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Fungi for Teachers and K-6 We offer educational support for teachers; and kids are welcome at our forays, ID classes, free monthly talks, and culinary events! Cover image of the Fungus Files, by terraBrie Stewart and Rost Koval, courtesy of NAMA As a teacher, there are many ways you can encourage students to learn about mushrooms, even if you're not an expert yourself. A Free Educational Resource The North American Mycological Association (NAMA) has generously shared an incredible resource with K-6 educators and the public: Image from The Fungi Files by terraBrie Stewart and Rost Koval, courtesy of NAMA The Fungus Files: An Educator’s Guide to Fungi K-6 (Second Edition) , is a newly revised e-book packed with dynamic and diverse activities designed to be easily adaptable to students of all ages, learning styles and ability levels. This publication is the best thing to come along in mushroom education in a decade. Written by terraBrie Stewart and designed and illustrated by Rost Koval, The Fungus Files can be used by anyone teaching about fungi to school groups, science clubs, local nature groups, and any non-specialist audience. Stewart resides in Edmonton, Alberta. Forays and ID Classes Families and teachers are welcome to join any of FFSC's publicly available forays, and to come to our free monthly talks. If you're a teacher, we encourage you to join a foray or take an ID class, and learn the basics about how to collect and study mushrooms safely. You can use what you've learned to help your students examine mushrooms in place while on nature walks (or collect samples for study in the classroom, if permitted). Parents can bring their kids to any of our forays, classes, or other events. Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Our annual Fungus Fair is FREE for kids under 12, and discounted for older students. This event really is fun and educational for the whole family! The Fair opens on Friday afternoon, so school groups can come to check out all the fascinating mushrooms when they're freshest. (Note that the Vendor Areas and Craft Room are only open on Saturday and Sunday.) We do our best to keep the tickets affordable. That said, parents and older students who cannot afford tickets can get in free by volunteering at the Fair . Create an iNaturalist Project While students under 13 years old cannot have their own iNaturalist accounts, some teachers and communities have created iNaturalist projects and posted samples that were found or photographed by students. Here are some examples to explore for inspiration: Star Elementary School 2025 Project PRAIRIE Bioblitz iScience Middle School iNaturalist Projects Saint Edward's School Nature Project Join or Start a MycoBlitz Several organizations and regions run periodic projects to catalog species in a particular location or time frame. Learn more: North American Contentental MycoBlitz iNaturalist Bioblitz Guide Scholarships and Grants FFSC accepts grant requests to help educators and institutions advance the understanding and study of fungi. For example, if you and your students have a special research project in mind, or if your school needs assistance to purchase mushroom field guides or mycology equipment for the classroom, you are welcome to apply. Visit our Scholarships and Grants page to learn about the application process. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC

Monthly speaker showing features of a mushroom Monthly Speakers Monthly talks from mycologists and enthusiasts that inspire and educate. Peruse mushrooms that people bring in, and enjoy refreshments. FREE and open to the public. Join us each month for an engaging evening of tasty treats, camaraderie, interesting fungal finds, and a fascinating talk! When & Where We meet on the third Tuesday of the month from September through May* at the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange. Our Minister of Programs, Peter Mu, curates a lineup of fascinating speakers each month. Check out the schedule below, and watch videos of past talks at the bottom of this page. Visitors from the general public are welcome to join us at the social and for the talks, and to bring in any mushrooms that you've found! This is a great way to meet us and to find out why it's fun to join our club! Be sure to arrive early to enjoy tasty refreshments, courtesy of our Minister of Culinary Events, Chef Bob Wynn and the Culinary Committee. In between the social hour and the talk, we usually hold a brief meeting to share announcements and occasionally to vote on administrative topics. * Very few mushrooms fruit during the summer in the Santa Cruz area, so our club takes a break during the "off-season". In December, we gather for a holiday potluck in lieu of the monthly speaker and social. Event Price The talk and social are FREE for members and the general public, and no registration or club membership is required. Dinner with the Speaker Before the monthly gathering, attendees are welcome to join us for a casual dinner with the month's featured speaker at a local restaurant. These are "dutch treat" style get-togethers (i.e., order your own food and pay for your own