Search this site

Auriscalpium vulgare (Soquel, 2016). Photo by Cass Fuentes Auriscalpium vulgare on Pinecone Cass Fuentes Exploring the Soquel Demonstration Forest at the FFSC local foray in February, and though the weather was amazing, the fleshy fungi were few and far between... None-the-less, there was some really cool finds, including Hericium coralloides (a choice edible related to Lion's Mane), and Auriscalpium vulgare . Camera (Not provided) Focal L. Aperture Shutter Sp. ISO Flash Photo taken on February 20, 2016 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

Oyster Mushroom Tart Weldon & Carol Wong attribute this recipe to Louise Freedman. Louise is a cookbook author, FFSC & MSSF member, and a wonderful chef! The tart differs each time it's made. by Weldon & Carol Wong Pleurotus ostreatus. © Alan Rockefeller (from mushroomobserver.org) Method Bake a bottom pie crust (recipe of your choice), and then let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes to firm. Sauté all the mushrooms in butter till soft, remove heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the rest of the ingredients to the cooled mushrooms, mixing well. Pour mushroom mixture into the baked bottom pie crust (recipe of your choice). Bake for 25+ minutes at 375 degrees until firm (no jiggle and egg binding passes the knife test). Enjoy! Recipe contributed: May 2003 The really nice thing about this tart is that it has intense mushroom flavor with clean cilantro and tangy caper overtones, but contains very little egg to mute the flavors. Objective: Main course Total Time: 1 -2 hours (varies by crust) Yield: Varies by slice size Suggested Mushrooms: Oyster / king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus ostreatus) Porcini (Boletus edulis, Boletus regineus, Boletus rex-veris) Join FFSC or renew your membership to access the rest of this content. Join FFSC Login as an FFSC member to access the rest of this content. Login Ingredients 1 lb oyster mushrooms sliced or chopped as desired 1 egg 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1 medium bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped 1 small jar capers, drained Butter (as needed for sauté) Boletes, etc. to taste/availability Salt and pepper to taste Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

Showcase a Photo Do you have beautiful, interesting or just plain quirky photos of mushrooms to share? FFSC members share their photos of mushrooms and events to our FFSC Google Group and the FFSC Facebook Group. Selected images (editor’s choice) can also be posted on this FFSC website and FFSC's Instagram page. Strobilurus trullisatus (Fort Bragg 2013). Photo by Hugh Smith Some of the photos on this website were originally posted many years ago when the size limitations were much lower. We'd love to replace them with sharper originals if possible--and we're interested in new photos too! Info We Need from You If you have great photos to share, here's the information we'll need from you: Your name - For the photo credit. Latin binomial (if it's a mushroom you've identified) Date shot - Approximate month and year Backstory - Any stories to tell about the photo? Or rough location or region, or habitat info, did you leave them in the field or bring home? If edible, how did you prepare them? The photo's specs : If you're sharing a photo to include in Fungi Photo Gallery, please provide the photo's ISO speed, exposure, focal length, and aperture; flash usage if any; and the camera make and model. (Or don't delete the photo's original EXIF data.) Technical Requirements This website automatically crops and resizes each photo to adapt to different page layouts, screen sizes and orientations, etc. Thus, your photo will work better on this site if you follow these guidelines: Don't crop the photo: Instead, share a photo in which the main subject has plenty of breathing room around all sides (so the interesting bits don't get cropped out by our system). File size: At least 100KB (max is 25 MB). Resolution: At least 2560x1440. 