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Chicken Filets with Cèpes (Porcini) Cream Sauce In the next two months, gangs of eagle-eyed boletivores will be scouring the hills and dales between the beachland forests and the high Sierra, prodding every earthly mound with pointed sticks and feathery rakes. by Shea Moss Boletus edulis © FunGuy Nate (FunGuyNate) (CC-BY-SA) (from mushroomobserver.org ID 600655) Method Lightly flour each piece of chicken and sauté in butter over moderate heat for 30 seconds on each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. To the same pan add the glaze and the two wines and reduce by half. Turn the flame down to simmer, and add in the powdered and sliced Boletes, and gently cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn the flame down to low, add the cream, and let the sauce warm and thicken slightly. Add back the sautéed chicken breast filets, and add in and correct the seasonings to taste. When you serve the filets, garnish with freshly chopped parsley, and place one slice of B. edulis on each filet. Eat! Recipe contributed: October 1984 Many will be returning to their seasonal shrines, the locations of which are a well-guarded secret. If you happen to pass one of these shrines in the wild, you can easily identify its inhabitants: When the boletivore is standing up, they typically will tell you you've lost your way and where you want to be going is 600 yards in the opposite direction. If they are down on their knees in the duff, they will typically tell you they are searching for their pet 100-foot long python who is "hiding somewhere around here." Being a boletivore yourself, you will either nod understandingly, smile your sad sigh, and vacate the area like a gentleman to find your own shrine; or you will grin wolfishly, point at your socks and jump in to find the python first. After collecting your prizes, you may wish to try the following recipe... Objective: Main course Total Time: About 45 minutes Yield: 2 chicken filets Suggested Mushrooms: 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 2 half breasts of chicken, skinned, boned and filleted 1/4 inch each in flour 6 oz white glaze (made from 2 cups chicken stock, greatly reduced) 4 oz marsala wine or sherry 1 Tbs. dried and powdered Boletus edulis 6 thin slices of fresh or rehydrated B. edulis Chopped parsley (to taste) Sweet, unsalted butter (for sautéing) 5 oz, of a good dry white wine 1 cup heavy cream Salt and white pepper (to taste) Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

Support TEST - We're still moving the following info over to this new system: Past orders (such as tickets and memberships)--don't worry, if you registered for Albion in December, we still have your details! Past announcements about monthly speakers, culinary events, forays, etc. Past Fungus Fair announcements and speaker lists Past field reports Past news articles Past bio pages (e.g., MycoGeeks) If you can't find what you're looking for, try using the Search icon at the top of the page. If you still can't find what you're looking for, feel free to use the Contact Us form and ask where to find it. Where Did Things Go? In November 2025, we started moving this website to a new system. Here is a list of what is still being migrated.

News & Stories / Writings The Best Thing I Ever Ate at an FFSC Event... Okay. It’s been raining here in Santa Cruz with more to follow. So the local mushroom season is beginning. Richard Lyness • November 1, 2010 Chocolate is an honorary mushroom. Photo by Katherine Elvin Tonight I’m watching one of my favorite channels—FoodTV—and one of my favorite programs, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. Thinking forward toward our December potluck (and thereafter, the Wine & Mushroom Dinner and the Suds n’ Shrooms Potluck) I’d like to encourage members to document and share their unique recipes ! I can think back over past dinners and potlucks and the list of memorable dishes is extensive. A few favorites come to mind like Henry Young’s crepes with mushrooms and caviar, Bob Sellers Chanterelle Soup, Debbie Johnson’s chocolates, Bill White’s salmon and Bob Wynn’s pizza and pasta. There are soooo... many more incredible dishes. I’d like to encourage everyone to bring their original or adapted recipes to our upcoming events, or to submit any to this website. Richard Lyness Minister of Culinary Events Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Mushroom Soup Tip – Fried Dried Mushrooms Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Earth Star (Astraeus hygrometricus). Photo by Tim Teske Earth Star Tim Teske Found in Rancho San Antonio park along the Rogue Valley Trail. Appeared shortly after a brief day of rain during an unusually dry season. Learn more about the genus Astraeus : Astraeus (fungus) , Wikipedia Barometer Earthstars (Genus Astraeus) , iNaturalist California Mushrooms, page 460 Astraeus hygrometricus , Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, page 533 Camera Apple iPhone X Focal L. 4mm Aperture f/1.8 Shutter Sp. 1/100s ISO 40 Flash Off Photo taken on December 23, 2017 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

