supposed “wild mushrooms” in potluck items at a recent FFSC event were really store-bought mushrooms purchased in the New Leaf Community Market produce section. The fungal substitutions were initially uncovered by supersleuth Vernetta McGuire and confirmed via DNA analysis in the new mycology laboratory at UC Santa Cruz by Professor Hardly A. Clade. Minister of Culinary Events McGuire is very frustrated by this unethical development. “Button mushrooms in our food,” wailed McGuire. “That is not acceptable. Anybody can buy mushrooms,” she says. The guilty parties, who by the way are known to have vast stores of dried wild mushrooms at home, have been ordered to perform 500 hours of community service collecting real wild mushrooms for this year’s holiday dinner. It is hoped that they won’t retaliate by sneaking blue-staining mushrooms into their potluck items. Ministers Take Minister Thing Seriously Certain leaders of the FFSC have been seen wearing new white collars when attending meetings and shopping at Costco. “Just call me Pastor,” is the new watchword among elected officers. This habit began right after several FFSC “ministers” were spotted in a redwood grove outfitted in unusual mushroom-collecting garb: full length black dresses and black suits. Longtime member Phil Carpenter, who has the air of a Catholic priest, says he no longer has time for collecting mushrooms thanks to his burgeoning sideline making knives, but he does like the look and feel of the new collar. “Morels are overrated,” says Pastor Carpenter, “but morals are forever.” Short Distance Foray Minister Bob Sellers Some members say this demand goes a little far and will continue to call ministers by their first names. However, the FFSC bylaws clearly state that officers of the club are called ministers. “We feel this just makes things a little more formal,” says Pastor Bob Sellers. “Besides, we love the white collars.” Member’s Ingenious Mushroom Hunting Method A broom makes foraging more efficient... Last weekend, a foray participant developed a new method of searching for mushrooms. Instead of looking for mushrooms in the leaf litter and investigating the obvious “mushrumps,” as they’re known in mushperson lingo, she brought along a broom and literally swept her way through the forest. “A broom doubles as a walking stick,” says Ima Forager, “and the yellow handle makes it easy to find if you get distracted,” says Forager, who is known for being easily distracted. This ingenious new method of uncovering hidden fungi has spread like wildfire. CEO Bill White likes the idea so much, that he’s asked the ministers to approve a new Costco broom for each new and renewing member in 2007 as a way to increase mushroom collecting efficiency. New Club Offshoot: WFSC Shea Moss, raising a glass at a WFSC meeting Owing to the popularity of winemaking in the FFSC, a new auxiliary club has formed called the Wine Federation of Santa Cruz (WFSC). President Jerry Moss says the club will hold its meetings at the same time and location as regular meetings of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz, so that the group’s members can “blend in.” WFSC members will only be identified by a secret handshake, a wink of the left eye, and their dark red tannin-stained tongues. Foray Participant Bonks Head “It was raining hard,” whined one of last weekend’s foray participants at Marshall Field. “I was all bundled up, I couldn’t see, and I banged my head on a tree branch,” said member A. Rita Viess, who normally uses a pseudonym instead of her real name. As a result of this incident and to reduce the potential for lawsuits, FFSC foray leaders will conduct pre-foray trips to clean up any low hanging branches. Foray leaders have also promised to stand by with extra umbrellas for members to carry in the woods. (You-know-who who moved up north carries an umbrella, too, and he rarely carries a collecting basket to keep his hands free for plucking boletes!) Salmon Declared Official Fish of the FFSC As part of negotiations to encourage Bill White to undertake another term as CEO, the FFSC ministers have voted to make salmon the official fish. Bill and Gerri are of course thrilled but not surprised by this action. "We eat salmon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so what's not to like?" says Gerri. "When you keep catching 30 plus pound fish, there's only so much room in the freezer." Plans are also underway to declare an official plant, and everybody's favorite so far is Toxicodendron diversilobum . The ministers tabled a motion to declare an official club mushroom, feeling that Clathrus ruber would be too controversial. Coprophylic Fungi Workshop As part of a series of beginner’s workshops, join presenter John Allen on April 1st for this immersion into the world of dung fungi. No reservations required. “Gazing at this wonderful symbiosis of mushroom