The Glint of Gold (chanterelle). Photo by Sue Labiste The Glint of Gold Sue Labiste Looking for fall chanterelles is like treasure hunt. Fall leaves such as tan oak mimics the yellow and orange colours we seek. And just as you head out, you see this. Camera (Not provided) Focal L. Aperture Shutter Sp. ISO Flash Photo taken on November 16, 2015 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

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News & Stories / Fair News 2023 Outdoor and Virtual Fungus Fair Once more we will not be doing our normal fair at the London Nelson Community Center. Instead we will do a series of local forays with culinary events, Zoom talks, and an iNaturalist project during January 2023, similar to the event we held in 2022. All of these events will be open to FFSC club members and the general public. Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Committee • December 19, 2022 Outdoor Fair Local Forays - Sold out We will offer a series of guided local forays on the weekends of January 7,8 and 14,15. These forays will be led by local mycologists and will have the goal of identifying and learning about our local fungi in their natural habitat. After each foray, our culinary committee volunteers will prepare a tailgate style tasting of incredible mushroom dishes while we discuss the days finds. We will try to keep the group sizes small in order to allow a more personal interaction with our leaders and for covid safety. These will be outdoor events, so be prepared for wet and cold weather and some walking to see our mushroom habitat. The price to attend the walks will be $10 for adults, $5 for full time students and free for children under 12. We are suggesting that participants make a $5 donation if they will be sharing in the treats prepared by our culinary artists. Xerocomellus atropurpureus Mushroom Lecture Series During the week between the forays, Monday-Friday, January 9-13, we will be offering a series of discussions/talks on Zoom featuring talented mycologists covering a range of topics. This is an opportunity to hear about the exiting work of some great amateur and professional mycologists.The talks will also be live streamed to our Youtube channel for anyone unable to attend the Zoom. Tropical Mushroom Collage. Photo by Lauren Re iNaturalist Project During the forays citizen scientists will be encouraged to document what they see on iNaturalist. Observations will automatically be added to the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair – 2023 Mycoblitz Project on iNaturalist. In addition, th e general public are encouraged to record their own fungal observations in the Santa Cruz Mountains and surrounding area from January 1-15, 2023 for inclusion in the Mycoblitz. Visit the project page for more information. We hope that this modified format will provide an interesting, educational, fun, and safe event for the whole family, and that next year we can bring back the traditional fair, bigger and better than ever. 2023 Fungus Fair iNaturalist Mycoblitz Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts 40th Fungus Fair: Time lapse of the Island setup Fair News A Short History of the Fungus Fair Fair News Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Origami Microscope Stanford’s Prakash Lab has engineered a folding microscope made of a sheet of paper. Shea Moss • June 9, 2014 Foldscope image (hosted on foldscope.com). Yes, it is indeed an Origami microscope. It can be used outdoors, is strong enough to survive a drop from a second story window, and is somewhat water resistant. It was developed with the idea of promoting science in undeveloped countries as well as in education. The scope costs about $.50 cents to $1.00 to manufacture. The Foldscope project at the lab won the Gates Exploration Grant. Now it is being field tested. Unfortunately we are hearing about this too late to apply to be one of the 10,000 Beta testers they were looking for, but it may be well worth our while to keep an eye on their progress. It would be a wonderful field mycology tool. To read more: http://www.foldscope.com/ Prakash gave a TED talk about the device, and shows the Foldscope in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8cF5QPPmWU Don’t miss this one…. Amazing!!! Editor's Note: In 2016, Foldscope was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Microscopy of Gilled Mushrooms Mycology & Art News Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Writings Demise of the Duff “Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” — Sydney J. Harris Deb • April 1, 2013 Albion Sunset Yes, changes are in the offing for the FFSC. Next month’s issue of Duff will be the last in an almost 30 year history. Starting with The Federation Flyer , morphing into Ascus and then Duff , the Fungus Federation has long communicated by newsletter. And it was always a process of change: typewritten postcards gave way to double-sided sheets, which then evolved to a printed newsletter with the advent of desktop publishing. Technology moved us a few steps further to a full-color digital downloaded Duff . We’ve really been in the avant-garde of change for an organization of our size and nature. Now our evolutionary process comes to the point where our information remains the same, for a while anyway, but delivery improves: in an effort to improve access to information in the club, we will be launching a new FFSC website starting in the Fall 2013 mushroom season. The new site will contain the same information you now look to the Duff for: calendar, upcoming speakers and events, photos and articles by members, as well as general myco-news, all posted on an ongoing basis rather than once a month. But it also gets better. The new site will contain a great deal more than the newsletter and old site combined. Video archives of past speakers and events, an ongoing member photo contest, Mushroom of the Month articles, recipe archives, downloadable calendar, field reports and a cultivation page are in the works. It promises to be a dynamic site. We’ve heard concerns about all this great intel being available on the web to all, member and non-member alike. No worries on that point, folks! Privileged information will be contained in the Members section of the website, providing value to those who have paid to be part of the club and support its continued operation. The world will not be reading our field reports. And please know that this process wasn’t meant to be opaque or mysterious — these things just take time and the work isn’t complete yet. Many thanks to Yev Nyden for all his hard work in making this happen! We anticipate unveiling the new version of the FFSC website in September, and will notify everyone by email and via the Google Group. We hope it helps keep the “fun” in fungi for all of us! Debbie Johnson, Minister of Propaganda FFSC Web Team Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Ending, Beginning Anew Writings Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Psathyrella sp. Photo by Peter Vahlberg Psathyrella sp. Peter Vahlberg Found at Sanborn County Park under a log. Camera Nikon D5600 Focal L. 60mm Aperture f/25.0 Shutter Sp. 1s ISO 400 Flash Off Photo taken on April 16, 2019 Mushroom(s) ... Previous Photo Back to Gallery Next Photo

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Chanterelle Look Alike Rewriting Evolutionary History This beautiful little mushroom isn't a mushroom at all. It is Dendrogramma enigmaticaI, a newly named organism from the deep seas near Australia and it may be rewriting evolutionary history. Well named...It is in fact an enigma! Cortinarius • September 2, 2014 Dendrogramma enigmaticaI (hosted on nationalgeographic.com). Photo by Jorgen Olesen Found in 1986 but only recently named, this deep sea organism can't be classed in known animal groups. It's relatives could have roamed the seas 540 million years ago. Now, biologists are scratching their heads over the little guy and wondering what it can tell us about evolutionary history. For more information visit: https://web.archive.org/web/20140904222855/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140903-evolution-animal-dendrogramma-mushroom-species-ocean/ Thank you Richard Rammer for this news post from National Geographic! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts The Wood Wide Web (from the BBC) Mycology & Art News Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

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

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Mushroom ID Classes: Fall 2013 Series Fall is coming and rains will be starting, so it's a great time to improve your mushroom ID skills! Signups have begun for FFSC's fall mushroom ID classes. The four-class series will be led by Phil Carpenter on the first and fourth Wednesday: October 2, 23, November 6 and November 26 (changed to Tuesday due to proximity to Thanksgiving). You must be a FFSC member to attend this free course. Deb • September 10, 2013 Two Princes Classes will be held at the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum on East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz from 7-9 pm. We'll be learning how to use the field guide Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora to put names on mushrooms that attendees and the instructor will be bringing in. As in the past, we are taking sign-ups only from people interested in staying for all of the classes, schedules allowing, since many people have expressed interest in the classes and we can only accommodate 20-22 people. If you are interested, please become a member if you are not a member yet and contact Phil Carpenter using a contact link below (visible to members only) stating your interest, how many people you want to sign up and the best email address to use for each person. Class will be filled in order of response. You must be a current (dues paid) member of the Federation in order to take the classes. There is no charge for attending. Note that the last class date will be Tuesday November 26 due to proximity to Thanksgiving. Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Mushroom ID Series Cancelled - Spring 2014 Mycology & Art News Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