News & Stories / Writings Spring Musings with Bill McGuire On a brief foray today, I may have heard this silent exchange. The sun was hot, the walk was long, and I felt oddly strange. But then, on second thought, I might not have. Bill McGuire • May 1, 2010 Two princes. (Photographer unknown) Said the Prince to the Princess Appendiculatus, you’re quite a mess Those silly pores and fat reticulated stipe Quite obvious my dear, you’re just not my type! Replied the Princess to the Prince These words, lets us not mince That awful almond smell – as well As your yellow stained skinny stipe Augustus, I find you quite disgustus And definitely, you’re not my type! Hastily returning to my car, I found I had already gone, the tiny little bits of greenish stained stems on the ground gave me a clue. I may impart the lesson to you, on second thought, I may not! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts The Season Begins Haikus Celebrating the Secret Life of Fungi Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Drying Mushrooms Did you know that mature boletes, craterellus, candy caps, morels, and several other mushrooms can actually taste even better after being dried and then reconstituted? by Deb Member drying freshly picked wild mushrooms while camping. Photo by Katherine Elvin Advantages of drying mushrooms Doesn’t require freezer space. Some mushrooms actually improve with dehydration. For example, drying is good for mature boletes, craterellus, Suillus spp ., candy caps, pine spikes (yes!), winter chanterelles, Russula spp ., Marasmius oreades , and morels. Disadvantages of drying mushrooms Can be detrimental to quality and texture of certain mushrooms. For example, drying is not so good for chanterelles, oysters, lobster mushrooms, and amanitas. Objective: Storage/Prep Total Time: Suggested Mushrooms: Boletus sp. (bolete) Chroogomphus sp. Craterellus calicornucopioides (black trumpet, black chanterelle, horn of plenty) Lactarius rubidus (candy cap) Marasmius oreades (fairy ring mushroom, fairy ring champignon, Scotch bonnet) Morchella sp. ( morel) Suillus sp. Equipment and/or Ingredients Dehydrator Vacuum sealable containers Method Drying Directions Slice cleaned mushrooms approximately ¼” thick. Dry in dehydrator at lower temperature (100°-115°F) until potato chip crisp. Cool before packaging for storage. Alternate drying methods include utilizing screens in the sun or over heating vents inside. (A little candy cap aromatherapy, anyone?) Storing Dried Mushrooms Some people like to store dried mushrooms in glass containers on the shelf. Others prefer storing them in the freezer to discourage bugs that may have survived dehydration. Still others pack in Mason jars and vacuum seal with a Foodsaver attachment, effectively suffocating the little buggers. This way jars can be stored on the shelf but insect activity is minimized or eliminated. Dried mushrooms can also be powdered in a coffee or spice grinder for later use. Many favor separating bolete tubes from flesh, then drying and powdering the tubes. Previous Technique All Techniques Next Technique

News & Stories / Notes from the CEO — March 2001 O craterellus You are hidden in plain sight One, two, then many! Deb • March 1, 2001 Stereum hirsutum. © Lisa Tesler (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 341611905) I hope everyone has gone out and returned with full baskets at least once so far. The season has been a bit erratic In the rain department and we may not have had a great variety of species, but bolete, chanterelle and craterellus hunting have certainly been good. FFSC's second annual Black's Beach Cafe dinner on February 6th was a huge success! Chef Robert Morris orchestrated a great menu and the courses just kept on coming. Bob Wynn again made wonderful arrangements for the evening, and Marilyn Fenn (our official culinary concierge) handled the reservations beautifully. Bob Sellers observed that it's rare to be served a dish in which you find more craterellus than broccoli. Of course, Bob picked much of it himself! Many thanks to Bob Sellers. Bob Wynn. Phil Carpenter and Fred Chin, who donated fresh craterellus, hedgehogs, chanterelles and dried boletes. And thanks to our Minister of Culinary Events, Rene Seltzer, for her support and good cheer. The Albion II foray was a great success. Rain came down In buckets prior to the foray. While the Bay Area was being drenched, we happily picked mushrooms and basked in the sun. Horst Kuhlmann worked hard to maximize available spaces for the foray, which was again a sell-out. Well done, Horst! Don't miss the upcoming General Meetings. Phyllis Cole has arranged an outstanding slate of speakers, including Nancy Weber from Oregon State University speaking about "Mushrooms Around the House" for the March meeting; Ernst Both discussing Boletes in April; and Tom Volk covering fungal systematics in May. Meetings are also a good time to see what's coming up in the area and get an ID consult on mushrooms you've found. See you at the meeting, Debbie Johnson, CEO Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Notes from the CEO — April 2001 Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Hygrocybe miniata gp. Photo by Hugh Smith Hygrocybe Miniata Group Hugh Smith It takes a sharp eye to find this little waxy cap, especially for those of us that are color-challenged! Hygrocybe miniata , or those in that group differing in minute ways, are very colorful little mushrooms that grow in a variety of habitats including rotting wood and moss, as these were. These were fresh since they are still quite red. As they age, they frequently fade to dull orange to yellow, which often leads to mis-identification when found in this state... Camera Canon EOS REBEL T3i Focal L. 50mm Aperture f/32.0 Shutter Sp. 1/2s ISO 100 Flash Off Photo taken on September 14, 2013 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

