50th Anniversary Santa Cruz Fungus Fair
Enter the World of Fungi!
Kingdom Fungi
3,000 – 4,000 species in California
Have fun learning in the field and in class
Meetings, Forays, Classes and Workshops
Fungiphile: an avid partisan of various things related to mushrooms and mycology
You just might be one…
Explore local mushrooms, both deadly and delicious, at the 50th Anniversary Santa Cruz Fungus Fair. View hundreds of regional species, have your mushroom finds identified, hear notable speakers, enjoy activities for kids young and old, visit our vendors, and sample delicious mushroomy treats during our three-day event.
Find out moreTo foster and expand, through education and by example, the understanding and appreciation of mycology and to assist the general public and related institutions to further this goal. And to always keep the “fun” in fungus!
Find out moreMushrooms fascinate us! We hunt for scientific interest and for the table, encouraging a sense of wonder regarding one of the least-understood segments of our environment. Monthly meetings, guided local and long-distance forays and identification classes.
LearnMushrooms: we find them all over. They are ubiquitous and mysterious, common and rare, delicious and sometimes deadly. Mushrooms are among the oldest living things on earth, and a significant theme and resource in almost every human culture over the past 10,000 years. Want to know more? You are already a fungiphile.
Join us
To aid in promoting education we offer full and partial scholarships to members needing financial aid or who express a deep interest in mycology, and students pursuing an interest in fungi at various educational institutions.
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Morel Season!
My palms are sweating; I swear it. It started mid April when my mushroom social media started appearing with posts of morels and morel related dishes. The season starts on the east coast and moves slowly to the West.
Beautiful posting of morels in midwest and some even from Europe begins haunting my video streams...
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”...
Please join us for our General Meeting at the Harvey West Scout House. Refreshments will be provided and informal mushroom ID from 7:00 - 7:30. A discussion of upcoming events will precede our speaker, Catharine A. Adams. She will be presenting "Chemical ecology of the death cap mushroom."
Bad News - Pipi has been cancelled.
Pipi is our most informal long distance club foray in the Serrias. It is a member's only foray.
The only scheduled part of this foray is our Saturday Potluck where everyone who is attending shows up at a designated campsite and brings food and drinks to share. Wild hunting stories are told around the campfire where often the bounty of the days hunting is found...
WHEN:
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05/19/2018, 11 am - 4 pm |
WHERE:
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Scotts Valley - details in Members area of article |
The Central Coast Zymergeeks and the Fungus Federation are sponsoring our annual Suds and ‘Shrooms Potluck Picnic.
This is a great time to gather, enjoy the season and the usual array of great food that our excellent FFSC cooks provide...
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WHEN:
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04/21/2018, 10 am - 4 pm |
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WHERE:
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Boulder Creek Community Center, 13333 Middleton Ave., Boulder Creek, CA |
Join the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz and Mycopigments for a day exploring the full spectrum of permanent color found in the mushrooms and lichens of Northern California. We will extract dye from 10 or more species of mushrooms and lichens, creating a palette of over 20 colors!
All supplies provided: You needn’t bring any supplies to class; wool samples and silk scarves will be provided. You will receive a complimentary silk scarf to practice a demonstrated dye resist technique.
Take home: In this class you will learn about mushroom safety, identification basics, and habitats. You will also learn about the importance of ethical harvest, especially pertaining to lichen dyes. At the end of the day you will take home a detailed recipe card, showcasing a rainbow of samples dyed in class; a beautiful hand dyed scarf; a procedural handout to guide your future exploration, and a customized guide to the best local dye fungi.
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WHEN:
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03-08, June 2018 |
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WHERE:
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SFSU Sierra Nevada Field Campus - Yuba Gap |
Dennis Desjardin, Professor of Mycology at San Francisco State University, offers this fantastic class annually. With assistance from his super-knowledgeable grad students, Dennis provides a week-long examination of the spring mycoflora of the Sierra. Students are presented both an overview and the the finer points of identification, including the use of the microscope, various reagents. This is a great introduction and a good way to up your ID skills...
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WHEN:
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25-01, September 2018 |
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WHERE:
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Sterling, Alaska |
Foray is now Full
Join Bill and Jerri White at their Alaska Sports Lodge for the highly popular Alaska Foray.
Theme for the foray, courtesy of phenomenal photographer and bon vivant Hugh Smith. It is sung to the tune of North to Alaska by Johnny Horton. Check https://youtu.be/JSt0NEESrUA for the melody, then sing Hugh's new, improved version:
Way up North............
Way up North............
North . . to Alaska, we're goin' north, the rush is on.
North . . to Alaska, we're goin' north, the hunt is on.
Ol' Hugh left the city, in the year of twenty ten, with
Sandi, his partner and some other mushroom friends. They
found the Kenai River, and they went where they were told. Theyfound
Cort caperatus, Lec Si Num,
and Boletes, big & bold.
Where the river is windin', Bill's Boletes we're findin',
North . . to Alaska, we're goin' north, the hunt is on.
Well Hugh turned to Phil with a Bolete in his hands.
Said, "Phil, you're a lookin' at a hungry hungry man.
I'd trade all these Porcini, that are found in this here land, forsome
good ol' deep-fried chic-ken, an' a chocolate dessert, man."
Where the Kenai is windin', big Boletes they're findin',
North . . to Alaska, we're goin' north, the hunt is on.
Beautiful scenery, wildlife, fresh seafood and mushrooms! Edibles often found include Boletes, Gypsies, Hedgehogs, Lactarius deliciosus, and Alaska Gold, Phaeolepiota aurea. Fungal diversity can be astonishing, with some forays yielding over 200 species.
Please join us for our General Meeting at the Harvey West Scout House. Refreshments will be provided and informal mushroom ID from 7:00 - 7:30. A discussion of upcoming events will precede our speaker, Todd Spanier, owner of King of Mushrooms and founder of California Truffle Orchards LLC.
WHAT: