It was our mushroom club’s turn to co-host this years regional mycology event, dedicated to the memory of Sam Ristich. Despite the drought, we found several interesting mushrooms as leaf season begins.

It’s rare for the harvest moon to be full on the same day as the autumnal equinox. Finding choice edible mushrooms makes a great day even better.

Mushrooms need moisture to fruit, so after weeks of record-breaking heat, the rain has returned with enough volume to encourage these boletes.

Look carefully at this photo: How many different genus/species are represented? Not how many total mushrooms are in the picture, but how many different species are represented?

Finding morels is more fun than eating them. What makes them fruit is a mystery to me, but one worth pondering.

Everything is sprouting and fruiting early and staying in bloom longer. It’s not typical, but the bounty is delightful.

A link to my comments leading the first mushroom walk of the 2010 season.

Once picked, they deteriorate quickly, so mica caps, Coprinellus micaceus is edible, but only if you know what you’re doing.

Dr. Tom Volk communicates complex botanical concepts in a way that is meaningful to his peers, to people with no scientific training and everyone in between. When the topic is mycology is is a “fun guy.”

When scientific study is fun, it’s the best of both worlds.