Beef, Porcini, and Merlot Ragout with Blue Cheese This recipe is perfect winter comfort food, especially if you're lucky enough to find fresh boletes. by Cecilia Stipes Boletus edulis var. grandedulis. © Liam O'Brien (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 4534479) Method Cut beef into ¼" to ⅓" thick slices across the grain (i.e., perpendicular to the lines of the muscle fibers). Chop each slice into bite-sized pieces. Heat a large skillet with olive oil on medium-high to high heat, until the oil is shimmering and slightly smoking. Add the beef and stir occasionally until a golden-brown crust forms. Remove beef from skillet to rest. Brown oregano, thyme, rosemary, onions and garlic in olive oil and Worcestershire sauce until soft. Add the seared beef back to the skillet. Add 2 cups beef broth and the Merlot. Simmer over low heat for 1 ½ hours, or until meat is fork tender. Add porcini and simmer until they release water (10 to 15 minutes). In a small bowl, blend 3 Tbsp. flour into remaining 1 cup beef broth, whipping until you have a completely smooth slurry. Add slurry to beef and cook on low heat until slightly thickened. Just before serving, fold blue cheese in. Recipe contributed: December 2008 Serve it over pappardelle, polenta, or rice as a rich meat sauce; or as a hearty stew with a slice of toasted crusty sourdough. Objective: Sauce / topping / stuffing Total Time: About 2 ¼ hours Yield: 8 to 10 servings Suggested Mushrooms: Chanterelle (Cantharellus californicus, Cantharellus formosus, Cantharellus subalbidus) Giant cypress Agaricus (Agaricus lilaceps) Horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis, Agaricus osecanus) Pavement mushroom (Agaricus bitorquis) Porcini (Boletus edulis, Boletus regineus, Boletus rex-veris) Portobello/portabella, champignon, cremini, button (Agaricus bisporus) Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) The Prince (Agaricus augustus) 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 Tbsp. olive oil 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 3 sprigs fresh oregano (adjust to taste), chopped 3 sprigs fresh thyme (adjust to taste), chopped ¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary 2 large yellow onions, chopped 3 cloves garlic (adjust to taste) 2 lbs. lean beef (e.g., London broil) 3 cups beef broth 4 heaping cups sliced porcini* 1 ⅓ cups Merlot wine 3 oz. chopped blue cheese Rice, noodles, polenta, or bread to accompany If you don't have porcini, try portobello, cremini, shiitake, The Prince, giant cypress agaricus, horse mushroom, pavement mushroom, maitake, or chanterelles. Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

A Little Buggy. Photo by Karen Hilker A Little Buggy Karen Hilker During a walk in the Sierra, I snapped some pictures of a light tan blob on a charred tree... Camera Canon PowerShot S3 IS Focal L. 6mm Aperture f/2.7 Shutter Sp. 1/200s ISO Flash Off Photo taken on July 8, 2011 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

Alone by the Log... Albion II (2013). Photo by Hugh Smith Alone by the Log Hugh Smith Read up about Hygrocybe sp . in our Featured Fungi pages: Hygrocybe laetissima (Waxy Caps) Hygrocybe singeri, Western Witch's Hat Camera Canon EOS Rebel T3i Focal L. 18mm Aperture f/22.0 Shutter Sp. 8s ISO 100 Flash Off Photo taken on January 26, 2013 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

