Led by Maria Morrow. Details sent to membership.

Our January meeting will feature this year’s Dave Largent Scholarship recipient, Monika Richardson. In keeping with this year’s accidental mycorrhizal theme kicked off by Jay Yeam in September, Monika will be presenting on her upcoming research project with the Henkle Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt “Ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with three Pinus species on the California North Coast”. The meeting will be held at the Humboldt Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (24 Fellowship Way, Bayside, CA). We'll have social time, show and tell (bring your mugs & mushrooms!), raffle, and merch sales from 7-7:30pm, then we'll discuss club business from 7:30 until about 7:45. After club business, we'll introduce our speaker.

Talk Description

Monika will discuss her master’s thesis project investigating the ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with three different pine species here in Humboldt and Mendocino, Pinus muricata, P. radiata, and P. contorta subsp contorta. To do this, she will collect fruiting bodies as voucher specimens and take soil samples from different pine forest stands to collect ectomycorrhizal root tips in the soil. These root tips, which are wrapped by the mycelium of the ectomycorrhizal fungi, will be cleaned and separated from the sample in order to extract the fungal DNA for amplification and sequencing. Through this genetic work, the fungi associated with each different species of pine will be revealed. The question she poses is “How similar are the EM fungal assemblages of different pine species here in Humboldt county?”

Speaker Bio

Monika grew up on the San Francisco Peninsula where she developed a deep love for the ecosystems of the coastal regions of California. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has worked for various government and nonprofit conservation organizations, predominantly in the state. Most recently, Monika worked as an environmental planner for a fuels reduction project on Plumas National Forest, but having lived in Fort Bragg for a few years, she knew she was better suited to the north coast. After years of being obsessed with identifying and looking for mushrooms, Monika decided to say what the heck and go for a masters degree (the 9-5 world will do that to you). She is so excited to be studying something she finds so fascinating, fungi and their symbiotic relationships with plants, and feels happy to be in the beautiful, and wet, Humboldt county.

As always, our meetings are free and open to the public!

Join on Zoom (starting at 7:30pm)

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85768166565?pwd=hAupWNXgZ6Bwepd1NGKxax3LwmT15R.1

Meeting ID 857 6816 6565

Passcode 291239

Space is limited. Sign-up will be sent to members.

Led by Levon Durr. Details sent to membership.

Our December meeting will be on Wednesday, December 6th at the Humboldt Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (24 Fellowship Way, Bayside, CA). We'll have social time, show and tell (bring your mushrooms!), raffle, and merch sales from 7-7:30pm, then we'll discuss club business from 7:30 until about 7:45. After club business, we'll introduce our speaker Mandy Hackney.

CA FUNDIS Project

The Fungal Diversity Survey(FUNDIS) is a 501(c)(3) organization that protects biodiversity through the conservation of fungi and their habitats. Fungal species diversity in North America is poorly understood, and many groups are listed with invalid European names. Many more remain undescribed or undiscovered. The CA FUNDIS Project aims to establish an inventory of all macrofungi in the State of California. Come learn about the value of protecting fungi and get a snapshot of California's fungal biodiversity from one of FUNDIS' own Fungi Collectors.

Speaker Bio

Mandy Hackney is a self taught community mycologist living in Eureka with her elderly father and cat. Originally from rural Appalachia, she has been living in California for over a decade. As a Cal Poly Humboldt Alum, she graduated with a Bachelor's in Recreation Administration. FUNDIS, the only fungal conservation nonprofit in North America, has benefitted from Mandy’s services as a Fungi Collector for the CA FunDis Project and Curator for the Fungal Diversity Database on iNaturalist. With the Humboldt Bay Mycological Society (HBMS) she acts as a Fungi Surveyor for the Redwood National & State Parks Mycoflora Project. As long-time member of HBMS, Mandy has served as a newsletter column author, foray leader, workshop facilitator, and is currently a Member at Large on the Board of Directors. Through her work with FUNDIS, she often organizes field expeditions and pushes her limits to chase ever elusive rare and tiny fungi. On any given day you can find Mandy in her favorite place, on the floor of a forest armed with her mushroom knife and hand lens. Otherwise you may find her in her second favorite place, curled up at home with her cat reading a good book.

As always, our meetings are free and open to the public!

Joining by Zoom

Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85627947731?pwd=bhY6dCbitOi57bwB1MbbOdpsDk8xJV.1

Meeting ID: 856 2794 7731 Passcode: 392407

Join the Fungal Celebration at the 45th Annual HBMS Mushroom Fair!

Dive into the captivating world of mycology as we transform the Arcata Community Center into a mushroom lover’s dream. Since its establishment in 1979, the Humboldt Bay Mycological Society (HBMS) has blossomed into a passionate community of mushroom enthusiasts. Our annual Mushroom Fair is not only an exploration of fungi but also our primary fundraising event. These funds support enlightening talks by mycologists and various educational programs throughout the year, including monthly speakers, forays, and scholarships.

