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News & Stories / Mycology & Art News The Largest Living Organism is a Fungus! Beneath the soil of the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon, a fungus that has been slowly weaving its way through the roots of the trees for centuries has become the largest living organism ever found. Madeleine Wyke • January 1, 2001 Armillaria ostoyae. © Fern (CC-BY-NC) (inaturalist.org, obs. 249114389) The Armillaria ostoyae , popularly known as the honey mushroom, started from a single spore and has been spreading its filaments through the forest for an estimated 2,400 years, killing trees as it grows. It now covers 2,200 acres. The outline of the giant fungus stretches 3.5 miles across, and it extends an average of 3 feet into the ground. It covers an area as big as 1,665 football fields. No one has estimated its weight. On the surface the only evidence of the fungus are clumps of golden edible mushrooms that pop up in the fall with the rain. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Stewardship Culinary Events Wrap Up: May 2000 As our 1999-2000 fungal season comes to an end, let's review our year: it may not have been an exceptional year for fungi, but as for culinary festivities, we reached new heights. Rene Seltzer • May 1, 2000 Cantharellus californicus. © Dean Lyons (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 146451778) Now that this precedent has been established, the culinary committee will strive to maintain the tradition and to set new goals. First, let's review our accomplishments: December 1999 Holiday Pot-luck 1999 Dinner at the Coop February 2000 Dinner at Black's Beach Cafe March 2000 Wine & Mushroom Tasting April 2000 Continental Picnic (Beer & Mushroom) Now, in order to expand this list for next year, three essentials have to happen: mother nature needs to bring more rain wild mushrooms need to fruit members need to collect & donatetheir mushrooms If these three things happen, then the rest of the many details needed to coordinate a culinary event can follow. Generally, November is when the first really good mushroom hunts begin, so tentatively we'll have our first meal then with, perhaps, a Chef's dinner. You know, something to kick off the holidays. One other essential item I forgot to mention is volunteers. At the last Wine & Mushroom tasting, a few members asked about joining the culinary committee, and my motto has always been "never tum down a volunteer," so welcome aboard to those who expressed an interest. I look forward to working with so many talented people. Our first meeting will be in September. Call me for further details. By the way, I am especially looking for someone to photograph our events and submit the pictures for publication in the Duff. Have a great summer! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

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Chef Mazi's Perfect Rice A Mazi family favorite, this recipe uses stock and powdered mushrooms with the rice in a standard rice cooker for a more full flavored and medicinal version of a standard starch. by Chef Zachary Mazi Queen Boletes (Mendocino 2016. Photo by Katherine Elvin Method Chicken (or Mushroom) Stock Place all ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring stock to a boil with all ingredients, reduce to a simmer, and continue to simmer for 3-5 hours or longer, skimming off the surface scum that rises. Rice Put all the rice ingredients and stock in a rice cooker and press go! Makes 4 cups of rice. Recipe contributed: March 2013 I love collecting my own mushrooms and drying them for later use. Shiitake mushrooms, even the dried ones from the store, have a unique quality of increasing their vitamin D2 content by up to 41,000% when placed in the sun. Fresh mushrooms can be dried in the sun for the same effect. This reaction can ensure plenty of vitamin D during the winter months if you plan it right. I estimate the amount by stuffing as many mushrooms as will fit into my herb grinder and powdering the mushrooms. Note : This recipe was originally published by Chef Mazi in the March 2013 issue of Duff. Objective: Side or first course Total Time: About 5 hours Yield: About 4 servings Suggested Mushrooms: Oyster / king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus ostreatus) Porcini (Boletus edulis, Boletus regineus, Boletus rex-veris) 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 Chicken (or Mushroom) Stock 1 lb. Onions, chopped 0.5 lb. carrots, chopped 0.5 lb. celery, chopped 5-6 gallons of cold water 5-6 lb. chicken (bones=more body, meat=more flavor) or 0.5-1 lb. of dry mushrooms* or more, varied by your desire. Note : Boletus sure do make a tasty stock, but a good mix is a wonderful way to go! Adding fresh mushrooms will yield more color and more full bodied flavor. Bouquet Garni (bundle of herbs tied up together) 20 peppercorns 6 sprigs thyme 1 large bay leaf 10 stems parsley Optionally, use also sage, lavender, etc. Go wild. Rice 2 C rice (any variety, forbidden and long grain brown basmati have the richest flavor) 4 C stock (chicken, mushroom, or vegetable) 1/4 to 1/2 C dry powdered mushroom (oyster and shiitake are delicious) 1 to 2 T coconut oil or butter Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