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. by Christian Schwarz Marasmius plicatilis. Photo by Christian Schwarz We’ve probably all run across Marasmius plicatulus during our walks in the woods; the tall, brightly-colored fruitbodies occur in many kinds of habitats every year, often in large troops. And what an excellent little mushroom to be so familiar. But how many of us have given much thought to the geographic range and morphological variation of this species? A quick search on mushroomobserver.org (hereafter referred to as ‘MO’) gives us the following map of observations for this species (the first was as of 2015, and the second was as of 2025): Some interesting points to take note of: As we try and familiarize ourselves with any species, it’s always a good idea to try and describe the its range in one or two simple sentences. For this one, I’d summarize it as: Pacific states, primarily coastal, common. More detailed looks at the notes and photos of these individual observations would show that it inhabits almost any kind of habitat: pine, cypress, oak, fir, spruce, really any place with trees and sufficient duff on the ground. The glaring gap in southern Oregon – this is almost certainly due to the lack of observers in the area, not an actual disjunction in the distribution of the species. Just goes to show how important citizen scientists are in our effort to document the distribution of macrofungi. (Going on a beer tasting tour to Oregon’s Arch Rock Brewing Company? Take a photo of Marasmius plicatulus while you are in Curry County and help us fill in the gap on the map!) The apparent southern limit around Los Angeles – does this species really not occur in San Diego County? A quick message to Bonni McKintosh of the San Diego Mycological Society confirmed my memory that it’s common there (especially under shrubs like Toyon and Laurel Sumac)! So why the gap? Once again, lack of participation on mushroomobserver.org. Public databases like this are absolutely dependent on their users for data! A closer look at the map would show a few observations away from the coast and a bit closer to the central valley, but none from the Sierra foothills or higher elevations. Now that we’ve got a basic sense of the distribution of this species, let’s look at the morphological variation, specifically with regard to color. The montage below shows two typical forms (from the mainland and Santa Cruz Island, of the Channel Islands), and two less-common forms. The photos show four color forms of Marasmius plicatulus (in z-order): Photo 1: The typical coastal form, with a red cap, and fairly dark stem showing a gradient of stipe color from black near the base to orange, pink, or white near the apex. Photo 2: A fairly typical form found on Santa Cruz Island, with very bright magenta and pink colors on the stipe, and nearly cherry-red caps. Photo 3: the most unusually-colored fruitbodies of this species I’ve ever encountered; completely pastel-pink, with hardly a trace of orange, and none of the characteristic black or brown stipe pigmentation. Photo 4: An orange-brown form (almost entirely lacking pink and red colors) from Santa Cruz Island, where it was nearly as common as the more typical form. The orange-brown color form in the fourth photo is far from restricted to Santa Cruz Island; in fact, fruitbodies showing these colors are more commonly found in the northern reaches of this species’ range on the mainland, where the typical red form is also present. Most of the “Orange-brown Form” currently on M.O. are from Oregon: Sava Krstic’s , Daniel Wheeler’s 14662, Britney Ramsey’s 80819, 61364, and 59467; although there are a few from northern California: Darvin DeShazer’s 122671 and Douglas Smith’s 17325; Noah Siegel has also found it in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in Del Norte County. * Note: to search for any of the observations listed above, go to mushroomobserver.org and type or paste the observation number into the search bar at the top of the page. So what accounts for the color variation in this species? Climatic conditions don’t seem to explain the pattern, since three of the forms have been found growing right next to each other. Partially (or completely?) reproductively-isolated populations combined with random drift in pigment genes? Possibly, but it’ll take a lot of work to prove that hypothesis. Simple standing variation between freely-interbreeding populations? Possibly, but why are the bulk of orange-brown forms found north of Mendocino County? And even then, they co-occur with the “Red Form”; do any of fruitbodies in these areas show intermediate coloration? All these questions remain to be answered as of the time of this writing. As I hope I’ve shown with this article, we have much to learn about even the most common and familiar mushrooms. No area is too small, no question too basic! Get out there and document what you see. Take notes, take pictures, take specimens for an herbarium. With the help of citizen scientists like you, we’ll make more rapid progress to a Mycoflora of North America. Photos © Christian Schwarz Mushrooms covered: Marasmius plicatulus (red pinwheel) Previous Description All Featured Fungi Next Description