3000x3000 is better for images that will be zoomed in, and for background images DPI : 72 DPI is acceptable. (Or up to 300 DPI.) File format: We recommend AVIF, WebP, or JPEG. For illustrations, PNG is also fine. If you share an SVG, it should be under 250KB with no embedded images. (Our system supports most other image file formats too, but the quality might be affected during conversion.) File name: Use plain English, including spaces. Don't replace spaces with dashes, underscores, etc. You can include periods, commas, parentheses, and/or a copyright symbol in the filename. For example, here are some filenames on a Mac: Usage of Your Photos and Other Creative Works This website uses content and automated feeds from the FFSC Facebook group, FFSC Instagram posts, FFSC's iNaturalist projects, FFSC's YouTube, and other social media managed by FFSC. This means any artwork or other works that you post to FFSC-managed pages/feeds may also be displayed on this website without notice or a photo credit. If we individually select one of your photos/videos from an FFSC social media channel or system and include it on this website, we'll do our best to include your name as a credit on hover (or mobile device tap). That said, if you see one of your own photos on this website without a photo credit, it's probably because we didn't know you took it (or one of our volunteers forgot to include it). Feel free to use the Contact Us form on this website to let us know whether you'd like to be credited (or if you would like us to remove the photo). Including Someone Else's Photo If you saw a beautiful photo on someone else's website and you'd like to share it, you can post a link to it in our Google Group or our Facebook group. If you're writing an article for this website and you want to include photos that you didn't take yourself, one option is to provide a link to the original photo (rather than including the photo as an attached file). Depending on the source website, our system might render the first image on the target page as part of the link. For example: www.inaturalist.org inky caps (Genus Coprinus) inky caps from Santa Cruz County, US-CA, US on October 30, 2016 at 09:06 AM by Peter Vahlberg. Gigantic! www.mykoweb.com California Fungi: Cantharellus californicus Photographs and descriptions of the Mushrooms and other Fungi of California, USA That said, if you prefer to include the image inline, then you must have the transferable legal right to copy and share the photo on this website: You must make sure the photo is licensed for free, non-commercial use worldwide. Be sure to include whatever credits the photographer requires, and also let us know where you found the photo (e.g., is it from Mushroom Observer, MykoWeb, iNaturalist, etc.). Do not include any photos, videos, or images you downloaded from Google or other search engines. Those images are often protected under copyright law. If you're using a mushroom stock photo, it must be licensed for free noncommercial use worldwide, and please make sure it's a genuine photo (not generated by AI). See FFSC Terms of Use for more information about the use of copyrighted content on this site. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC

Chanterelle Pancake Crepes Fresh from the forest and down on the table, a delicious chanterelle recipe, contributed by Annie Lang. by Annie Lang Chanterelle. Photo by Yevgeny Nyden Method Topping Heat oil in a frying pan. Sauté the onions and bacon. Drain most of the bacon fat. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook 10 minutes, until the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the parsley and sour cream and boil down a little, till slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Batter Put the flour in a bowl, mix with salt. Add the eggs. Gradually incorporate the milk until the batter is relatively smooth. Add the finely chopped herbs and mix well. Note : this will be a thin batter. Not like American pancake batter, think crepes. Heat a pan with olive oil. Add pancake batter and cook until lightly golden, flip and cook until the other side is lightly golden. Place pancakes on the plate, top with the mushroom sour cream mixture, roll and plate. Serve with a salad and enjoy! Bonus : These pancakes can also used for soups in place of noodles. Roll the pancakes, slice to the width of linguine. Recipe contributed: March 2012 Objective: Main course Total Time: About an hour Yield: 8-10 pancakes Suggested Mushrooms: Chanterelle (Cantharellus californicus, Cantharellus formosus, Cantharellus subalbidus) Join FFSC or renew your membership to access the rest of this content. Join FFSC Login as an FFSC member to access the rest of this content. Login Ingredients 500 g (1 lb.) Fresh Chanterelles, shredded or cut to bite-sized pieces (or you can use any mushroom you like) 125 g (4 oz.) Bacon, diced 2 Onions, diced 1⁄2 bunch Parsley, chopped 200 g ( 3/4 C) Sour Cream check weight/measure Salt, peppr – to taste 300 g Flour (apx. 2 1/2 C) 600 ml (2 1/2 C) Milk 6 Eggs, beaten 1 bunch Chives Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / Fungus Fair Sculpture at the Wharf Santa Cruz Main Beachgoers were presented with an big, bodacious Fungus Fair sand sculpture last weekend courtesy of FFSC member Bill Lewis. Deb • January 6, 2014 Fungus Fair sand sculpture by Bill Lewis. Photo by Joe Paquin. Is this not incredible? Thank you, Bill! Thanks to Joe Paquin for the photo. Volunteer for the Fungus Fair - it's happening this coming weekend! Setup starts on Wednesday. We still need volunteers, so this is an ideal time to sign up. Click and link and go for it! Set Up : http://ffsc.ivolunteer.com/setup Fair : http://ffsc.ivolunteer.com/fungusfair See you there! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 40th Fungus Fair: Time lapse of the Island setup A Short History of the Fungus Fair Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Albion I 2009 – A Great Time for All The Albion I foray was attended by 48 wonderful folks, including a first-time contingent of about ten from Russia. This great group of people really know how to work with mushrooms that we tend to kick instead of pick. Richard Rammer • January 1, 2010 Phil with a rare Plungeratus carpenteria verde from Albion. Photo by Lynn Williams Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Albion I, 2010 – A Great Time for All Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Triple Mushroom Soup A variation of this recipe was served at FFSC's December, 2002 Holiday potluck. by Patria Brown Lentinula edodes. © CC BY-NC by Keeper Trout (from inaturalist.org, ID 66490108) Method If you use dried mushrooms, soak them for about an hour, and then add the strained liquid to the broth (total 9 cups of liquid). Pour the mushroom broth into large soup pot. Wash all fresh mushrooms carefully. Slice 1/4 of the mushrooms into thin slivers and set aside. Slice the other 3/4 of the mushrooms thickly, and then cook them in the mushroom broth until they are very tender. Liquify the mushrooms and their broth in a blender. Sauté the remaining 1/4 of the mushrooms in butter until crispy. Combine the liquified and sautéed mushrooms in the soup pot. Add the sherry, and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook another ten to fifteen minutes. Serve the soup hot, using the parsley and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt as a garnish. Some people may like to add more salt or pepper at the table. Recipe contributed: February 2003 Objective: Soup Total Time: Yield: 16 servings Suggested Mushrooms: Portobello/portabella, champignon, cremini, button (Agaricus bisporus) Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) Join FFSC or renew your membership to access the rest of this content. Join FFSC Login as an FFSC member to access the rest of this content. Login Ingredients 3 lbs of fresh wild mushrooms, or 5-9 oz dried (or a combo of cremini, portabello, and shiitake) 9 cups of mushroom broth (if using dried mushrooms, substitute the reserved soaking liquid for some of this) 1 qt half & half (or whole or low-fat works too) 6 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup dry sherry salt and freshly ground pepper parsley (minced to taste) sour cream or yogurt Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / Letter from the Outgoing CEO As my tenure as the CEO of the Fungus Federation comes to a close, there are a few milestones to note and many people be thanked. Mark Gillespie • May 1, 2003 Mark Gillespie, circa 2003 Over the last two years our web site has been completely revamped by Lisa Tesler. She has done an outstanding job of revising our web site and continues to manage it in a very professional manner. We even have the Duff online now. We are much in her debt. Vernetta McGuire has taken over the culinary committee and is assisted by her husband Bill, Marilyn Fenn and the rest of the outstanding committee. Bob Wynn continues to be one of our most stalwart chefs and a driving force in all of these events. The culinary events have expanded and have gone off very smoothly and successfully. We may have to keep this team on indefinitely. Phil Carpenter has taken over running the Fair and the 2003 event was considered one of our best ever. He took over from Lee Yamada, who did an outstanding job for many years. We don’t have enough ink to thank everyone associated with the Fungus Fair. It is a combined effort of dozens of people. For those I haven’t space to mention here, please forgive me. There are so many people behind the scenes who make these activities the success they are. As I look back, I am very thankful to be part of this group and look forward to spending many years to come with you. Mark Gillespie, CEO Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Message From Our Incoming CEO 2009 Demise of the Duff Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Stewardship From the Incoming CEO, 2001 This year I will be taking over from Deb Johnson as CEO. She has left me some very big shoes to fill and as such I would like to begin by thanking her for doing an outstanding job as CEO for the last two years. Mark Gillespie • September 1, 2001 