Search this site

Learn About Mushrooms The Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz is all about educating its members and the general public about the dangers and delights of collecting, studying, consuming , and creating art with wild mushrooms. We understand that people learn in different ways. We aim to offer something for everyone! Winter Chanterelles Bunch. Photo by Yevgeny Nyden Classes & Speakers FFSC members take ID classes & workshops from our science advisors to learn the systematic procedures of mushroom identification. This is particularly critical for anyone planning to eat wild mushrooms. We host monthly speakers , and also invite speakers to present at the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair and some of our Long Distance Forays . Plus, we share recipes for mushroom dishes, along with information about external classes for people interested in photographing mushrooms, cooking mushrooms, and even creating crafts with mushrooms! Online Learning Our Featured Fungi pages highlight some of the local (and few not-so-local) mushrooms that you may find in your wanderings, courtesy of our current and past science advisors and foray leaders. As tech evolves, we're also experimenting with new ways to share tips and advice to help people learn about mushrooms! Check out our free FFSC Online Learning area for our first few programs on how to get started with collecting and identifying mushrooms. Note: The educational content we provide on this website is intended to supplement (not replace) formal classes, published books and field guides. Informal Knowledge Sharing Many FFSC members enjoy sharing their knowledge and experience via our Google Group mailing list, as well as in person at our club events, and at our biggest event: The Santa Cruz Fungus Fair. Knowledgeable members of FFSC make themselves available to provide mushroom ID services to others. (In fact, local hospitals have consulted with a select group of our science advisors for many years, to evaluate mushroom poisoning cases.) Special Projects & Scholarships Are you working on a mycology project at your school? FFSC offers scholarships and grants to support STEM and mycology research. See our Scholarships page for more information. More Resources Other Mycological Clubs Other Nonprofit Resources Members Only Content Login Join FFSC

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News A Very Mushroomy Halloween To You, Too! Halloween is fast approaching, and this is Santa Cruz’s favorite holiday. Are your kids dressing up? Are you? Deb • September 27, 2013 Omphalotus olivascens (western Jack o'Lantern) at the Fungus Fair Julian and Gabriel sported magnificent Muscaria costumes while out trick-or-treating with their family and some friendly elves last year. We can’t wait to see what they do this year, and would love to see your costumes, too! Send photos to our Google Group or Facebook group. Larger images are preferable, thanks. For further inspiration, visit Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=mushroom%20costume Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Haikus Celebrating the Secret Life of Fungi Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Painted Portobellos in Puff Pastry A smoky-sweet and tangy pastry, with a mild to medium spicy heat. by Deb Agaricus bisporus. © Christian Schwarz (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 10379455) Method Preheat oven to the puff pastry brand's recommended temperature (or 425°F). Beat egg lightly with 1 Tbsp. of water to create an egg wash. Roll out a puff pastry square on a floured surface, large enough so that the ends can be easily folded up over a mushroom cap. (Since portobellos vary in size, you may have to roll out the puff pastry to different sizes. Avoid rolling thinner than 1/8", so you don't crush the butter layers.) Paint the portobello caps and gills liberally** with the puréed chipotle, and place cap down on the puff pastry.*** Fold the puff pastry ends up so they meet and complete enclose the mushroom cap. Turn the pastry over and place on a lined baking sheet. Brush each pastry with egg wash. Optionally, cut a decorative design into the pastry. Place in oven and bake at the pastry brand's recommended temperature (or 425°F) until pastry is golden. ** Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked red jalapeño chiles. They are usually sold canned in a tangy tomato-and-vinegar adobo sauce, most commonly pureed. Thus, the sauce will have a mild to medium heat. Since you'll be "painting" the mushrooms (not putting normal jalapeños in the pastry), you can adjust amount of sauce to taste. *** Revision : Newer food safety guidelines recommend avoiding undercooked mushrooms. To address this, either first gently sauté the caps until they soften, or roast the painted caps at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the caps to cool before placing them on the rolled out dough (so they don't melt the fat in the dough). Depending on your puff pastry brand and oven, precooking the mushrooms (and thus evaporating excess moisture) may also help to make your pastry more crisp and flaky. Recipe contributed: October 1995 This recipe was adapted from a newly published cookbook, A Cook's Book of Mushrooms by Jack Czarnecki. Jack is the owner/chef of Joe's Restaurant in Reading, Pennsylvania and The Joel Palmer House in Dayton, Oregon, and at least a second generation fungal forager. Jack prepared and shared several elegant recipes from his new book at a cooking demo/lunch in Carmel recently. The recipes are geared to exotic mushrooms now available in stores such as Oysters, Chanterelles, Portobellos, etc., though they are certainly adaptable to other wild mushrooms. A bit more sophisticated than the usual mushroom cookbook, this is a great book for the veteran chef and a good introduction to wild mushroom cookery for new foragers who feel confident gathering a few varieties and purchasing the rest. Happily for us, thanks to FFSC member Phyllis Cole and Athena Reschke, it is currently available in stores, a great holiday gift. Check it out at the next club meeting! Jack will also be speaking at one of our club meetings this year, he's a great chef and very entertaining. Editor's Note: A Cook's Book of Mushrooms won a James Beard Award in 1996. The original cookbook with 100 recipes is out of print, but it's still available at thrift bookstores. A newer book by Jack Czarnecki, J oe's Book of Mushroom Cookery is also available with over 300 recipes; as well as mushroom-specific cookbooks, Truffle in the Kitchen: A Cook's Guide , and Portobello Cookbook . Objective: Side or first course Total Time: 30 to 60 mins Yield: 4 servings Suggested Mushrooms: Porcini (Boletus edulis, Boletus regineus, Boletus rex-veris) Portobello/portabella, champignon, cremini, button (Agaricus bisporus) 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 4 x 5 inch squares of all butter puff pastry dough 4 fresh portobellos* (3 - 5 inches wide caps, no wider) 2 Tbsp. pureed chipotle peppers in adobo** 2 Tbsp. Chinese oyster sauce 1 egg Water Flour Baking sheet (full or half sheet, big enough to fit your mushroom caps with room to spare) Parchment paper or silicone mat to line the baking sheet * Jack notes that this can also be made with any of the larger wild mushrooms, and is particularly good with porcini. Due to the spiciness of the chipotle peppers, avoid mild mushrooms such as oysters. Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

