Hygrocybe punicea grp. Photo by Cass Fuentes Hygrocybe Punicea Group Cass Fuentes These Hygrocybe were growing in a mix of mostly Bay Laurel and Oak, in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos. Being the first time I encountered the "Scarlet Waxy Cap", I was mesmerized by their beautiful color, and taking pictures of them started my path in mushroom photography. Camera Nikon COOLPIX S220 Focal L. 6mm Aperture f/3.1 Shutter Sp. 1/200s ISO 122 Flash Off Photo taken on February 28, 2010 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

Support Login & Password FAQ I have an account. How do I login? (1) Click the Person icon 👤 in the upper right corner of the website's menu to get to the login page. (2) Login by using the same email that you used for your FFSC membership. (3) If your password doesn't work, click the "Forgot password?" link to reset your password. I can't login. Is this your first time logging in after October 2025? If so, you will need to click the Forgot Password? link on the login page. (The new system doesn't know your old password.) Also, when you login from now on, you'll use the email associated with your FFSC account to login from now on. your old username (from October 2025 or earlier) won't work for logging in anymore. I created a new login on this website. Where did all my old info go? If you already had an FFSC website account as of Nov. 3, 2025, your account was moved to this system. However, some of the old information (such as your past purchases) is still being moved. 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Christian Schwarz Research Associate | UCSC Christian Schwarz is a naturalist based in California, the land of milk (caps) and honey (mushrooms). He teaches Natural History of Fungi at UC Santa Cruz and is co-author of " Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast ”" and " Mushrooms of Cascadia ". Fungi satisfy his curiosity with their seemingly endless forms; from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublime. Besides dabbling in mushroom taxonomy, he loves fish, plants, nudibranchs, moths, and dragonflies. He is passionate about community science, especially through the use of iNaturalist. He is a Research Associate at the Norris Center for Natural History at UCSC as well as the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden. 2026 Christian Schwarz 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Talks Buy Tickets The Underground Internet, 30 Years Later By now, almost everyone's heard of "Wood Wide Webs" — invisible forest networks through which trees, fungi, and other organisms communicate and exchange resources.… Show More Saturday, January 10, 2026 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Room 3 Sea Islands, Sky Islands, and Dry Islands: the Biogeography of Macrofungi Making maps of the distributions of organisms is one of the most fascinating topics in all of natural history. The theory of island biogeography… Show More Sunday, January 11, 2026 7:05 PM - 8:05 PM Room 3 Fungi of New Zealand The Ecology of a Young Land Aotearoa — the land more commonly known as New Zealand is young in many ways: In recent geologic history, it nearly drowned after splitting… Show More Saturday, January 11, 2025 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM Room 3 Two Years of the California Fungal Diversity Study What Have We Learned Over the past two years, the CA FUNDIS organization has undertaken a remarkable effort to get to know the mushrooms of California more deeply.… Show More Monday, January 13, 2025 12:30 AM - 1:30 AM Room 3

2025 Fair Speakers Visitors at the 2025 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair were treated to fascinating talks by these speakers. Alan Rockefeller Researcher and Photographer Alan is a researcher, educator, consultant and speaker specializing in DNA bar-coding, field photography, and fungal microscopy. With a bilingu… Chad Hyatt Chef and Author Chef Chad Hyatt, the author of " The Mushroom Hunter's Kitchen ", is an expert forager and classically trained chef who ha… Chef Bob Wynn "Growing up on a farm in upstate New York, my job of making mashed potatoes for Sunday dinner began my… Christian Schwarz Research Associate | UCSC Christian Schwarz is a naturalist based in California, the land of milk (caps) and honey (mushrooms). He teaches Natural History… Douglas Smith Douglas Smith has been involved in mycology for many years, looking for and photographing mushrooms on several continents. His photograph… Dr. Bill Schoenbart Practitioner of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture Dr. Bill Schoenbart is a practitioner of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture with over 30 years of experience. He has… Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., L.Ac Faculty, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., L.Ac. is a fourth generation, internationally known herbalist and mycologist, licensed acupuncturist, herbal clinician, research scientist,… Henry Young FFSC Science Advisor Foray and ID Specialist | Willamette Valley Mushroom Society Henry moved to Salem, Oregon in 2016 from Santa Cruz. He is active with the Willamette Valley Mushroom Society teaching… Jeff Emery Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Jeff Emery is the proprietor, winemaker, truck driver, barrel washer, paper pusher and just about everything else for Santa Cruz… Kyle Garrone Kyle Garrone holds a degree in Plant Biology from the University of California, Davis with a focus on plant pathology… Noah Siegel Noah is one of North America’s foremost field mycologists; he has spent over three decades seeking, photographing, identifying, and furthering… Phil Carpenter FFSC Science Advisor Dr. Phil Carpenter has been a member of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz (CA) (FFSC) since the club was… Shannon Adams Shannon is a passionate amateur mycologist and user experience researcher who lives in Seattle. Her interest in fungi started over… Thea Chesney Thea Chesney is a lifelong Sierra Nevada foothill resident and naturalist. She has had an interest in mushrooms (and plants,… Vellany Pierce Vellany Pierce is the Prime Minister of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz. She grew up in Santa Cruz County…