meal). RSVP to any "Dinner with Speaker" you'd like to join, so we can reserve a seat for you. Meet Your Hosts Scheduled Monthly Speakers September 15, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM September 2026 Speaker | Liv Fragiacomo : Organic Strawberries - Bio Alternatives to Plastic Join us for our first monthly speaker of the 2026-2027 season! Come explore the rhizosphere strawberries, compare mulching practices, microbial inoculants, and systems of growing. October 20, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM October 2026 Speaker | Maya Elson : Megafires, Floods and Fungi With the rise of catastrophic megafires and flooding, we look to fungi and other microbes as nature’s mediators between fire and water. Join FFSC in a discussion with Maya about how to organize and integrate inoculants into land tending practices, as well as how to contribute to community science. November 17, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM November 2026 Speaker | Save the Date : Details TBD Check back at the beginning of the season to learn about our November monthly speaker. January 19, 2027, 8:00 – 11:00 PM January 2027 Speaker | Save the Date : Details TBD Check back at the beginning of the season to learn about our November monthly speaker. February 16, 2027, 7:00 – 10:00 PM February 2027 Speaker | Bill Schoenbart : Deep dive on Medicinal Mushrooms Check back at the beginning of the season to learn about our November monthly speaker. Past Monthly Speakers May 19, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM May 2026 Speaker | Dean Lyons : A Natural History of Gondwanaland Fungi April 21, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM April 2026 Speaker | Alissa Allen: Color, Craft & Connection: Mushroom Dyeing as a Practice of Presence & Renewal March 18, 2026, 6:00 – 8:00 PM Bonus March 2026 Speaker and Cooking Demo | Olga Tzogas: Mushrooms and Culture of Greece March 17, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM March 2026 Speaker | Damon Tighe : Bioluminescence and UV fluorescence in CA Load More Play Video Play Video 53:27 May 2026 General Meeting - with Dean Lyons New Zealand and South America were once part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. As these continents drifted apart, they developed their own ecologies, endemics and unique fungal species. This presentation explores the similarities, differences and beauty of these far southern forests. We explore biodiversity, ecology and evolution through imagery and natural history. About the Speaker: Dean Lyons is a naturalist, botanist, and mycologist from California who is passionate about ecology, biodiversity, and community science. He splits his time between botany fieldwork and mushroom collecting for the Fungal Diversity Survey (FUNDIS), with the majority of his work focused on the Sierra Nevada mountains. He is also a photographer and sees these art forms as powerful tools for science communication and education. He had been on fungal expeditions to New Zealand and South America and throughout the United States. Play Video Play Video 55:35 April 2026 General Meeting-Allisa Allen Color, Craft & Connection: Mushroom Dyeing as a Practice of Presence & Renewal When life feels like too much, the forest offers something quietly grounding. Join Alissa Allen to explore mushroom and lichen dyeing as a practice of presence, color, and connection. Play Video Play Video 18:46 April 2025 General Meeting- Reagan Peschke: Pt 2 "Novel Discoveries in Santa Cruz County" Fungal Curation and Novel Discoveries in Santa Cruz County Watch part 2 of Reagan's Talk It will showcase several of Reagan’s observations from the past year that had never been recorded in Santa Cruz country. Reagan Peschke is a naturalist and undergraduate at UCSC studying creative writing. Before moving to Santa Cruz, Reagan had almost no exposure to the world of fungi. But during her first winter on campus in 2023, she couldn’t resist taking photos of the colorful waxy caps on the paths between her classes. What started as an interest in photography blossomed into a deep, all-consuming passion for studying, documenting and collecting fungi. Over the past year and a half, Reagan has made nearly 5,000 observations of fungi. She started her own fungarium with more than 600 vouchered samples from across the United States. Reagan leads an internship at the UCSC Kenneth S. Norris Center where she oversees the management of thousands of fungal specimens and she teaches students how to curate fungi. She was also a teaching assistant for the Natural History of Fungi at UCSC led by Christian Schwarz. When she’s not in the field collecting fungi or giving guest lectures, she’s helping people identify mushrooms on platforms like iNaturalist. Reagan hopes to explore the intersection between her passions for writing and fungi by becoming a scientific communicator and publishing field guides. Play Video Play Video 01:18:26 March 2025 General Meeting - Brian Perry “Working with Microscope to Observe and ID Fungi" Working with Microscope to Observe and ID Fungi Working with a microscope to observe and identify fungi is both an art and a science, requiring patience, precision, and