Hugh Smith There's a whole world out there waiting to be discovered! FFSC TITLE : Minister emeritus MEMBER SINCE : maybe 2007 ... started out as a child... growing up in the tide pools of the Pacific coast with my marine biologist mother. Since before he could remember, Hugh acquired an intense interest in all of the wonders that nature has to offer. Latin became his second language. Later Hugh became interested in photography, and then his brother took him on his first mushroom hunt in Fort Bragg, California. It was a very successful mushroom hunt! It was a full blown Boletus edulis season. Hugh had never seen a mushroom so big! And there were so many. Being already accustomed to the Macro world he was hooked. Photographing mushrooms is much easier than photographing Nudibranchs in the tide pools. Living in Northern California (Yuba City) he does most of the hunting there and the Pacific Coast. Hugh carries his camera everywhere he goes. There's a whole world out there waiting to be discovered! https://www.hughsmith.org/ 2026 Hugh Smith 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Talks Buy Tickets

Coccoras Coccoras are one of my favorite mushrooms to see and collect. The distinctive colors, thick cottony cap and striation on the cap edge makes this Amanita a little easier to ID. If I am unsure at any point, it stays in the ground and I take away the memory, image and sometimes a photo. by Katherine (Kitty) Elvin Amanita calyptroderma Debbie Viess has a very informative link on the BAMMS web site which tells more about this species. You can visit mushroomobserver.org and iNaturalist for observations. Amanita calyptroderma - Fall Coccora - tan to light brown Amanita vernicoccora - Spring Coccora - light yellow When I was first learning I ran into a lovely patch, while walking my dog Lexy, which I thought where coccoras. But I was new, so I collected a few of them to get some positive ID. I came home and posted pictures of my finds along with another Amanita sp. found in the Spring favoring oak trees on google groups. I got some interesting comments warning me to be very careful. I did take my coccora sample and got a positive ID. Kitty with Coccoras Since then I have been enjoying both Fall and Spring coccoras found on the coastal ranges and in the Sierras. They are beautiful and delicious and best of all one large specimen provides a tasty addition to any meal. Be picky and selective. I choose only firm young ones and take only what I can use right away. Mushrooms covered: Amanita calyptroderma (coccora) Amanita vernicoccora Previous Description All Featured Fungi Next Description