Mark Gillespie She has been a very gracious and talented leader who will be helping me as I transition into this role. We are looking forward to another great year of collecting and getting together at all of our events. I am looking forward to getting better acquainted with everyone in the organization. Last years light rains made for a shorter season than the past few years, so I am sending my pleas for bountiful rains to the gods earlier this year. We are looking forward to the Lake Tahoe forays later in September. There will be plenty of good company, food, and hopefully mushrooms.We also want to encourage more people to get involved as a minister with the FFSC. This is a great group of people that get together once a month for a good meal and each other's company. You will stay informed and get to hear of upcoming events before they appear in the Duff. This spring you can even run for a position when we have elections for new ministers. Hint hint! I would like to take a moment to thank our editor Madeleine Wyke for continuing with us another year. This is the biggest job in the FFSC with a constant deadline. The Duff s have been outstanding and she deserves a round of applause. All members are encouraged to contribute any articles of interest for the Duff early and often. You can call me if you have an idea and are too shy to put something forth. I would be happy to help out. One thing I have appreciated is the new format she has implemented. It's very clean and easy to read. Over the summer. Phyllis Cole passed along a request from the secretary of NAMA: They had a peek at our organization bylaws and wanted to know if they could be offered for use to other NAMA affiliated groups. These would serve as a template for groups to draft their bylaws as they get started. We made a quick check with the ministers using our new mailing list and decided to give them the nod. Most of the group found it a compliment that our bylaws were so highly thought of. They found the titles of minister for our officers very amusing. It was decided leave those titles out to protect our originality. With that lead in, the long promised mailing list for the FFSC is finally here. Please tell any members you speak with that it is now available. Anyone may post a message to the group. I talked with Mike Wood from the MSSF and got a few tips for managing our list, which I would like to pass along. Please only post messages relating to Federation business. Personal messages are not appropriate, i.e. selling one's automobile. One of the topics that has circulated on the mailing list, are continuing updates on SOD (Sudden Oak Death). This plague now has a name from the scientists who first described it in Europe, Phytophthora ramorum . I had a chance to meet Phyllis Cole's niece Shannon Murphy this summer. Shannon is doing research for her masters' degree with David Rizzo at UC Davis on SOD. I mentioned to her that there might be SOD on some oaks near our house that include Quercus wislizenii , the interior live oak. She responded that no cases have been confirmed on interior live oaks and she may return in the fall to verify that our infections are SOD and in interior live oaks. I talked with a local arborist, Maureen Hamb, who pointed out a possible problem. Interior and coast live oaks ( Quercus agrifolia ) can hybridize together and it can be very difficult to distinguish the two. Shannon gave me an ID tip for differentiating the two species. The underside of the leaves contains side veins that branch off the central vein. Leaves with ten or less side veins are coast live oaks and those with more than ten are interior live oaks. We'll keep you posted if her group determines SOD appears to be in interior live oaks as well. I look forward to seeing all of you in the field and at our events! Mark Gillespie, CEO Note from the Editor : Certain info (email addresses, etc.) was subsequently removed from this article due to updates to privacy laws, etc. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Letter from the Outgoing CEO Message From Our Incoming CEO 2009 Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Warm Endive Salad with Chanterelles, Enoki and Asparagus Here is a recipe that you will see in Marjorie Young's and my upcoming book, From Duff to Dinner . by Vince Viverito and Marje Young Flammulina velutipes. © Ulysses M (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 142054993) Method Infuse the Olive Oil Overnight 24 hours prior to serving the salad, heat the oil and basil to 110°F in a saucepan (you can use a kitchen thermometer to monitor the temperature.) Let it cool slightly, cover it, and refrigerate* immediately to steep overnight. Strain the infusion through a fine mesh strainer or paper coffee filter. Return infused oil to the refrigerator until ready for use (consume within 4 days). Pull the oil out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving, so it can warm back up to a smooth liquid. Prepare the Salad Fill a large bowl with enough ice water to submerge the bunch of asparagus. In a large pot, boil water and season with salt and 1 tsp. baking soda. Blanch asparagus in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer the asparagus to the ice water bath, and reserve. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the basil-infused olive oil in pan and cook the chanterelles until they release their water and are soft and aromatic. Season chanterelles to taste with salt and pepper. On a separate cutting board, cut off the woody root base of the enoki, separate the stands, and toss the enoki into a pan with oil or butter to sauté until wilted (about 2 minutes). Arrange the enoki on a plate and allow them to steam for 3 minutes. In the meantime, thoroughly wash the cutting board and your hands before touching other foods.** Cut the chilled asparagus into 1" pieces, and place in a salad bowl or individual plates. Trim the Belgian endive as needed, and place in salad bowl or on the plates. Drizzle the sautéed chanterelles over the salad. Garnish with the enoki** mushrooms and shaved Parmesan cheese. * Note : Fresh basil can carry soil-borne moisture and microbes into the olive oil, such as Clostridium botulinum spores. As 110°F is too low to kill the spores, it's best to keep the oil infusion refrigerated. Alternatively, if you want to save refrigerator space, here's a counter-safe approach that uses dried basil instead: Place ⅓ cup dry basil in a clean, dry, heatproof glass jar, and crush the basil gently to release the essential oils. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan to 180°F. Pour the hot oil over the dried basil, and cap the jar tightly. Steep on the counter at room temperature overnight to build a strong flavor. (3 to 5 days will build a stronger flavor.) Before using, strain the oil through a fine mesh sieve or paper coffee filter to remove gritty herb particles. (If you choose to store the oil for longer, strain it within 2 weeks to prevent bitterness, and to keep the oil clean and bright.) Similarly, fresh garlic, herbs, or peppers can introduce moisture and the risk of botulism. If you want to add such flavors, use garlic powder, dried herbs, dried chili flakes, etc. to keep the oil pantry-safe. ** Note: As of the 2020s, the CDC and FDA warn that raw enoki is prone to carrying Listeria monocytogenes . Traditional Asian cuisines always serve enoki cooked, even in chilled dishes where the mushrooms are blanched and cooled first. Recipe contributed: January 1998 This recipe comes to us from Chef Joseph M. Cirone (former owner of Hay Market restaurant and Over Under bar in San Jose), and is one of many wonderful mushroom recipes we have collected and printed with permission. Editor's Note : From Duff to Dinner is out of print, but you can still find used copies in good condition online. Objective: Salad Total Time: 45 mins plus 24 hours for oil infusion Yield: Serves 4 to 6 as a second course Suggested Mushrooms: Chanterelle (Cantharellus californicus, Cantharellus formosus, Cantharellus subalbidus) Enoki (Flammulina filiformis, Flammulina velutipes) Join FFSC or renew your membership to access the rest of this content. Join FFSC Login as an FFSC member to access the rest of this content. Login Ingredients Basil-Infused Olive Oil 2 cups extra virgin olive oil 1 bunch basil (Alternatively, buy infused oil at your local market.) Salad ¼ lb. chanterelles or hedgehogs 1 package enoki 4 to 6 heads Belgian endive 1 bunch asparagus 1 tsp. baking soda Salt and pepper to taste Parmesan cheese, shaved as a garnish Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / Mushrooms and Cooking in Oaxaca Last March we learned of a 5-day/5-night foray with cooking demonstrations and classes to be held in the mountains north of the 5000' high city of Oaxaca in July. Phyllis Cole • October 1, 2004 Lactarius indigo (Indigo milk cap). © Jenny Rhea (from inaturalist.org - ID 12549140) The co-organizers were Mark Thomsen (member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco), and American Susana Trilling, a chef who has lived in Mexico for 17 years. Susana's cooking school ( seasonsofmyheart.com ) and family are located 30 minutes west of Oaxaca. We signed up immediately! Tour members included Susana, Mark, our extraordinary driver, Joaquin, a resident of NC living in Cuernavaca for a couple of years, and four FFSC members, the Yamacoles (us), Dan Bava from Stockton and his friend Joanie from Salinas. Mountains of the Zapotec