a keen eye for detail. By preparing fresh or dried specimens, mounting them on slides with appropriate stains or reagents, and carefully adjusting magnification and lighting, one can reveal the intricate structures that define fungal species—such as spores, hyphae, cystidia, and basidia. Understanding these microscopic features is crucial for accurate identification, often differentiating species that appear nearly identical to the naked eye. With experience, the process becomes a rewarding exploration, unveiling the hidden beauty and complexity of the fungal world. Dr. Brian A. Perry is a Professor of Biology at California State University East Bay, and Director of the HAY Fungarium. He received his Master's Degree from San Francisco State University under the guidance of Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University where he studied with Dr. Donald H. Pfister. Brian has been studying fungi since 1995, and has published over 45 papers in scientific journals. In addition to studying the evolution of fungal bioluminescence, he also conducts research on mushrooms and other fungi of Vanuatu, the assembly and biogeography of island fungal communities, endophytic fungi, and the systematics of Mycena and allied genera. Brian teaches several mycology courses at Cal State East Bay and the Sierra Nevada Field Campus. Video Gallery of Past Monthly Speakers

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Presenting the FFSC 40th Anniversary T shirt The 2024 September General Meeting will mark the 40th Anniversary of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz (1984-2024). Lisa Tesler • May 4, 2024 FFSC 40th anniversary logo Learn more about our history on the FFSC History page. A limited edition of a members-only T-shirt has been designed to mark the occasion. Login to see details below. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Learn about mushrooms, both deadly and delicious, at the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair, brought to you by the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. View hundreds of regional species, have your mushroom finds identified, and explore the secrets of the fungal kingdom. Mushrooms fascinate us! They're ubiquitous and mysterious, delicious and sometimes deadly. They're among the oldest living things on earth. Excited to learn more? You might be a fungiphile! Learn About Fungi Explore the World of Fungi Join us as we hunt mushrooms for scientific interest and for the table. Learn to create art with fungi. Spend time outdoors and share your fungi finds with friends! Explore All Events We Keep the "fun" in fungus! Our mission is to foster and expand the understanding and appreciation of mycology among our members and the general public. And to always keep the “fun” in fungus! Why Join FFSC? Previous Next Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz "An eating and drinking club with a mushroom problem" -- Henry Young January 9-11, 2026 Santa Cruz, CA Thanks for visiting! Fungus Fair Fungus Fair Fungus Fair Fungus Fair The 2026 Santa Cruz Upcoming FFSC Events September 15, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM September 2026 Speaker | Liv Fragiacomo : Organic Strawberries - Bio Alternatives to Plastic Join us for our first monthly speaker of the 2026-2027 season! Come explore the rhizosphere strawberries, compare mulching practices, microbial inoculants, and systems of growing. October 20, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM October 2026 Speaker | Maya Elson : Megafires, Floods and Fungi With the rise of catastrophic megafires and flooding, we look to fungi and other microbes as nature’s mediators between fire and water. Join FFSC in a discussion with Maya about how to organize and integrate inoculants into land tending practices, as well as how to contribute to community science. November 17, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM November 2026 Speaker | Save the Date : Details TBD Check back at the beginning of the season to learn about our November monthly speaker. Explore All Events Recent News & Stories More Articles Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Committee July 7, 2026 at 12:46:30 PM Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Logo Design Contest 2027 It's that time again! Thanks to all who entered the 2027 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair logo design contest. The Grand Prize is $500 plus other perks! Pinned to top Hugh Smith July 3, 2026 at 9:45:00 AM Earth Stars — Astreas Hygrometricus I went to Yuba County to hunt for Earth Stars. Although they are curled up and dry during the summer months, they aren’t too hard to find once you find a few older stray ones. The grass isn’t tall and it’s dry as well. Pinned to top Lisa Tesler June 18, 2026 at 2:13:00 PM Spring Fungi of the Sierra Nevada - 2026 Recap Each spring, the retreat of the snowpack provides a unique ecological window of opportunity for “snowbank fungi”, a group of mushrooms that (as the name suggests) grow in and around snowbanks. As spring gives way to summer, curious mycophiles from around the world gather at a rustic campus in Tahoe National Forest to study these fascinating fungi. Pinned to top Follow @scfungusfed on Instagram