News & Stories / Field Report on January 2015 Local Foray We had a great foray last Saturday on our foray! A big thanks to the all the great folks who participated! Cass Fuentes • January 5, 2015 Craterellus cornucopioides (from another foray). Photo by Hugh Smith Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 2015 January Local Foray Wrap Up Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Field Reports Account of Todd Spanier's 15th Annual Winter Chef's Foray Hugh and Sandi Smith were the proud FFSC Fungus Fair Raffle winners for the 15th Annual Winter Chef ’s Foray led by Todd Spanier of King of Mushrooms. Hugh provided the following vignette of their weekend. Hugh Smith • April 1, 2010 Coastal Redwood. Photo by Hugh Smith Wow, was that the 15th Annual Winter Chef ’s Foray? I can’t imagine what the other 14 were like! This was the first one I attended though, so I wish I hadn’t missed the others. I hadn’t heard of it before, but Todd Spanier puts on this annual event ... every year. Three Januarys ago, Sandi and I entered the raffle at the FFSC 34th Fungus Fair. Todd had been more than generous to offer such a weekend of Hunting, Wining and Dining in the Anderson Valley. Pretty generous, Todd. All of us (you and me) are very busy of course, and Sandi and I weren’t able to collect on our prize until now. It was certainly worth the wait. We arrived at the Screaming Lizard Ranch (a private property) to meet up with everyone at the house where we would be staying. Sandi and I took the cabin away from the main house. There are Redwood, Oak, Fir, Pine, and many other types of trees on the 40 acres. Our bathroom was inside, but our shower was outside. Imagine me, in my outside shower, with hot running water, in the woods, naked ... OK, don’t. Hungry? We picked greens from the back yard for our salad. But the first thing I did when we arrived was to get out of the car and start the hunt. There is always something to find at this time of year. Lots of things! Exciting things! Gyromitra esculenta , Ganoderma applanatum , Craterellus cinereus , Phlogiotus helvelloides , Helvella compressa , and far too many other mushrooms to name here. Y’know, really great stuff. There were also Cantharellus californicus , Craterellus cornucopioides , Spring Coccora , Hydnum umbilicatum ... the usual. We went to the Yorkville Winery, Todd showed us a place where Oak Trees have been inoculated and French truffles are being propagated, and there’s a grove of virgin Coastal Redwoods (Hendy Woods). But the real treat came Saturday night. After a day of hunting, wine tasting, sack lunches and sunshine, we picked some more of our salad in the yard, had a campfire, and had some of the most awesome dishes created for us that I have ever tasted. Although Todd is a great chef in his own right (he was the head chef Friday night), he invited a man named Marc Vogel for Saturday night. Marc, I had no idea mushrooms could taste that good. I don’t really like mushrooms, y’know. I’d usually rather trade them for Chicken. It’s about the hunt, y’know? The discovery! But with cooking like that, I’m rethinking if I know what I have talked myself into, or out of. Could mushrooms really taste this great? That was a terrific weekend, Todd. Thank you very much! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Strobilurus trullisatus. 2013, Fort Bragg. Photo by Hugh Smith Strobilurus trullisatus Hugh Smith Strobilurus trullisatus forms colonies on old Douglas fir cones. Thank you, Hugh, for this lovely photograph! Camera (Not provided) Focal L. Aperture Shutter Sp. ISO Flash Photo taken on January 19, 2015 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