north of the city of Oaxaca. Photo by Lee Yamada Most of the tour was in and around small towns in the steep mountains north of Oaxaca, whose residents are descended from the Zapotec Indians. Many of the towns are "mancomunales" - run collectively - and usually only people born in a village are able to own land. Each year people are elected to hold various annual positions; all positions are considered an honor, even if it is to be in charge of keeping streets clean. We met the Presidente of one town and several Cocineras (head cooks). Susana had made friends with all the hoteliers, restaurateurs and foragers we met. As a result, all those we met were uniformly friendly, excited to learn more about mushrooms, and generous with their time. The Tour We started with Wednesday dinner at Susana's cooking school, where we ate a wonderful meal prepared by those attending Susana's daylong cooking class. Thursday morning we visited Sierra Viva, a project in Oaxaca run by residents of small. mancomunales in the mountains north of Oaxaca. Sierra Viva buys, dries, sells, packages and locally markets a variety of wild mushrooms. These include Boletus edulis (porcini), Lyophyllum decastes (the "fried chicken group") Lactarius salmonicolor (presumably a salmon-colored lactarius), L. indigo (the indigo milk cap), Russula brevipes (short-stemmed Russula), Hypomyces lactiflourum (lobster mushroom), Tricholoma magnivelare (matsutake), Cantharellus cibarius (chanterelle), Morchella esculenta (morel), and Amanita caesarea (Caesar's mushroom). Amanita caesarea of the Oaxacan mountains. Photo by Lee Yamada We found that the Oaxacan A. caesarea were as common as the LBMs (little brown mushrooms) we find locally and looked like those we found in Italy, unlike those found on the USA's East coast. A note from Mushrooms of Northeastern North Americ a, A. Bessette, A. Bessette, & D. Fischer, 1997, p. 62: "North American collections of A. caesarea are often called A. umbonata , A. jacksonii or A. hemibapha ; the group needs more study." Next we drove north to El Punto, visiting woodworkers who turned a single piece of wood on a lathe to create molinos (mills), whose rings turned freely to whip chocolate into froth! Although a cabinetmaker, Lee had to work hard to complete even the first step. At the next village famous tortilla makers demonstrated their style - we were not successful in making tortillas, but we did well at eating them. We stopped briefly where oyster mushrooms ( Pleurotus ostreatus ) had been grown in a dirt-floored hut. Due to a fly infestation, the day before our visit the building had been cleaned up, so no mushrooms were present. We then met our first local forager, Telly, to forage in a private campground owned by his brother. We found Lactarius indigo , Russula brevipes , Amanita caesarea , plus several other Amanitas and lots and lots of Russulas . We returned to Telly's restaurant where we were served the first of many moles, complex sauces requiring more than a dozen ingredients to be individually prepared. We ate both a mole amarillo with commercially grown oyster mushrooms, and a mole coloradito with Caesar's mushroom. After lunch we drove to Itzlán, home of Benito Juárez (Mexico's Lincoln), checked into our hotel, and went to Lulu's, a local restaurant. Lulu and her family (all friends of Susana's) were delighted to see us and graciously allowed us to use their kitchen for a mushroom tasting - we were far too full for a meal! Lee and Mark cooked up a variety of mushrooms, including Lactarius indigo , Russula brevipes , Amanita caesarea and Lepiota procera (parasol mushroom). Friday morning we drove higher into the mountains before arriving at Capulapan, where local foragers and biologists took us hunting in a protected area. We took our finds to the local Concinera, where we had lunch. We drove on to a school of herbal medicine for massages before a traditional Zapotec sweat lodge with herbs. Returning to Itzlán, we spent the night and had dinner at Lulu's, where Lee and Mark again did a tasting of our finds. Saturday morning we visited a trout farm (one of two in the area) before driving higher into the mountains to Lachatao, where Lilia, supervisor of several natural resources in the area, and her assistants took us on a foray. We found lots of Amanitas and Russula brevipes , but only 1-2 matsutake. Enthusiasm for the habitat took us to a second site before we returned to town and cleaned the mushrooms. In the equivalent of a small, open-air town kitchen beside the town hall, the local Cocinera demonstrated various ways to cook over the traditional Zapotec wood-burning stove. After some wonderful chats with the cordial and hospitable Presidente, we took two quick side trips to