Coprinopsis lagopus gr. © Terry Way Coprinopsis Lagopus Group Terry Way This beautiful mushroom was found in Terry's backyard. Phil Carpenter pegs it as being in the Coprinopsis lagopus group. One of the Inky Caps, this exquisite and evanescent member of the Psathyrellaceae family is a feast for the eyes. Not for the table, though: this tiny mushroom is considered inedible. Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark III Focal L. 100mm Aperture f/22.0 Shutter Sp. ISO 10000 Flash Off Photo taken on September 29, 2014 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

News & Stories / 2015 January Local Foray Wrap Up A group of about 30 FFSC foragers descended into the western Santa Cruz area yesterday morning, searching for shrooms... Cass Fuentes • January 26, 2015 Local Foray attendees. Photo by Cassandra Fuentes Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Field Report on January 2015 Local Foray Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / The Wine and Mushroom Experience was Phenomenal One of the wettest storms of the season greeted festive party participants at the Scotts Valley Community Center. Everyone walked out of the rain and into a beautiful bright and cheery room decorated with a glowing grape arbor. Margaret Carpenter • April 1, 2011 Wine and Mushroom Experience. Photo by Margaret Carpenter All your senses were immediately engaged—the smell of Bob Wynn’s craterellus pizza and foccacia bread permeated the air along with the wafting fragrance of stuffed morels. The sight of numerous other appetizers filling the table was tempting and made your mouth water. The pleasant murmur of sounds, the sheer draping and amethyst grape lights drew us to the tasting tables. The Plan was to enjoy an evening of wine and mushroom tasting with first-class wines and foods provided by the Fungus Federation members and excellent Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation wineries. The Plan was fulfilled. Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Winery arranged for six exceptional SC area wineries to share their wines. We were not disappointed: we were given the opportunity to enjoy excellent wines from Ahlgren Vineyard, Alfaro Family Vineyard, Beauregard Vineyards, Muns Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and Silver Mountain Vineyards. The wineries and their representatives were outstanding and our senses were rewarded with appropriate, enticing aromas, perfect colors, and pleasurable tastes. The appetizer table was overflowing and the entrée table was beyond our wildest imagination. And then there was the dessert table… the decadence was beyond description. Candy Cap Mango Brulée, Candy Cap brittle, chocolate, chocolate and more candycaps. And rising above all the desserts was a field of astounding chocolate mushrooms – the artistic and extravagant creations of Fred Molnar and Debbie Johnson. I saw many people taking pictures of this chocolate mushroom collection with their cell phones. This was an exceptional evening; many thanks to everyone for their efforts. Special thanks go to Bob Wynn, our chef and food coordinator and to the Santa Cruz Mountain vintners who shared their outstanding wines. As with most of our events, we could not have done this without our fantastic volunteers who help before, during and after the event. You transformed the room for a gala party event and cleaned it all up afterward. Thank you yet again! As perfect as the night was, there were traffic challenges with over 120 people present. A learning curve... we hope to use this venue again and plan to change the table layout and traffic flow, so our next event here will be better than perfect! If you are an entertainer at heart, or would just like to join the party early, please consider joining the Culinary Committee. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Hygrocybe singeri, Western Witch's Hat Have you ever found a bright orange to red waxy cap, and brought it home only to find your once colorful mushroom was dingy black colored? You have found one of the blackening Hygrocybe , or the “Witch’s Hats”. by Noah Siegel Hygrocybe singeri. Photo by Noah Siegel They are some of our more common Waxy Caps, occuring in a wide variety of forest types; with a particular fondness for redwood or cypress duff. Our most common species is Hygrocybe singeri , recognized by its bright red, orange to yellow colors, a narrowly conical, often viscid cap, and black staining on all parts. Although the name H. conica has been used in California for fruitbodies with a dry stipe, many of these records seem to fall within the variably range of H. singeri . The joke is, you find H. conica in dry weather, and H. singeri when it is raining. However, there may be more than one species in the H. singeri complex. Hygrocybe olivaceoniger . Photo by Noah Siegel Other species of “Witch’s Hats” in California include Hygrocybe olivaceoniger ; which is a smaller species with a greenish to yellow cap, without orange-red tones. It can be difficult to distinguish from small, pale H. singeri , unless one has a range of fruitbodies. It’s an uncommon species in the North Coast redwood forest. Hygrocybe nigrescens . Photo by Noah Siegel More distinct is H. nigrescens (sensu CA), which has larger, consistently redder caps and occurrence under hardwoods. It can be common during wet years in the Sierra Nevada foothills and upper Central Valley oak zone. Hygrocybe conica grp. Found in Phil's Yard. Photo by Noah Siegel I have also seen a spring-fruiting species in the Sierra Nevada which appears to be distinct, a tiny species in Chamise duff ( Adenostoma fasciculatum ) in the foothills and one in Phil’s yard which looks closer to the European H. conica (but doesn’t match genetically). Hygrocybe singeri "alba" (Skyline 2012). Photo by Noah Siegel To make matters more confounding, species of Hygrocybe in this group can have pigmentless forms. The white form of H. singeri soon takes on a grayish cast, then blackish stains overall as it ages. Hygrocybe ( Hygrophorus ) albinellus , described from Boulder Creek appears to be a pure white form of H. acutoconica (and likely, a legit name for our western H. acutoconica ). Mushrooms covered: Hygrocybe acutoconica Hygrocybe albinellus (see Hygrophorus albinellus) Hygrocybe conica (witch's hat) Hygrocybe nigrescens ( blackening waxcap) Hygrocybe olivaceoniger Hygrocybe singeri (western witch's hat) Previous Description All Featured Fungi Next Description