and dung... Somehow I could feel their aura and I knew that they had been calling me from afar to come and visit them.” (Note: This is an actual quote from " Close Encounters of the Panaeolus Kind " by John W. Allen, taken wholly out of context.) Next month: Growing Funny Mushrooms in Glass Jars. FFSC Members Demand Common Names in Meetings In a move typical of the independent style of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz, several members have circulated a petition to make common names the official language of mushroom hunters. “These speakers come in here and start with the pretty pictures, then blithely move right on to Latin. Who knows Latin, anyway? It’s a dead language,” said Minister of Propaganda Debra Johnson. “Just give the common names,” she said. “That’s all people remember anyway.” CEO Bill White asks, “What if the common name is something like “ Trompette de la Morte ?” We can’t just call them “black trumpets.” This move may cause some inter-club problems, however, and will be very controversial to implement. Richard Lyness, Minister of Programs, says that if this proposal becomes part of the bylaws, it might mean not sharing speakers with the other clubs, especially the Bay Area Mycological Society whose agenda is reputedly “more science-oriented.” Laugh Off Contest Winner Announced John Brown. Photo by Hugh Smith The Annual Laugh Off Contest at last month’s general meeting was quite a hoot! As you know, contestants are asked to give their best laugh, while looking in the microscope at divergent gill trama of an LBM. In the end, it all came down to two contestants: John Brown and Horst Kuhlmann. After almost an hour of deliberation, the judges selected a winner. Judge Diana Chase confessed privately that Horst’s laugh sounded more like a cough, and she just couldn’t vote for him over Brown’s more Santa Claus-like booming outbursts. The victor was awarded a pair of Levi© jeans. Brown took the microphone (as if he needed one) and thanked his parents for raising him. Holding his prize aloft, Brown said, “Hey, these things could keep my legs warm on those cold, rainy days in the woods.” Beginner’s Workshop: Poison Oak Identification Pacific Poison Oak Ever get a terrible rash on your hands and face (and elsewhere sometimes if you were foolish enough to pee in the woods) after a mushroom hunt? Here’s the perfect solution: an in-depth three hour session on how to identify Western Poison Oak ( Toxicodendron diversilobum or Rhus diversiloba ). You’ll learn fascinating tidbits like: Look! three leaves Poison oak is the most common allergy in the country Poison oak was discovered by David Douglas (1799-1834) on Vancouver Island (Douglas fir is also named after him), and Technu really works! The day begins with a foray to collect samples for ID in the workshop. Meet at Marshall Field at 10:00 AM. The foray meeting place is 3.8 miles from somewhere-or-other intersection down the road a ways. For more information and directions, email workshop coordinator Marje Young. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Stories from the April 1, 2008 Issue of Duff Stories from the April 1, 2010 Issue of Duff Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Chewy Noels What, you may ask, is a Chewy Noel? If you’ve been to a FFSC event (circa 2006), you’ve probably had them: they’re the mysterious chewy, nutty confections John Brown sometimes makes. ... Holiday party dessert table I call them "mysterious" because until I read the ingredients, I had always thought they involved dates, or carob, or something, well, mysterious. Nary a mushroom in them, but they’ll be a fine addition to your holiday celebrations. Objective: Dessert Total Time: About an hour Yield: Varies by appetite Suggested Mushrooms: See code Ingredients 4 eggs 2 cups white sugar 1/4 cup molasses 2 tsp. vanilla 5/8 cups flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 cube (2 oz) salted butter 2 cups walnuts 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for rolling pieces in) If making a double batch, besides doubling everything add an extra egg. Method Preheat oven to 350° Separate 4 eggs, beat till stiff whites, then yolks, mix together. Add 2 C white sugar, 1⁄4 C molasses and 2 t vanilla, mix. (You may substitute a one pound box of brown sugar.) Separately mix 5/8 C flour, 1⁄2 t salt, 1 t baking soda: add to above Melt 1⁄2 cube (2 oz) salted butter into a 9x13 pan Crumble 2 C walnuts into goo, pour into pan and bake. It can be burnt on top & collapsed in middle. Bake for about 30 minutes. Doneness test: toothpick comes out clean, but remember that the bottom of cake is intentionally gooey. Cool, remove from pan, cut into pieces & roll in powdered sugar Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / 2006 Albion I Foray Species List There were 107 species identified this year, which is a fairly low number