News & Stories / Editoricus Blatheronsus: What are Entheogenic Mushrooms Since I just love stirring the pot, let's see if I can't create even more controversy this month. Larry Payne • February 1, 2000 Amanita muscaria ssp. flavivolvata. © Sadie Krier (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 198254605) Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Field Reports Collecting Conditions in Mendocino at ACCF 2014 I went to the All California Clubs Foray (ACCF) in Albion last weekend. We actually found an amazingly large number of mushrooms so the myco-geeks were thrilled. Edibles? - only a few chanterelles, hedgehogs and winter chanterelles. Phil Carpenter • February 27, 2014 Fomitopsis pinicola. © Ember Erebus (from mushroomobserver.org) I just wanted to let you all know that it is my opinion that the right decision was made to cancel Albion II. All of the "usual" places were dry, dry, dry and essentially devoid of fungi. We all sought out the deepest canyons that never saw the sun to find damp spots to collect. Even then, things were sparse (especially edibles). With a lot of people gathering and spending the time, we had plenty of diversity and things to discuss. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the excellent mycologists present to continue my education. It was a good call to bring this subject up for a vote, Wendy! I agree that our group would have been disappointed. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Report from the Mendocino Coast 2018 December Albion Foray Species List Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Warm and Creamy Mushroom Dip Simple and satisfying comfort food for cool winter nights. Try with morels, hedgehogs, or other robustly flavored mushrooms. by Tahoma Mycological Society Hydnum olympicum. © ladycartoonist (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 335277859) Method Chop the mushrooms.** Lightly sauté the the mushrooms in butter. Gradually add the cream cheese in 1 tablespoon chunks. Serve warm, maintaining a very low temperature, along with crackers or veggies for dipping. Optionally, add a little white wine to taste, along with shallots and fresh thyme or other herbs. ** If you have sturdy mushrooms, chunky bits give the dip a satisfying texture. If you have thinner or delicate mushrooms, chop them more finely to infuse the cream cheese with their flavor. For example, hedgehogs tend to hold less water, so larger chunks brown well without getting soggy, adding a nice texture to the dip. Yellowfoot are thin and cook down quickly, so if you chop them finely and sauté them well to concentrate their sugars, they will infuse the cream cheese to create a more creamy dip. Or try different combos, such as meaty mushrooms for texture and finely chopped mushrooms for aroma. Recipe contributed: December 1993 Objective: Appetizer Total Time: About 15 mins Yield: 6 to 8 servings Suggested Mushrooms: Chanterelle (Cantharellus californicus, Cantharellus formosus, Cantharellus subalbidus) Hedgehog (Hydnum olympicum, Hydnum repandum , Hydnum umbilicatum, Hydnum washintonianum) Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Morel (Morchella sp.) Porcini (Boletus edulis, Boletus regineus, Boletus rex-veris) 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 1/4 lb. mushrooms* 8 oz. cream cheese 1/4 lb. butter Salt and pepper to taste Crackers or veggies for dipping Chafing dish, Sterno (canned heat), or low-temperature hot plate * Choose mushrooms with earthy, robust, or meaty flavors, so their taste stands out in the rich, tangy fat of the cream cheese. Previous Recipe All Recipes Next Recipe

News & Stories / Stewardship Faces of FFSC – Phil Carpenter In an effort to introduce our newer members to some of our more established members, I’ll be profiling a few FFSC members. I begin with Phil Carpenter, who is teaching our new mushroom ID classes. Wendy Wells • October 1, 2009 Phil Carpenter Phil Carpenter is a long-standing member of FFSC. He says, with a smile, that he only missed the first three meetings of the Federation when it began twenty-five years ago. He has served as a minister in most capacities and used to organize the Echo Summit foray. What event started your interest in mushrooms? Mushroom hunting and identification began during Phil’s Illinois childhood when the entire family would foray for morels each Spring. During this time he also developed a lifelong joy of being in the woods. After relocating to California he took a mushroom ID class from David Arora in 1978 (5 years before FFSC began). He has also attended Dennis Desjardin’s summer class that emphasizes microscopy (Spring Fungi of the Sierra Nevada). His lifelong commitment to learning includes making sure he learns new mushrooms each year. What prompted you to offer a mushroom ID class? Phil discussed his eagerness to share his myco-knowledge and visions for the class. He plans to provide an approachable learning environment that will build on the cumulative knowledge learned from the prior class. He wants to introduce terminology and help students develop a systematic approach using solid identification skills. Phil emphasized the importance of time commitment and self-study to benefit most from the classes. During our conversation, I mentioned my difficulties in keying out a mushroom by spore color, especially when the color choices are similar, like peach, salmon or apricot. I was surprised to discover Phil is color-blind. He reinforced that color is only one of many defining characteristics. Learning all the characteristics is equally important. He can always consult with foraging friends regarding color definitions. Do you have a favorite mushroom? Hmmm. The list was long and includes morels, boletes, shaggy parasols and black trumpets. He expressed a fondness for shaggy parasols. Aside from being very flavorful, they were the first mushroom he ate when he arrived in California. Why do people attend events, forays and meetings? We discussed the value of attending events, forays and meetings, not only for information, but for the camaraderie of enjoying people with similar interests. Group participation and sharing of knowledge are high on Phil’s list of priorities. He values the long-term friendships he has developed with other FFSC members. He enjoys all the forays but has a fondness for camping events, like the spring foray to Pipi Valley. The camping forays tend to eliminate the ‘intimidation factor’ that many newer members sometimes have about their limited expertise. He shared that interactions, foray jaunts, cooking and give-and-take around a camping environment bring fond memories and develop friendships. Who is your favorite foray partner? Why, that would be Henry Young, of course. Phil mentioned that Henry shares his joy of foraging and has a similar outlook on enjoying the fun of the hunt. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Faces of FFSC – Adam Ryszka New Illustrator in the FFSC Fold – Angela Mele Spring Fungi of the Sierra Nevada - 2026 Recap Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article