Candy Cap with Newt. Photo by Linda Maxwell Candy Cap with Newt Linda Maxwell Thanks for sharing this photo, Linda. We also loved your Newt-Free Candy Cap cookies at the January General Meeting! Camera Canon PowerShot SX260 HS Focal L. 5mm Aperture f/3.5 Shutter Sp. 1/300s ISO 640 Flash Off Photo taken on December 17, 2014 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

News & Stories / CEO's Epistle to the Fungophiles: September 2000 Congrats to Phyllis Cole, and also to our new FFSC Ministers — and many thanks to our outgoing ministers! Deb • September 1, 2000 Morchella rufobrunnea and flowers. © Amanda Bueno-Kling (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 267991518) Congratulations are in order for Phyllis Cole, President-Elect of the North American Mycological Association. Phyllis will serve a three-year term as NAMA president. We've been beneficiaries of her efforts in the Fungus Fair, Stores, Programs, and the NAMA '98 Foray, so we know she'll accomplish great things! We also welcome Bob Bickal as FFSC's new Secretary, Horst Kuhlman and Bill McGuire taking over Long Distance Forays from Pete Gonda. Many thanks for all those great trips, Pete! Bob Sellers is assuming the Duff Assistant duties from Toni Gillespie, whose tenure spanned to Duff editors. Thank you for your hard work and good spirit, Toni! I should note here that some of the benefits of being a Minister in the FFSC are meeting for a great dinner once a month and getting to know some very wonderful people. You find out what's coming up before you read it in the newsletter, because you're part of planning the event. As a testimonial to the rewards of Ministership, please note our abundant crop of At Large Ministers. These are former Ministers who take on projects ad lib; it's so good they don't want to leave! Keep that in mind when elections coe around next spring... We're working on several projects to better serve the membership. Our website has moved to Cruzio, has no advertising and will be expanding. Delivery of the Duff by e-mail is in the offing, and you can look forward to speedier registration and admission to events. If you have ideas, thoughts or opinions about club projects, activities, etc., we would like to hear them. Please drop me a note or call. Wishing you an abundant year. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