check out some shiitake logs - they were not fruiting. In Cuajimolojas, Doña Lucia at her traditional Zapotec wood-fired stove. Photo by Lee Yamada By now, rain was falling and it was getting dark: we can-celed a 4-hour hike on a pre-Hispanic path. Instead we piled into our van: Joaquin safely drove us on narrow dirt roads in steep mountains through pouring rain. Our destination was Yolanda's small restaurant, which doubled as the kitchen of her home; it had a dirt floor and the traditional Zapotec stove. Here for the first time we had squash-vine soup, rice served with sautéed plantains and a foil-baked whole trout stuffed with beans, carrots, and shiitake. After dinner we traveled a bit further to rustic cabins heated by fireplaces in Cuajimolojas, a small village in the cloud forest. Following a delicious breakfast we met Joel, our guide for the day. Alas, the only porcinis on our foray were in the hands of a family of foragers. We ooh-ed and ahhh-ed over their finds and somehow fit the family into our van to give them a lift back to town. Back at the restaurant we had a wonderful meal: including two different moles, rice, and special local potatoes, all with wild mushrooms. We celebrated Joel's birthday with songs in both English and Spanish and presented him with small mushroom-related gifts. Joaquin then drove us back to Oaxaca, where we checked into our hotel, and then met for an excellent farewell dinner at a restaurant chosen by Joaquin, our underground gourmet. Mushrooms in Oaxaca Oaxaca and Chiapas are the poorest two states in Mexico. While select wild fungi can help small poor villages augment diet and meager incomes, the local people have few ways to learn about edible mush-rooms. In our brief visit to a half-dozen towns, we introduced some residents to new edible mushrooms: an almond-scented Agaricus , A. subrufescens , (local residents had not previously eaten any Agaricus ), and Lepiota procera . Hunting and commercially raising mushrooms are limited because of lack of knowledge. Perhaps NAMA's Education Committee or another group might consider "mycological outreach", e.g., teaching local people how to identify other edible mushrooms and how to produce shiitake spawn. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Setas Silvestres in San Sebastian Foray to Mexico Mushrooms of Australia and New Zealand Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Learn About Mushrooms The Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz is all about educating its members and the general public about the dangers and delights of collecting, studying, consuming , and creating art with wild mushrooms. We understand that people learn in different ways. We aim to offer something for everyone! Winter Chanterelles Bunch. Photo by Yevgeny Nyden Classes & Speakers FFSC members take ID classes & workshops from our science advisors to learn the systematic procedures of mushroom identification. This is particularly critical for anyone planning to eat wild mushrooms. We host monthly speakers , and also invite speakers to present at the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair and some of our Long Distance Forays . Plus, we share recipes for mushroom dishes, along with information about external classes for people interested in photographing mushrooms, cooking mushrooms, and even creating crafts with mushrooms! Online Learning Our Featured Fungi pages highlight some of the local (and few not-so-local) mushrooms that you may find in your wanderings, courtesy of our current and past science advisors and foray leaders. As tech evolves, we're also experimenting with new ways to share tips and advice to help people learn about mushrooms! Check out our free FFSC Online Learning area for our first few programs on how to get started with collecting and identifying mushrooms. Note: The educational content we provide on this website is intended to supplement (not replace) formal classes, published books and field guides. Informal Knowledge Sharing Many FFSC members enjoy sharing their knowledge and experience via our Google Group mailing list, as well as in person at our club events, and at our biggest event: The Santa Cruz Fungus Fair. Knowledgeable members of FFSC make themselves available to provide mushroom ID services to others. (In fact, local hospitals have consulted with a select group of our science advisors for many years, to evaluate mushroom poisoning cases.) Special Projects & Scholarships Are you working on a mycology project at your school? FFSC offers scholarships and grants to support STEM and mycology research. See our Scholarships page for more information. More Resources Other Mycological Clubs Other Nonprofit Resources Members Only Content Login Join FFSC