FFSC News & Stories Field reports, member stories, and mushroom-related news, from newest to oldest. (Visit FFSC Events for upcoming club activities.) Cookeina tricholoma (Mont.) Kuntze (2014, Yukatan). Photo by Yev Nyden More Finds Featured Fungi Mushroom Photos Recipes Events of 46 pages Go Go Go Go Go More Finds Featured Fungi Mushroom Photos Events Recipes Fair News FFSC News July 7, 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Logo Design Contest 2027 It's that time again! Thanks to all who entered the 2027 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair logo design contest. The Grand Prize is $500 plus other perks! Category Writings FFSC News July 3, 2026 Earth Stars — Astreas Hygrometricus I went to Yuba County to hunt for Earth Stars. Although they are curled up and dry during the summer months, they aren’t too hard to find once you find a few older stray ones. The grass isn’t tall and it’s dry as well. Category Mycology & Art News FFSC News June 18, 2026 Spring Fungi of the Sierra Nevada - 2026 Recap Each spring, the retreat of the snowpack provides a unique ecological window of opportunity for “snowbank fungi”, a group of mushrooms that (as the name suggests) grow in and around snowbanks. As spring gives way to summer, curious mycophiles from around the world gather at a rustic campus in Tahoe National Forest to study these fascinating fungi. Category Writings FFSC News May 20, 2026 FFSC 2026 Ministers Elections-Results Welcome our new slate of FFSC ministers elected at May 19, 2026 general meeting. Category Stewardship FFSC News March 10, 2026 FFSC Bylaws 2026 Revision We are revising our club bylaws. FFSC members are encouraged to review the changes before the April 2026 members meeting. Category Fair News FFSC News January 20, 2026 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair: Our Mission in Action The Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz exists to expand the understanding and appreciation of mycology through education; and to assist the public, institutions, and partner organizations in advancing that goal--and keeping the FUN in fungi. The 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair brought all of these groups together to make high-quality mycological education accessible to thousands of people, while producing real scientific output and supporting local arts, culture and economic development. Category of 46 pages Go Go Go Go Go Filter by Category Fair News Field Reports Mycology & Art News Stewardship Writings Reset

Mushroom Photo Gallery Beautiful, interesting, awe-inspiring or just plain quirky mushroom images that our members have shared. Coprinus (inky cap). Photo by Stephanie Tucker Photography for ID Purposes You can also send us photos if you'd like help with identifying a mushroom you've found. Check out our tips on how to create photos for mushroom ID purposes. Many of our members explore the fields and forests with camera in hand, taking photos of mushrooms they find. We've collected a few of our favorites below. Browse our Featured Fungi pages, news articles and field reports, and social media channels for more photos from our members. Showcase a Photo Got a great shot? Whether it's coffee-table-book-beautiful, shows a field guide level of detail, or conveys the sheer joy of mushrooming, we'd love to see it!

News & Stories / 2018 December Albion Foray Species List We didn't have much rain, but we found many smaller mushrooms. Katherine (Kitty) Elvin • January 4, 2019 Gomphidius in the Rain. Photo by Jim Austin Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 2016 March Sierra Report 2016 Alaska Foray Field Report Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Writings Stinkmorchel Kompott (Stewed Stinkhorns) A dish to cure hopeless wimps, foul moods and lovesick lady-killers. Thanks to Annie Lang for sharing this recipe! Annie Lang • April 1, 2012 Phallus aurantiacus. © Alan Rockefeller (CC-BY-SA) (from mushroomobserver.org, obs. 53135) Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Stories from the April 1, 2009 Issue of Duff Stories from the April 1, 2010 Issue of Duff Stories from the April 1, 2011 Issue of Duff Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / The Mushroom Basket Not long after my dad passed on, my mom and I were in the “cantina” (combination store room/wine cellar) of her home. We were cleaning out shelves of canned goods, when my eye spied a large wicker basket about 30 inches in diameter. Marianne Cogorno • May 1, 2011 Foragers Basket (2014). Photo by Cass Fuentes FFSC member Marilyn Diamond handed me a copy of thisstory at the Fungus Fair. It is a lovely reminiscence of a childhood amongst ardent mushroom foragers. I hope you enjoy it! Regards, Wendy The basket handle had been rather haphazardly reinforced with string and wire. My mom saw me looking at it and with a smile announced that this was the basket my dad used when he went mushroom hunting. She asked if I would like it and I quickly jumped at the chance to have this memento, to remember him. Mushrooms, because of their abundance and excellent quality in the “old country” were and are