News & Stories / Fair News 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair: Our Mission in Action The Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz exists to expand the understanding and appreciation of mycology through education; and to assist the public, institutions, and partner organizations in advancing that goal--and keeping the FUN in fungi. The 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair brought all of these groups together to make high-quality mycological education accessible to thousands of people, while producing real scientific output and supporting local arts, culture and economic development. Peter Mu • January 20, 2026 Visitors enjoying outdoor vendors at the 2026 Fair This year, the 52nd fair reached more people, more deeply, than ever before. More than 3,500 attendees joined us over the weekend. 12 educational talks drew an estimated 1,100 participants, while 300+ children and adults explored hands-on learning through mushroom crafts, dyeing, face painting, and creative play. 75 guests gathered for a special after-hours mushroom dinner and wine pairings. It was also an exceptional year for mycological research: 275 mushroom specimens were collected, sampled, and submitted for DNA sequencing during the Fair, contributing valuable data to the broader scientific community and advancing our shared knowledge of fungal biodiversity. Plus, over 6,800 mushroom observations were recorded in the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair MycoBlitz project on iNaturalist. The Fair reinvested directly into the local ecosystem—paying over $6,000 to speakers, mycologists and students; supporting partners such as the London Nelson Community Center and the Museum of Natural History; and providing 26 local artisans and small businesses with vending opportunities , while incurring no overhead cost to FFSC. None of this happens without volunteers. 169 volunteers filled 94.9% of all positions during the Fair, contributing over 500 hours of service collectively. Volunteers collected and identified specimens, set up and disassembled exhibits, staffed doors and tables, loaded and unloaded trucks, educated the community, and supported each other. Many of you committed your entire weekend and more to the event. The Fungus Fair is more than an annual event. It is a living expression of FFSC’s mission—education made accessible, science made communal, and appreciation for fungi shared widely. I’d like to take a moment to express my deeply felt gratitude towards all the volunteers who made the event possible--especially to members of the Fungus Fair Committee who tirelessly volunteered throughout the year to plan and implement this event. Thank you. Peter Mu Co-Chair, Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Committee Keeping the FUN in FUNgus at the 2026 Fair After Hours Dinner Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts A Short History of the Fungus Fair Fair News Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Logo Design Contest 2026 Mycology & Art News Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article

Support Information this Website Collects When you create an account, join FFSC, register for an event, purchase a product, or send us an email, we collect your email address and basic contact information as necessary for the transaction you've requested. Purchases are made through a third-party payment processor (currently PayPal). FFSC does not collect your credit card or other personal financial information. Information this Website Shares The following systems may obtain your necessary contact information when you perform certain tasks: Wix : This website's host, which stores your data PayPal : The payment processor we use when you make a purchase on this website Google and/or other email providers: When you contact us, or we send you important emails The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History : The museum and FFSC jointly plan the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair. As such, if you purchase a ticket to or volunteer for the Fair, the museum also has access to the contact information you share as part of that purchase. In addition, when you create an account on this website, you have the option to show or hide certain information with other people who also have accounts on this website. You can also configure your profile privacy in your Account Info and Public Profile . FFSC Privacy Policy FFSC respects your privacy. We don't sell your personal data to other parties.

News & Stories / Mycology & Art News Mushroom ID Series Cancelled - Spring 2014 Due to the ongoing drought and lack of mushrooms, the FFSC identification class series will not be held this spring. Deb • January 13, 2014 Not much to see out there right now The "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" of high pressure parked off the California coast has brought the local mushroom season to an effective close. Raindances are encouraged! Members Only Content Login Join FFSC Related Posts Mushroom ID Classes: Fall 2013 Series Mycology & Art News Previous Article All News & Stories Next Article