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News & Stories / Field Reports Albion I Foray 2005 Species List The December Albion foray was outstanding; many thanks to Horst Kuhlmann for arranging the foray, dinner at Ledford and the great weather. Douglas Smith • January 1, 2006 Cortinarius vanduzerensis. © Alan Rockefeller (from mushroomobserver.org) The species count came in at 158, an all-time record, with about 20 miscellaneous Suillus , Russula and Mycena species which were never named. Our ability to come up with such a big list so quickly can be attributed to Douglas Smith, who elegantly combined the last five years’ species lists into a checklist to make the process go faster, complete with illustrated ID cards for the table. Kudos to Douglas! Mother Nature was good to us, as well! FFSC members can login to see the full list below. - Editor Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / 2011 Suds and Shrooms Picnic Rocked! The Suds and Shrooms Picnic on June 11 rocked! The day was warm and sunny—remember how that used to feel? Deb • September 1, 2011 Appetizer at Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Central Coast Zymergeeks brought the incredible craft brews for which they’re known, and we brought the food, with an emphasis on fungi. The grill was going all day. In fact, pork appeared in at least three forms, inspiring an upcoming event: Porcino, Porcini! on October 15th. Thanks to everyone for your delicious contributions and good cheer! Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Suds n Shrooms 2011. Photos by Shea and Deb Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Chanterelle Scrambled Eggs We love a good chanterelle scramble. Here's one approach from a member of the Wisconsin Mycological Society (WMS). by Tula Erskine (WMS member) Cantharellus californicus. © Christian Schwarz (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 9401199) Method Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add chanterelles and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes (more or less, use judgment). In the meantime, mix milk with flour. Add the milk and flour to the beaten eggs and seasonings. Mix well and pour over the sautéed chanterelles. Stir till not runny (about 5 minutes) Serve over toast or bagels. Recipe contributed: December 1992 The original recipe is still available in the Winter 1992 issue (PDF) of the Newsletter of the Wisconsin Mycological Society . We reproduced this slightly shorter version in October 1993 for FFSC members. Objective: Main course Total Time: About 30 minutes Yield: About 4 servings 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 2 -3 cups Chanterelles, cleaned and cut into 1/ 4" strips 1/2 tsp. sea salt 4 Tbsp. butter or shortening Pepper 1/2 Cup milk Chives, finely cut 1 tsp. flour Parsley, finely cut 6 eggs, well beaten Bread or bagels Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / FFSC Celebrates Twenty Years of Fungal Fun Maintenance In September of 1984, a flyer circulated in Santa Cruz, announcing "The Fungus Federation Wants You!". Mushroom lovers responded, and the FFSC was born. Deb • September 1, 2004 FFSC Patch, December 1985 2004 marks the 20th anniversary of this facetious federation, and celebration is definitely in order! Joseph Schultz, Santa Cruz culinary deity and patron saint of mushrooms, will give a cooking demonstration for the first general meeting of the season on Wednesday, September 15th. Don't miss it! Looking back through twenty years' worth of newsletters, archives, and ephemera to put together a retrospective has been a blast. A small group of quirky individuals, united by their love of fungi, food, and fun, created the perfect vehicle for the enjoyment of all of it. The group has grown in size, but the primary goal of "Keeping the FUN in Fungus" has been resolutely maintained! Many have learned to safely collect wild mushrooms through classes, lectures, and forays, and the community as a whole has been exposed to mycology through our annual Fungus Fairs. Space probes have thus far failed to bring back evidence of better potlucks anywhere in the solar system! It seems common for groups to become insular and stuffy over time, but the Fungus Federation has, happily, resisted that tendency, and I, for one, am proud to be a part of this group. Starting as The Federation Flyer , edited by David Arora and Bob Sellers, the newsletter turned into Ascus and finally morphed into Duff in 1985. Past editors also included Bridget Binko, Ford Johnson, Gregg Ferguson, Flick Christensen, Larry Payne, Madeleine Wyke, and Roxann Hills. We recognize and appreciate their countless hours of effort through the years. You’ll find pictures from the Archives and excerpts from past newsletters sprinkled throughout this issue. Have fun figuring out who's who! Some are labeled, some aren’t. Thanks to Gloria Woodside for maintaining the Archives, our history bank. Thanks also to Bob Sellers, Bill McGuire, Shea and Jerry Moss, Marje and Henry Young, and Phil Carpenter for serving as our "institutional memory" as to people, places, and things! Mark Gillespie, Minister of Membership, keeps up with all the minutiae - address changes, e-mail notification lists, and current lists for events. Thanks, Mark! - Debbie Johnson, Current Propagandist 2026 Editor's Note: The images below are intentionally small, because the original resolution was very low (even Adobe and Topaz cannot recover some of them). Forays Near and Far Albion 1990 Bill McGuire and Gloria Woodside show some of the more tangible benefits of early retirement- mid-we Albion 1989 Great minds carefully considering why the mushrooms weren’t fruiting Phil Carpenter, Gregg Ferguson, Unidentified, Henry Young, Elizabeth Hutchinson, Danny Farber, 1991 Unidentified, Phyllis Cole, Lee Yamada, Jerry and Shea Moss, 1991 Echo Summit Foray circa 1987 The late Gregg Ferguson with a sweet, petite bolete at Echo Summit 1989 Nan Mirr and Lisa Bauer, Echo 1998 ID table, Fungus Fair 1994 at Harvey West Jed & Aren Pageler at a Fungus Fair, closer to the ground than most of us Sue Willis' Column from The Federation Flyer, October 1984 Sue Willis’ column from The FEDERATION FLYER October 1984 Dear Sue: My problem is I've got too much slime on my hands! Slippery jacks are about the most common thing in this neck of the woods. I have fried them and dried them, boiled them and broiled them, stripped them and dipped them, sauteed them and souffled them, but no matter what I do they turn out too %*S"*&I slimy. Yet my field guide labels them "edible and choice!" What am I doing wrong and how can I cook them so they turn out nice and dry like Agaricus ? SLIME TO SPARE New Brighton Dear Slime: Your problem is not one of ineptitude, but ATTITUDE. You are a victim of creeping "slimism," an unwarranted and irrational prejudice against slime. Your first job, therefore, is to purge yourself of this insidious affliction. You can start by realizing that slime is an inescapable and indispensable part of life - you are full of it and so is everyone else! Without mucus, life as we know it would be impossible. Also realize that many of our most exalted foods are slimy, sticky or gelatinous: oysters, escargot, caviar, sashimi, not to mention more mundane fare such as okra, jello, apricot jam and the raw eggs I had for breakfast this morning. Come to think of it, even ice cream has a high mucus content and so do the very best gravies, particularly if they contain cornstarch. Why, then, do you tolerate the slime in these foods but not in slippery jacks? Simple: Because you expect them to be what they are, you accept them the way they are. I repeat: Because you expect them to be what they are, you accept them the way they are! You don't try to make pasta with peanuts and you don't try to sweeten your coffee with salt (at least not on purpose), so why do you persist in trying to remove the slipperiness from slippery jacks? If you want them to be "dry like Agaricus " why not use Agaricus ? (God knows, there's enough of them in our supermarkets and their nauseating stench permeates the air around the 41st Ave. exit on Highway I.) The alternative is to take advantage of their inherent wetness. Make a list of all the slimy, slippery, sticky, gooey, viscous, gelatinous or glutinous foods you can think of. Then choose the ones you like the best and write down your favorite recipes for each one. You now have some excellent ideas for cooking slippery jacks. They make a yummy gumbo, for instance, or a sensuously succulent substitute for escargot! Dear Sue: My name's Knute (not my real name). Once upon a time I despised slippery jacks, but your moving essay on slime (Federation Flyer, Vol. I. No. 1) changed my life. Now I'm addicted to them! ln fact, I can't bear the thought of a cold winter morning without hot steaming slippery jacks. I'm sure I'm not alone among your readership in wishing that you would share one or two of your most succulent slippery jack recipes with us. GLUTTON FOR GLUTEN Corralitos Dear Gluten: 12 empty snail shells (garden variety is fine) 12 young, wet slippery jacks (or 6 larger ones) preferably collected just after a rain vegetable stock (or chicken) parsley sage rosemary butter carrots onions salt baking soda bread crumbs Remove the stems from the slippery jacks and reserve them for stock or catsup. Cut the caps in half if they are large, or leave them whole if they are buttons. Put them in a saucepan and barely cover them with stock (or equal parts stock and white wine). Add small amounts of finely diced carrots, onions (and/or shallots), and a generous bouquet garni of parsley, sage, and rosemary. Season with salt and simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove from flame and allow to cool gradually. Take the empty snail shells, make sure they are free of debris, and boil them in water for 30 minutes with baking soda added. Drain them, rinse in cold water, and dry. Put a dollop of beurre a la bourguignonne (see below) inside each snail shell and then stuff in a slippery jack. Seal with a little more beurre a la bourguignonne. Place the stuffed shells in a casserole dish with a little water and butter and sprinkle with fresh breadcrumbs. Warm in the oven and then serve - an evening to remember! Beurre a la bourguignonne: To 3 cups unsalted butter. add the following: 3/4 cup finely chopped shallots, 2 cloves garlic pounded into a paste, 2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley, 4 teaspoons salt. and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Blend. History of the Continental Picnic The Continental Picnic’s inauspicious beginnings were on Sunday, March 31, 1985, when sixty members of the newly formed Fungus Federation, led by David Arora, joined together at the Gray Whale Ranch. After a short foray on a warm sunny spring day, the novice fungiphiles, fortifying themselves with fine wine, gathered around local forays minister Ed Aguilar and nervously sampled the “day’s catch”: about a dozen Agaricus arvensis , a few Amanita velosa and several chanterelles. Then, while lounging around red and white checkered tablecloths spread on the poison oak infested meadows, we feasted on breads, cheeses and other fine fare, imbibed many goblets of delicious wines contributed by some fairly new and little known local vintners, Jerry & Shea Moss and David Bruce. We basked in the warm glow of comradeship and our common interests of the moment; memories of the poison oak lasted somewhat longer. Much has changed over the years. From those humble beginnings the FFSC has grown from a few curious fungiphiles to around 300 members. This annual event has evolved over the years from a continental style picnic to a sumptuous feast enjoyed by a hundred or more members gathering to share and enjoy mushroom related dishes and fungal fables. First Continental Picnic Announcement, March 1985 Trudging back to your car, tired and bedraggled, with a basketful of blewits, have you ever come across a couple of French or Italian mushroom hunters living it up in a sunny clearing around a red and white checked tablecloth, decked out with an array of breads, crackers, cheese spreads, fruits, goblets and wine? Well, on Sunday, March 31, we will do our best to put on our own interpretation of a Continental-style mushroom hunt. Photos from past Continental Picnics Continental Picnic 1992 Lee Yamada Illustration by Johnny Gruelle Collecting at the First Continental Picnic, Gray Whale Ranch, Sunday March 31, 1985 Members at the First Continental Picnic, Gray Whale Ranch, Sunday March 31, 1985 First Continental Picnic, Gray Whale Ranch, Sunday March 31, 1985 Marje and fuzzy friends at the 2003 Continental Picnic Toni, Jerry, and (who?) at Continental Picnic 2003 Incredible Edibles From the Holiday Potluck 1990 From Wine & Mushroom 1990 Jozseph Schultz cooking at Culinary Foray in 1996 Meal prep at Albion 1990 Fall Fashions for Fungal Foragers circa 1985 Shea Moss Julia Child of the Chanterelles, 1985 Bo Hinricks Night Stalker, 1985 Mother Muscaria with young button Andrea at NAMA Foray in 1998 David Arora, Professor Duff, 1985 Learn more about our history! FFSC History Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts An Evening to Remember – FFSC 25th Anniversary Dinner A Short History of the Fungus Fair Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Wine & Mushroom Event Our annual Wine & Mushroom Fest is a phenomenal early Spring evening of sampling wonderful wines and fabulous homemade food. This member-only event is always fantastic and is the highlight of our culinary activities. Santa Cruz Mountain Winery table at the 2025 Wine and Mushroom potluck The Wine & Mushroom Fest is a matchless co-op gathering alongside several Santa Cruz Mountain appellation wineries, put together by FFSC Culinary Minister Bob Wynn and Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard/Quinta Cruz. The mushrooming crowd brings the food (potluck). The winemakers bring their best, and we all have a great time! Where and When This dinner is usually held