Fuchsi. Hygrocybe coccinea. Photo by Joshua Becker Fuchsi Joshua Becker Found in Big Basin along the Skyline-to-Sea Trail. Wet weather. Visit our Featured Fungi page on waxy caps to get more information on these lovely mushrooms: Hygrocybe laetissima (Waxy Caps) Camera (Not provided) Focal L. Aperture Shutter Sp. ISO Flash Photo taken on December 12, 2016 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

Pasta Porcini This Northern Italian recipe comes from the year Deb taught school in Trieste, Italy. ... Bolete. Photo by Hugh Smith It’s simple, rich and flavorful, making it a great first course or side dish. Objective: Main Course Total Time: TBD Yield: TBD Suggested Mushrooms: See code Ingredients ½ cube butter 1 oz. dried porcini (Boletus edulis & co.), reconstituted in warm water and drained. 1 C panna, heavy cream or crème fraiche 1 cube beef or porcini boullion 1 lb. good quality dried pasta Method 1. Melt ½ cube butter 2. Add 1 C panna* 3. Add 1 beef or porcini boullion cube – simmer 4. Add reconstituted dried boletes, chopped fine - simmer. You can add judicious amounts of the mushroom soaking liquid, but so do sparingly or the sauce will be too thin. 5. Cook 1 lb. pasta. A good chunky pasta with lots of curves to hold the sauce, such as rotini or radiattore, works well. 6. Toss pasta with sauce and serve to your lucky guests. * Panna is a special Italian cream. You can substitute heavy cream or crème fraiche Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

Reishi Mushroom. Photo by Katherine Elvin Reishi Mushroom Katherine (Kitty) Elvin Lisa's finds... Camera Nikon COOLPIX P510 Focal L. 4mm Aperture f/3.0 Shutter Sp. 1/800s ISO 400 Flash Off Photo taken on September 18, 2015 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

Henry Young FFSC Science Advisor Foray and ID Specialist | Willamette Valley Mushroom Society Henry moved to Salem, Oregon in 2016 from Santa Cruz. He is active with the Willamette Valley Mushroom Society teaching a mushroom ID class for members and leading forays. Henry is an amateur mycologist who has collected and studied fungi for over 40 years. He started by taking identification classes with David Arora. He joined the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz in 1986 and has been a board member since 1987. Henry attended the San Francisco State University “Spring Fungi of the Sierra Nevada” course taught by Dr. Dennis Desjardin and several other workshops and classes dealing with various aspects of mycology. He has been a contributor to mushroom identification for the Willamette Valley, Santa Cruz and San Francisco Fungus Fairs. His name is on the NAMA call list to help identify mushrooms in poisoning cases. In between giving classes at the Fair, he works at the identification table helping to identify mushrooms. Besides a general interest in all types of fungi Henry has a particular interest in poisonous mushrooms, ascomycetes and lichens. Henry is also a member of the Cascade Mycological Society, BAMS and NAMA and has attended several national forays. 2026 Henry Young 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Talks Buy Tickets Poisonous Mushrooms Sunday, January 11, 2026 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM Room 1 What You Need to Know About Poisonous Mushrooms Explore the intersection of poisonous mushrooms and people who accidentally or purposefully eat them. Toxic fungi from the deadly to the lose your lunch… Show More Monday, January 12, 2026 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM Room 3 A Discussion of Poisonous Mushrooms Saturday, January 11, 2025 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM Room 1 What You Need to Know About Poisonous Mushrooms We will explore the intersection of poisonous mushrooms and people who accidentally or purposefully eat them. Toxic fungi from the deadly to the lose… Show More Sunday, January 12, 2025 12:30 AM - 1:30 AM Room 3

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.

Morgan Yacullo Lead Curator, Ken Norris Center for Natural History Morgan Yacullo is a recent Environmental Studies graduate from UC Santa Cruz, where she spent much of her time crawling along the forest floor, photographing the slimy, minuscule marvels of the natural world. Serving as a Lead Curator at the Ken Norris Center for Natural History, she managed the fungarium, led a course on fungal identification, assisted in Christian Schwarz’s Natural History of Fungi course, led numerous field walks, and spent countless hours behind the microscope. She has participated in fungal surveys across diverse California ecosystems—from burn scars to islands and caves—documenting the remarkable variety of fungal life. Alongside academic work, Morgan is a photographer whose practice explores ecological and social resilience through the lens of decomposition. 2026 Morgan Yacullo 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Talks Buy Tickets

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News FFSC Scholarship Awarded to Kristopher Hennig The Fungus Federation Scholarship Committee is happy to present its first scholarship of the 2011 year to Kristopher Hennig, who is working on completion of his Master of Sciences Degree. Wendy Wells • February 1, 2011 Kristopher Hennig (LinkedIn) Kristopher has also happily agreed to present his paper to us upon completion. Kristopher Hennig graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire in 2007 with a major in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies and pre-professional health care. (Quite an ambitious course of study.) He wrote the following short essay explaining his personal interest in mycology and how he intends to use this knowledge in the future. It was fungi as the mysterious, the curious, and the unknown that drew me in. Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World , a talk presented by Paul Stametz for TED Talks, sparked the seed of my interest by emphasizing the role fungi can take in benefiting mankind and the natural world. Continued reading, particularly of Stametz and Nicholas Money, clarified how very little we know about these organisms and the role the scientific method has played in clarifying their form and function. Ironically, this “spark” of interest occurred a full year after having spent months working with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on a Wisconsin prairie research and restoration project. To me, this only reinforces my belief that the world needs scientists who can research effectively, but also write lucidly for multiple audiences, not only for their academic peers and journals. I began my Masters degree in Biology at the University of Mississippi because it offered the opportunity to work with organisms that are critical components of forest health and ecosystem processes. Additionally, studying ectomycorrhizal ecology offers the opportunity to work in a rapidly advancing field that is quickly clarifying the importance of fungal organisms and tying fungal ecology to general ecological theories. Though the understanding of ectomycorrhizal distributions and population structure is growing exponentially in my field, our understanding of what individual species are doing in the soil is lagging behind. As I continue studying ectomycorrhizal ecology, I plan to move my research towards the use of the increasing number of fungal genomes being sequenced. I hope to use a blend of functional and comparative genomics, high-throughput sequencing technologies, and physiological research to describe the interactions of ectomycorrhizal fungi with the environment, plants and trees, and other soil organisms. References: Hennig, Kristopher Jordan, "Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Succession in a Native Monterey Pine Forest and Its Potential Influence Upon Forest Population Dynamics" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 132. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/132 Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Fungus Fair Raffle sends FFSC Member to Todd Spanier Weekend One of the highlights of the Fungus Fair is our Raffle with many awesome items raffled off during the two day event. Rene Barone • February 1, 2011 Our new poster series, a cooperative effort by Erin Page Blanchard, Christian Schwarz, Noah Siegel, and Marje Young. Photo by Hugh Smith This years raffle included many generous donors (listed below). The Grand Prize was a trip to Todd Spanier’s Anderson Valley Culinary Weekend – won this year by FFSC Member Austin Stowell. A special thank-you also to Monterey Mushrooms for their generous donation of mushrooms utilized during the cooking demonstrations. Raffle Donors Carpenter’s Custom Cutlery FUNGI Magazine Gelato Massimo India Joze JustMushroomStuff.Com King of Mushrooms La Posta Restaurant Light Energy Glass Lucy Martin Art Angela Mele Ma Maison Restaurant Fred Molnar Shea Moss Monterey Mushrooms Jeannine Niehaus Oswald Restaurant Brian & Ruth Salisbury Nate & Erika Seagraves Gale Lee Still The True Olive Connection Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article