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 founded in 1984. He has been very active in the FFSC since joining, acting as President for many years as well as several other offices, including Minister of Science for many years. He is also currently a Regional Trustee for the North American Mushroom Association (NAMA). Phil has conducted mushroom identification classes for FFSC members for over ten years. In addition, he has taught mushroom foraging and identification at the University of California, Santa Cruz for over 25 years; for local park districts; for private resorts; for food events such as the Masters of Food and Wine and the Gourmet Fest in nearby Carmel; and for private parties. He heads up the mushroom identification service provided at the well-known and highly-attended annual Fungus Fair presented by the FFSC. He has been and continues to be a resource of mushroom identification for monthly FFSC meetings and periodic local and long distance forays. He provides identification and consulting for mushroom poisonings for hospitals and veterinarians. Phil was the 2023 recipient of the Harry and Elsie Knighton Service Award given by the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) in recognition of his many years of distinguished service to the mycology community. 2026 Dr. Phil Carpenter 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Talks Buy Tickets Introduction to Mushroom Identification Friday, January 9, 2026 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Room 1 Introduction to Mushroom Identification Saturday, January 10, 2026 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Room 1 Question And Answer Session about Identifying and Cooking Wild Mushrooms Sunday, January 11, 2026 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Room 1 An Introduction to Mushroom Identification Friday, January 10, 2025 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Room 1 An Introduction to Mushroom Identification Saturday, January 11, 2025 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Room 1 An Introduction to Mushroom Identification Sunday, January 12, 2025 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM Room 1

News & Stories / Faces of FFSC – Adam Ryszka November’s Face of FFSC is Adam Ryszka, our new Local Foray Minister. Adam has been a member of FFSC for about two years. However, he was hangin’ round with FFSC members for several years prior to joining. Wendy Wells • November 1, 2009 Adam Ryszka (Nov 2009) He balances interests in computer science and business development with a variety of hobbies including hiking, classic Jaguars and, of course, chasing the wild fungi. Adam is excited with the opportunity to lead forays and help members learn the way of the mushroom. What event started his interest in mushrooms? According to Adam, his best friend in high school was a fungi-geek type of guy who was always running around with a copy of David Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified. His friend’s fascination with mushrooms was contagious. That was 15 years ago and Adam has been seeking myco-knowledge since then. He moved from SoCal to attend UC Santa Cruz. Increased time enjoying hiking and jogging led to more and more mushroom discoveries which led to hooking up with FFSC members which led to leading our local forays. Adam has been exploring the Santa Cruz area for a number of years and is quite knowledgeable about local mushroom habitats. He is quick to offer suggestions on types of environments to look for when planning a foray and looks forward to sharing his knowledge. What prompted you to become our new Local Foray Minister? Well… it was those FFSC guys he had been going on forays with. About four years ago, Adam went on his first FFSC foray to Marshall Fields with Bob Sellers. He continued to attend forays and his enthusiasm for learning became apparent to many members. As his mushroom identification skills increased, he was approached about the possibility of becoming the local foray leader. He credits Bob’s special guidance and encouragement with helping him walk the path to becoming our new foray leader. What is your favorite mushroom? Basket of boletes. Photo by Adam Ryzska Boletes in Autumn was the quick answer. Adam has a fondness for many mushrooms and a nice collection of bolete patches to call his own. Who is your favorite foray partner? Why, that would be Henry Young, of course. Adam has forayed numerous times with Henry. During this time their friendship has blossomed. He appreciates the support and valuable insight Henry has offered while Adam prepared for his new role as foray leader. Do you have any suggestions for other ‘newer’ mem-bers? First and foremost, group participation is key. Attend meetings and ID classes and get to know other members. Many of our members are happily willing to share their myco-knowledge. Secondly, attend local and long distance forays. Forays include identification sessions that present valuable learning opportunities. They also foster new friendships and ideas. Adam encourages member questions and input. He explained he is always looking for new places to foray, feedback and tips. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts FFSC Scholarship Awarded to Kristopher Hennig FFSC Scholarship Awarded to Christian Schwarz Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article