in April. We announce the date and location to FFSC members (and applicable winemakers) in February or March. The next Wine and Mushroom Fest will be on April 11, 2026! Tickets are on sale now . This event often sells out in advance. Join our Google Group and/or follow our social media and this website to be one of the first to find out when reservations open each year. Cost We charge a modest fee to cover the venue rental, tablecloths, decor and related costs with additional discounts for members. Appetizers table at the 2025 Wine and Mushroom potluck. Photo by Deb Each FFSC member and guest is expected to bring appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, finger food or desserts for at least ten people. Really! We are also feeding the winemakers and we all have healthy appetites. This is an appetizer and dessert extravaganza. The food should be finger food, small items similar to tapas. No main courses, soups, etc. Think something you can nibble with, at most, a fork! Not sure what to bring? Check out our mushroom recipes for ideas, and make one of them your own! The kitchen usually isn't large, so plan to bring your food completely prepared. We can provide last-minute heating prior to service. For those using wild mushrooms, please check the species lists on the Potluck Essentials page for a list of acceptable mushrooms to include in your dishes, as well as labeling requirements, zero waste recommendations, and more. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC

News & Stories / Writings Lost: The Companion's View ...By now, the thunder was getting more intense, frequent and close. Henry still was not back. With the weather deteriorating rapidly, I knew something was wrong... Phil Carpenter • January 27, 2015 Caldor Fire Recovery. Photo by Katherine Elvin (Reprinted from FFSC's original Duff newsletter, 1998) Now that you have read Henry’s account of being lost in the wood, I’ll tell you my side of the story as the companion and the various thoughts that prompted my actions. Caldor Fire Recovery. Photo by Katherine Elvin Henry and I had driven up Friday night, slept on the ground and had risen early for a full day of hunting. The plan was to first look for morel at the burn north of our campground and then look for boletes on the way home that evening. We spent the majority of the day walking up and down the steep hillside between the two roads that bordered the burn we were hunting. We had been having mixed success in finding morels, but overall we were doing very well. At lunch, we had noted how quickly the predicted stormy weather was coming in. We also talked about the need to leave the area before it started raining since the road we were on was in such poor condition. We had gone out on another leg of the search, splitting up, as is usual for us. A little later we met again halfway down the ridge (again, as is usual for us) and discussed our “plans”. I was going to go down to the road below the burn and Henry was going to work his way further east at the same elevation. After working down the slope and finding little worth keeping me there, I worked my way back up, slowly moving eastward as well. By this time the wind had picked up and it was getting noticeably cooler. I was still picking lots of nice fresh morels but I heard some distant thunder and decided that it was time to get back to the truck and get out of there. I worked slowly back up the steep ridge, picking as I went. Something seemed wrong about the direction I was going. I felt like I was going too far east and needed to move more to the west. Even with that, I found that I was at least half a mile east of the truck. When I got back, Henry was not there. That really did not concern me since it is not unusual for Henry to be the last one in. I dropped off my haul of morels and went back out on a short loop to kill some time waiting for Henry. By now, the thunder was getting more intense, frequent and close. When I returned, Henry still was not back. Now I was concerned! With the weather deteriorating rapidly, I knew something was wrong from our earlier discussions about departing before the rains. I dropped off my basket and went to the area where we had met in the woods and searched the entire region east of there, both up and down that ridge. We have long-established calls, whistles, etc. that we use to “communicate” and I was using them but with no answers. I made my way back to the truck, hoping of course that Henry would be there. No such luck. That was the crucial decision point: do I assume that he is just really slow in getting back or do I assume the worst? Given the previous discussions, I made the fairly simple decision that something was wrong. At that point, it was about 4:00 and I knew that I needed more people to cover the area where he might possibly be. I never for a second thought that he was lost; I was convinced that he was hurt and unable to answer my signals. Henry and I had hunted together for many years and never in all those years had he ever been lost, and that was in parts of the world where it was much more likely to get lost. Remember that the area we were hunting was a slope between two roads: impossible to get lost, right?! Go uphill, hit a road, go downhill, hit a road – no problem; therefore no compass, no survival gear, no water and no extra clothes in case of bad weather. All that went through my mind in a flash and formed the basis of my decision to walk out and get help. I had to walk since Henry had driven and he had the keys. ( Lesson #1: Take a spare set of keys and give it to your hunting partner ) I knew that he needed to be found before dark and for that I needed help. Just as I wrote a note (just in case he DID come back late), the heavens opened with a vengeance. The next five hours were really frustrating since it took a long time for the search and rescue team to mobilize and get there from Placerville. All this time it was pouring rain and I was envisioning Henry in a heap somewhere in a T-shirt, freezing. Once the authorities were involved, I was not allowed to go back out to hunt (this was REALLY frustrating). I did take a couple of El Dorado County Sheriff deputies out in a search right at nightfall, only to have them announce that they would take up the search the next morning since they didn’t search the woods after dark. Their “plan” (standard issue, I guess) was to drive the roads with lights and sirens – a fine plan if someone is lost, warm and can get around to find the road again. Of course, I was jumping up and down trying to get through to those guys that all of that was worthless since he would already have come out if he could since he NEVER gets lost. I really believed that unless we continued to search through the night, by morning he would not have survived. My frustration level was really going off-scale and I started second-guessing my decision to get help in the first place. I felt like I had just wasted all the daylight left in the day and had nothing to show for it. If only I had continued to search by myself, I would have at least felt like I was doing something positive. All of that ended abruptly when I heard that radio call from the search vehicle that had gone off in the wrong direction but was successful in finding him. “Lost? What do you mean, he’s lost? You mean he isn’t hurt?” I had all these mixed emotions going at once: relief as well as disbelief that he really was actually lost and that they had actually found him. The fact that he was found strictly by accident only adds to the incredulity of it all. I must say that I really was impressed to see that Henry had come out with his basket – full of morels. But, you know, we never did have time to go look for boletes. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Reality Check: Dispelling a Myth Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Avoid the Forest After Dark. Photo by Dan Tischler Avoid the Forest After Dark Dan Tischler With Halloween just around the corner, be extra careful when you go into the forest at night. Camera Olympus TG-4 Focal L. 10mm Aperture f/3.5 Shutter Sp. 1/200s ISO 100 Flash Off Photo taken on January 19, 2022 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

News & Stories / Species List: Albion I, Dec. 2-4, 2011 Christian Schwarz joined Henry Young as one of our Science Advisors for this season. Thank you, Christian for compiling the species list from Albion I in December. The team identified over 288 species! - Editor Christian Schwarz • January 1, 2012 Albatrellus caeruleoporus. © Christian Schwarz Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Albion I 2009 – A Great Time for All Albion I, 2010 – A Great Time for All Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Writings Fungal Anticipation A poem by FFSC member, Christian Schwarz. Christian Schwarz • October 1, 2006 Photo by Susan Triplett Hearken Fellow Fungophile! The Autumn is now just upon us- We have waited for awhile, In summer's sultry, blazing saunas. But soon... From the soil beneath the grass, Tiny buttons will arise. Caps expanding rather fast: Waking dreams before our eyes. Winter knocks upon the door Calling out to those who listen: "Go and search the forest floor When the Redwood needles glisten..." Spring's rebirth is nearly here- Golden sun coaxing flowers. The winter's rain dried up like tears, Soothed by every passing hour. The colder season's passed us by, Leaving many jewels sequestered. We can only sit and sigh- "Perhaps we'll find them next semester." Peace and Love Everyone Christian Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Haikus Celebrating the Secret Life of Fungi Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Gorgonzola Ragout of Mushrooms with Polenta This recipe is a substantial first course. It would also serve as a main course, perhaps with a salad and fresh broccoli braised with olive oil, garlic and lemon. by Sue Willis Slippery jack and a pine spike mushroom. © NatureIsra (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 255902187) Method Prepare the Polenta Lightly brush 8" pan with oil. Measure the cornmeal into a medium-sized heavy saucepan. Slowly whisk in the water. Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir in the salt, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook, stirring often, until the polenta is very thick (about 15 minutes). Remove and discard the bay leaves. Pour the hot polenta into the prepared 8" pan and spread it evenly to the edges. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until very firm (at least 5 hours). Crisp the Polenta Squares (or triangles, or parallelograms) Preheat grill to 450°F to 500°F (high heat) or broiler to high. (If using an oven, place the grilling pan so the polenta will be about 4 inches from the heat element.) Remove polenta from fridge and cut into 8 squares (or preferred shapes). Brush both sides of polenta pieces with olive oil. Grill on both sides until slightly colored or grill-marked and the squares easily release from the grates (about 5 minutes per side). Keep warm. Make the Ragout In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until mushrooms give up juices (about 5 minutes). Add stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half (about 5 minutes). Stir in Gorgonzola and pepper, then remove from heat. Cover and let stand, stirring once or twice, until cheese melts and blends with mushroom juices. Serve Arrange each polenta square on a small plate. Spoon the mushrooms and their juices around the polenta squares, or in a warmed ramekin on the side. Sprinkle the mushrooms with parsley, and serve immediately. Recipe contributed: January 1997 With the strong Gorgonzola flavor, cremini and portobello work well in this dish, and they are robust enough to provide a savory bite. That said, it may help to caramelize them during the sauté step, to lock in their natural umami. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end, to further help them stand out against the Gorgonzola. You can experiment with using multiple species together with this dish, such as cremini for the bulk of the recipe, with wild mushrooms for more flavor and texture. Porcini are the gold standard, and slippery jacks are a traditional Italian favorite. Hedgehogs hold up well in heavy reductions. Black trumpets can cut through the Gorgonzola flavor well, while chanterelles provide a more nuanced flavor contrast. Oysters give a velvety texture, whereas maitake's frilly edges would crisp and caramelize delightfully. If you use yellowfoot, don't chop them up; let the little straw funnels capture the melted Gorgonzola and garlic sauce! Feel free to add some sautéed mushrooms in the polenta itself, especially if some of your guests prefer to forego the ragout. For a fun twist, although pine spikes' mild taste would be lost in the Gorgonzola, they turn magenta-purple when cooked. You could use other wild mushrooms for the ragout, and garnish the polenta with one two slices of sautéed pine spikes for a splash of purple against the yellow. Objective: Side or first course Total Time: 1 hour plus 5 hours to set Yield: 8 servings Suggested Mushrooms: Black trumpet / black chanterelle (Craterellus atrocinereus, Craterellus calicornucopioides, Craterellus cinereus) Chanterelle (Cantharellus californicus, Cantharellus formosus, Cantharellus subalbidus) Hedgehog (Hydnum olympicum, Hydnum repandum , Hydnum umbilicatum, Hydnum washintonianum) Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Oyster / king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus ostreatus) Pine spike (Chroogomphus sp.) Porcini (Boletus edulis, Boletus regineus, Boletus rex-veris) Portobello/portabella, champignon, cremini, button (Agaricus bisporus) Slippery jack (Suillus brevipes, Suillus luteus, Suillus pungens) Yellowfoot (winter chanterelle) (Craterellus tubaeformis) 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 Polenta Olive Oil for the pan, plus 3 Tbsp. for grilling 1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone ground 4 cups water 1 Tsp. salt 3/4 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper 2 Bay leaves 8" square, straight sided pan, baking dish, or casserole Ragout 4 Tbsp. (1/2 Stick) unsalted butter 1/3 Cup minced shallots 2 1/2 (2.5) Lbs. assorted fresh mushrooms*, quartered or thickly sliced 1/2 Cup homemade chicken stock (or low salt canned chicken or vegetable broth) 6 oz. Gorgonzola (or similar), crumbled 1/2 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper Crisp polenta squares (see above) 1/4 Cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley * OK to combine fresh & reconstituted dried Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Macrofungal Ecology Project FFSC member Christian Schwarz will be presenting his Macrofungal Ecology Project, Spatial distributions and community structure of macrofungi , at the UCSC environmental studies undergraduate research symposium. Christian Schwarz • May 1, 2009 Beginning DNA extraction from mushrooms. Photo by Christian Schwarz Biologists have long recognized that macrofungi - those that produce visible fruitbodies - are an extremely diverse and ecologically important group. Some macro-fungi form ectomycorrhizal mutualisms with trees and shrubs, others are plant parasites, while others are vital wood decomposers or soil-building saprophytes. While these fungi are critical to maintaining the structure of ecosystems, the ecology of macrofungi remains under-studied. Details of the distribution patterns and community structures of macrofungi are relatively unknown. For example, it is generally accepted that many ectomycor-rhizal and parasitic macrofungi form symbioses with limited sets of hosts. Furthermore, many non-ectomycorrhizal macrofungi (ie. wood-decay species and leaf decomposers) exhibit strong habitat preferences apparently related to domi-nant vegetation. Since macrofungi are certainly geo-graphically limited by environmental factors, it is likely that their distributions are shaped by environmental fac-tors on smaller scales within their habitat. Both availability of suitable hosts and environmental conditions can limit and influence the distribution of macrofungi, but because many macrofungi are nutri-tionally dependent on plant hosts, I expect that the availability of suitable host plants will be the most important driver of macrofungal distribution. Through precise, detailed spatial monitoring, I will test the hypothesis that variation in the composition of plant communities will explain more variation in associated communities of macrofungi than will variation in envi-ronmental conditions. This investigation will provide foundational information to construct more realistic concepts of the community structure and spatial ecology of macrofungi. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Citizen Science - Amateur Ain't a Dirty Word Microscopy of Gilled Mushrooms Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

2018 Speaker Schedule : Room 1 Friday 1:15 PM Mushroom Toxicity (Friday) Henry Young Friday 2:30 PM An Introduction to Mushroom Identification Phil Carpenter Friday 3:45 PM Tips and Techniques for Cooking With Mushrooms Chef Bob Wynn Saturday 10:30 AM Local Edible Wild Mushroom Basics Douglas Smith Saturday 1:30 PM Growing Oysters on Toilet Paper Rolls: A Beginning Cultivators's Workshop Cass Fuentes Saturday 2:45 PM Mushroom Toxicity (Saturday) Henry Young Saturday 4:00 PM Tales From The Cryptograms: Alternative Lifestyles In The Kingdom of Fungi Christian Schwarz Sunday 12:00 PM An Introduction to Mushroom Cultivation Vellany Pierce Sunday 1:30 PM The Mushrooms of Los Trancos, A Local Open Space Area Douglas Smith Sunday 3:00 PM Mushrooms of Mexico Alan Rockefeller Sunday 10:30 PM Common Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of California Noah Siegel 2018 Speaker Schedule : Room 3 Friday 1:30 PM Gaps are good: fungi and forest dynamics in Nothern Californa Professor Terry Henkel Friday 3:30 PM Black Gold - A discussion of tast of the world's most prized mushroom Todd Spanier Saturday 11:00 AM Mushroom Medicine: Science and controversies of mushroom products Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., L.Ac Saturday 1:00 PM The value of old growth forest in fungal conservation Professor Terry Henkel, Noah Siegel, Christian Schwarz Saturday 3:00 PM Cooking Demonstration and Wine Pairing Chef John Paul Lechtenberg, Frank Virgil Sunday 1:00 PM Medicinal Mushrooms - Properties and diversity of cooked mushrooms for health Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., L.Ac Sunday 3:00 PM Cooking Demonstration Chef Wall Sunday 11:00 PM Fungi as food and drink: ethnomycology of tropical indigenous peoples Professor Terry Henkel