a mainstay of Italian cooking. The rich mountain soil near my hometown of Stockton produced mushroom. Some say they are not as flavorful as those which grow in Italy, but certainly more than acceptable for those Italians who had immigrated to California. So they continued the tradition of mushroom hunting—both for the richness mushrooms added to their food and to the sport and fun of it! I was only an observer to this process, because mushroom hunting always took place in November and December, when I was in school. Because the growing conditions of the mushroom dictated exact timing, the seasoned “hunter” would know exactly how much rain, fallen over how many days, would cause these precious molds to grow. It was not unheard of for my father to wake up early in the morning and decide right then that this was the day to go “up to the hills” to go mushrooming. Not only were the perfect growing conditions absolutely essential, but also the location was also critical. Several variables played an important part in where mushrooms would grow in abundance—exposure to light, slope of the land, amount of compost in the soil—were all important to the critical eye of the mushroom hunter. There would be places that yielded a significant mushroom harvest, but often there was much secrecy about the exact location. I can remember my father and uncles discussing their good luck on various mushrooming expeditions, but exact “spots” were rarely revealed. There was a friendly teasing and rivalry about who could find the biggest stash, and one’s worth as a man was somewhat measured by the quantity he could produce! Despite this competition, everyone in the family was of course very generous about sharing mushrooms, should someone run out. The part I did play was in preparing the mushrooms for drying. First the mushrooms had to be cleaned by hand. Each mushroom was held in one hand, while the other gently but thoroughly removed all the slimy surface dirt from each crevice and plane. The cleaning rag, which soon became heavy with moist dirt, gave off the heady odor of locker rooms. This process seemed to take hours, as the mushrooms were transferred from the dirty pile to the clean one. Next, old window screens were placed on sawhorses. My mom expertly sliced the mushrooms into cross-sections and then they were placed on screens to dry. After what seemed like weeks, but was only probably days, the dried delicacies were placed in tall tins, with bay leaves and dried chili peppers as a fumigant, to be stored until needed. While mushroom hunting was usually, but not always a man’s domain, the women were not to be outdone with their skilled preparation of this rich and delicious “ambrosia,” which found its way into sauces, or scallopine and when fresh into frittate or antipasti. We took for granted the spectacular flavor combinations the “lowly fungus” provided, because year in and year out, our food was seasoned with this flavorful garnish. It wasn’t until I began cooking for my own family, that I realized how the canned variety paled in comparison. As my dad got older, he made fewer mushroom hunting trips, so I was relegated to buying canned mushrooms for less special meals, and to hoarding the less abundant dried delicacies that came my way for “dining!” The day I brought my dad’s basket home, I had a hard time deciding where to put it. I knew it was too bulky to be displayed on a wall or on a table. But then one day after about a year, I decided on the perfect spot to display it - the hearth of our family room fireplace. It still has it’s reinforced rope and wire handle, just as my father last left it. At Christmas time it holds Poinsettias, at Easter ferns, and in the summer miniature Calla Lilies. But most of all my Dad’s basket holds sensory memories of a time gone by. I can feel the crisp autumn wind on my cheeks and nose reminiscent of mushroom hunting time. I can smell the peat must emanating from the mushrooms piled high ready to be cleaned. I hear the banter as elders teasingly refuse to share the exact coordinates of their special mushroom hiding “places”. I see several generations congregated together in the cold basement huddled working together to process the mushrooms. I can savor those marvelous delicacies, the well-earned reward for hours of tedious, dedicated work. Certainly, the goal of mushroom hunters was the end product: the wonderful, concentrated flavor a dried mushroom brings. Beyond that, the basket reminds of the constancy and the anchoring that the mushroom hunting experience brought to my early years and helped define who I was and am. How lucky I am to have a visual reminder of a very important part of my Italian culture; how glad that I realized it should be displayed in plain sight. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Bradley's Secret Spot Today, in the woods, I saw a little lump in the pine needle duff… Bradley Dunbaugh • December 1, 2009 Bolete under dufff. Photo by Bradley Dunbaugh Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / North to Alaska v.2 Sunrise...again? It just went down! On your mark, get set, hunt! Hugh Smith • September 1, 2011 Tricholoma murrillianum (magnivelare) (matsutake). Photo by Hugh Smith Yes, sunrise again. It rises slowly and in an odd place, south of East. Then it stays up for a long time. A long time! The days are currently 15 hours, 40 minutes, losing 5 minutes per day. And don’t miss the sunset. Oh, but you won’t. It lasts as long as the sunrise. And it sets in an odd place too, south of West. Colorful and glorious. The arc of the sun up here is about the same as the arc of a rainbow, 43 degrees of sky. This is dictated by our position and distance from our sun. Ever wonder why you can’t take a picture of a complete rainbow with any basic lens? Now you know. I was told to buy pepper spray to carry with me in the forest in case of an encounter with Bears. The problem with this idea is everyone has Pepper Spray. This means no one could possibly tell which Bear pile was you. And as for wearing bells... there are so many people with these too, so it sounds like a herd of goats walking through the woods and there’s no way to tell when one of you is missing. Does a Bear and a cask of Amontillado ring any bells? Most of the time I wore a hat. A hat not only keeps your glasses dry but can be very useful for pushing through the bush while keeping your eyes to the ground. There are mushrooms everywhere! Like I said, in the woods where I’m from, the trees are not nearly this close together. Here, you could be pushing through trees constantly. The trees can be 3 feet apart! They are all touching! And, a hat also prevents me from getting Gorbys on my shiny head. The one day I forgot to wear it...got a Gorby. Richard and I were in the woods, staying off trail. It’s like floating through the forest, walking on a two foot thick carpet of plush, undulating Sphagnum Moss. There are mushrooms everywhere! So here comes this small group of people, walking down a trail near us (the forest is so dense, so unlike what we’re familiar with, that just a few feet off the trail you are completely invisible.) Richard and I started grunting and growling. The women in the group immediately turned and ran back from whence they came. We then spoke to them to allay their fears. They said that wasn’t very funny and that they had just seen three bears. Three? That means two cubs. Later, Sandi and I were walking through the woods and this time we were walking ON a trail. There was a noise in the bushes. It grew louder and it was very near. Not being a familiar sound, my hair stood up all over my body and the adrenaline flowed. Richard could no longer compose himself as he watched us scurry about, bumping into each other with terrified looks on our faces, questioning our survival. Actually, though, I wasn’t scared. I was reaching for my camera. On another hunt, we went to a place called Moose Flat. It’s a day use area and it was a Saturday. Not a soul was there. Kind of like a Bolete hunt. Nobody around. As we pulled in to the area, there before us was a mother Moose and her baby. Sandi screeched so loud she scared off the Moose from 50 yards away with the windows up. Can you imagine what it sounded like inside the van? Today it’s raining... somewhere. Not here. We spent the day along a road near a great lake in a vast array of habitats (lots of secret laughing places) and didn’t see a drop of rain. As we drove back toward the lodge after a short days hunt (only 8 hours) we came into rain. There were sheets of water on the road and hydroplaning was a concern. Gullies had formed in Bill and Geri’s driveway. Who could have guessed only a few miles east of here it never hinted at rain? But... there’s still daylight, so let’s hunt! Can you imagine a King Bolete every 3 feet in every direction in an area the size of a large room? OK, I’m exaggerating. Can you imagine a King Bolete every 4 feet in every direction in an area the size of a large room? And no competition? Difficult to imagine, isn’t it? But if you can, then you’ve probably been to Alaska. I have, so I knew what to expect. And when you go, you’ll know what to expect, too. Expect the unexpected. So many Boletes, so few dryers. Some people were buying them after we got up there. I sent two dehydrators ahead from California so they’d be there when I arrived. Amazon had free shipping and I taped them together as one for the ride home. I ran them 24 hours a day but the last day I didn’t pick any since there was no more time to dry them. There is only one species of Moose (here), two species of Rabbit (here), 1 species of Ice Worm (here), 1 species of Porcupine (here), 2 kinds of music (Country & Western), and 1 species of Human. And although there are very few species of trees on the Kenai Peninsula, the number of mushroom species and even the number of mushroom genera will surprise anyone. Last year we documented 192 species and this year I counted more than 130 not including Cortinarius ! I appeared to be the only one counting, but I could not have found so many on my own. All of those eyes, old and new are most valuable and ap-preciated. 2011 Alaska Foray participants. Photo by Hugh Smith Known edibles (if someone cooks them for you) are numerous as well. If no one cooks, then none are edible. Our group prepared many, including 2 Pleurotus species, 4 Leccinum species, Boletus grand-edulis , Hawk Wings, Gypsies, and Hericium ramosum . The Leccinum , Hericium and Boletus were the best of all. Others that were identified but not prepared were Shrimp Russula ( Russula xerampelina ), Brown Matsutake ( Tricholoma caligatum ), Hedgehogs ( Hydnum umbilicatum ), Chicken of the Woods ( Laetiporus coniferacola ) Man On Horseback ( Tricholoma flavovirens ) and Panaeolus (!). On another one of our many forays, we went in search of Gypsy mushrooms, formerly Rozites caperatus and now Cortinarius caperatus . These are easily identifiable once you have seen the look-alikes. After that, we hunted Kings again. Found another new spot to hunt too, about a mile long. Add one more place to the hunting list, Bill. After this we went to Seward, a port town to the south. Seward sits below the Harding Ice Field, a 500 square mile blanket of ice on top of a mountain range that feeds numerous Glaciers. The most accessible glacier is Exit Glacier. Of course, there are mushrooms at the glacier, and Slime Molds too. It’s impossible to imagine that not too long ago, the areas where we stood and walked were completely covered under a sheet of heavy, grinding ice. No plants, nothing. Only Ice Worms. After getting as close as was allowed to the glacier we then went to the outwash plain. Many people walked right up to the leading edge of the glacier and several of us walked out onto the cobblestone plain to catch some ancient ice. Unlike regular ice, glacial ice is almost free of air bubbles and therefore is perfectly clear. But many other substances can be trapped in this ice and through the eons, inevitably, many things have been. Since this ice is clear, it is only intermittently visible as it flows and tumbles past you in the silt laden fast moving water. This is a fair size river coming out of just this one glacier and ice chunks of all sizes are tumbling down the river, some too large to pick up. Richard held onto me as I attempted to lean out and grab a piece as they rushed by but I was unsuccessful. Bill leaned out to grab one and almost fell in. I said, “Bill, I saw signs everywhere that said children don’t float.” But he managed to get a nice chunk of ice and in it were spots of what appeared to be volcanic ash. The spots were uniform gray and clay-like, not gritty like you might expect. And these spots were throughout the ice rather than in a sedimentary layer. We ate some of this ancient frozen water. Sandi got ash on her tongue. How long ago did this ash fall and from what volcano? Was it an Alaskan volcano? Or was it from Russia or Japan? How many mushroom spores were embedded in this single piece of ice? How many species? Were they still viable? I pondered. What a place. What a planet! The day we left Sterling, we went early and stopped at Girdwood. They were having their 4th annual Fungus Fair. It was Sunday and the fair was winding down. Ryane Snow, Patrick Hamilton and Connie Green were there. I didn’t see them but we saw people from our original group and Henry and Marjorie Young were in attendance, and on their way to Bill and Geri’s to replace us. I feel we were here early this year (mushroom season-wise) and they were prob-ably going to witness a greater abundance than us. But how could that possibly be? The Fungus Fair had 3 tables of mushrooms. If only they could have met up with us. To my knowledge our species lists surpasses theirs from one year alone. Bill and Jerri, thank you so much for making this kind of mushroom foray possible. The forays, Pot Lucks and campfires were such a blast! Toni, remember that bottle of Tequila you brought up there last year? It’s still there along with another bottle. All of the mushroom dishes (cough), the salmon dishes (choke, except for the Filet O’Mac) and the hot dogs (Sphincters, lips and eyelids, yeah!) and S’Mores (hold the Graham Crackers and the Marshmallows please) will never be forgotten. Without you two, we might never have known there could be such a place with such great diversity and abundance. Let’s hunt! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Foraging in Alaska in 2008 The Great Alaska Foray 2010 2009 Alaska Foray Travelogue Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Field Reports Albion II Foray Species List — January 21-23, 2005 Albion II was another great success. We collected 129 species, and sampled some delicious specimens! John Brown • March 1, 2005 Cuphophyllus pratensis. © Michael Wood (from mykoweb.com) Special thanks to everyone that helped at the Albion II's ID table. We wouldn't have identified the many species without your help: Gloria Woodside, Douglas Smith, Bill White, Marilyn Diamond and Catharine Gunderson. I'd also like to thank Ernst Muusse for pan-testing his Agaricus bitorquis - delicious! And I'd like to extend my special thanks to Mother Nature for creating Cuphophyllus ( Camarophyllus) pratensis - I had some for breakfast and they were outstanding. - John Brown, Science Minister FFSC members can login to view the complete species list below. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Species List — Albion II Foray 2009 Albion II, 2011 – Great Forays, Fungi and Food Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article