for the December. foray. In comparison, last year was the best year, and 158 species were identified. Douglas Smith • February 2, 2007 Aureoboletus mirabilis. © Douglas Smith (from mushroomobserver.org) Albion I 2006 collections. Photo by Douglas Smith Many people commented that it was an unusual year, the season was off, not quite going just yet. Many species were found this year that haven’t been seen for years. One strange fact is that only 8 new species were found this year. Usually 15-20% of the species ID’d were new species not seen before, but this year there were only a few. Makes me wonder if we are getting close to seeing all the species that are possible up there, but I’m sure that is not true. If we could get better with Ramaria and Cortinarius we could have had a dozen more species on this list. Full species list below. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 2007 Spring Foray Species List 2007 NAMA Annual Foray Report Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News D.I.Y. Mycoblitz I don't understand mushrooms. I mean I really just don't. They are either, as my father would say, all the same to me, or at the other extreme all different, seeming to defy any sort of organization. Douglas Smith • March 2, 2007 Amanita augusta. © Douglas Smith (from mushroomobserver.org) Editor's Note: When Gary Lincoff spoke to us in January, he encouraged us to start our own personal mycoblitzes, as he had done in Manhattan’s Central Park, to increase our understanding of the fruiting patterns in a specific place and our overall knowledge of fungi. Nancy Smith Weber visited us in 2001 and told of her long-time survey of her amazingly fecund Portland, Oregon backyard. Nancy’s account is in our video library, entitled “Mushrooms Around the House”. Closer to home, the FFSC’s Douglas Smith has embarked upon a survey in an area near his house. Read on to find out why, and what you can do to help. This extreme misunderstanding demands some sort of effort to sort it all out. After looking at mushrooms for a few years now, I thought I would give it try. But the problem is too large - you need to break it down. If all the mushrooms in the world are too much to try and understand, well then, how about something smaller? What about all the mushrooms in California? No. How about the Bay Area? Still too big. I needed something smaller to start with, and somewhere close to home. I ended up with the idea of a small hike, two to three miles, somewhere close enough to home. The Los Trancos open space preserve in Palo Alto is only a fifteen minute drive from home for me, and has a good mixed hardwood forest starting only a few hundred yards from the parking lot. To give understanding mushrooms a shot, I figured I’d start with this. But there is a problem: as we all know, the gathering of mushrooms in a preserve is against the rules, and not something I could then talk about doing after-wards. At the urging of John Brown, I decided to try and go legit. I contacted the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District ( www.openspace.org ) about a permit to gather mushrooms for a survey. After some discussion, and showing them examples of photos and lists from the Albion forays, they agreed to grant me a permit to study the mushrooms of the Los Trancos preserve for educational purposes, and provide all information to them at the end of the season in April. For this season I have been going up to the Los Trancos preserve about twice a month, doing the same hike each time, and trying to gather a few specimens of each mushroom observed. Then I will photograph the mushrooms, and try my best to ID the specimens. I am trying not to limit myself, as much as possible, and gather all fungal bodies observed. I hope to get a more complete understand-ing of mushrooms, at least from this one small spot in the world. To go along with this, and since I am legit now, I have been posting regular updates of the progress of this survey on the Mushroom Observer web site. You can help out, and keep up with the progress with the Species in Los Trancos Preserve list on the site. This list will get updated about every two weeks, with the new species observed, and samples of the photos taken. This can give you an idea of what is out there in the mixed hardwood forests of the Bay Area, and also you can help out. Each species identification can be commented upon; I have already gotten comments from people, and this has helped in providing a more accurate list of species observed. Hopefully by April I will have a more complete understanding of mushrooms after doing this. But I am not counting on it, in fact I will probably end up understanding less. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts ACCF 2007 — We Kept the Fun in Fungi 2007 NAMA Annual Foray Report Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article