Join us for a day filled with food trucks, mushroom themed vendors, fresh mushroom displays, educational talks, informative demonstrations, and much more. Bring mushrooms you'd like IDed (if bringing photos, take a photo of the top and underside of the mushroom).

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, November 19th, 2023
Time: Public entry from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM;
HBMS Members enjoy early access at 10:00AM.
Location: Arcata Community Center, Arcata, CA

Admission: $5.00
Youth aged 12-16: $1.00
Children under 12: FREE
HBMS Members: FREE & early access at 10:00 AM

Whether you're a seasoned mycophile or just beginning your fungal journey, the 2023 HBMS Mushroom Fair promises an enchanting day immersed in the world of mushrooms.

Connect with Us:
For more information about HBMS and the captivating world of fungi, reach out to us at hbmsfairchair@gmail.com or visit our website at hbmycologicalsociety.org. Stay updated on all things mushroom-related by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/HumboldtBayMycologicalSociety and Instagram at instagram.com/hbmycologicalsociety.

Don't miss this chance to explore the fascinating world of mushrooms with fellow enthusiasts. Mark your calendar and spread the word!

Our November meeting will be on Wednesday, November 15th at the Humboldt Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (24 Fellowship Way, Bayside, CA). We'll have social time and show and tell (bring your mushrooms!) from 7-7:30pm, then we'll discuss club business from 7:30 until about 7:45, including details about our upcoming fair! At 7:45pm, we'll introduce our speaker Christian Schwarz, co-author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast and the upcoming Mushrooms of Cascadia.

A Guided Walk in the Mycorrhizal Bewilderness:

The mutualistic relationship between trees and fungi has been well-known for over a century, and metaphors emerging from this interaction have become increasingly common in popular culture. But we have learned many nuances in recent days – we'll cover some of the frontier of research involving the intricacies and nuts-and-bolts mechanisms of this famous symbiosis.

Speaker Bio

Christian Schwarz is a mushroom enthusiast and taxonomist and citizen science advocate from Santa Cruz, the land of milk (caps) and honey (mushrooms). He studied at UCSC, and now spends his time photographing, teaching about, and making scientific collections of macrofungi. He is co-author of “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast”, and is slowly building a mycoflora for Santa Cruz County. He also writes a blog called Notes of a Mycophile.

As always, our meetings are free and open to the public!

Zoom begins at 7:30

Link : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87257923275...

Meeting ID: 872 5792 3275

Passcode: 975127

Led by Scott LaChance. Details sent to membership.

Our October meeting will be on Friday, October 20th at the Humboldt Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (24 Fellowship Way, Bayside, CA) -- we've adjusted our usual day this month to accommodate our international speaker while she is on tour in the US! From 7-7:30pm- We'll have social time, refreshments, and show and tell (bring your mushrooms!) From 7:30-7:45pm- We'll discuss club business including details about our upcoming fair! (Zoom beings at 7:30). At 7:45pm, we'll introduce our speaker Alison Pouliot, who will be giving a talk on remarkable mushrooms found across the world. You can join us in person or on Zoom using the link below.

Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms

Once overlooked in the Anglosphere, fungi are finally having their moment. Mycologists and mushroom seekers have always known their worth but these exhilarating new poster organisms have captured the public imagination. Alison’s third book, Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms is a captivating journey into the sensory realms of fungi. It’s told through first-hand stories – from the Australian desert to Iceland’s glaciers to America’s Cascade Mountains – where we encounter glowing ghost fungi and the enigma of the lobster mushroom.

The book presents new questions and insights about fungi but is also an intimate celebration of their astonishing beauty and complexity. It melds science and personal reflection to explore overlooked themes, among them ­– fungi and fire, fungi and climate change, fungi and aesthetics, fungi in ecosystem restoration, and fungi and indigenous wisdom.

Join us to hear Alison share stories of her travels across hemispheres in search of fungi and their followers. We’ll dwell with fungal allies and aliens, discover how fungi hold forests together, and why humans are deeply entwined with these compelling organisms. What can we learn from the lives of fungi? Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms brings us to our knees, magnifier in hand, to find out.

Speaker Bio

Alison Pouliot is an ecologist, author and professional environmental photographer with a focus on fungi. Her work spans both northern and southern hemispheres, ensuring two autumns and a double dose of fungi each year. Alison is actively involved in teaching, research and conservation, and has conducted over 800 fungus forays across many countries. Alison is author of The Allure of Fungi, Wild Mushrooming, and Meeting with Remarkable Mushrooms. www.alisonpouliot.com

Zoom begins at 7:30

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89894589659...

Meeting ID: 898 9458 9659

Passcode: 390158

Led by Scott Davison. Details sent to membership.

Wednesday, September 20th at 7pm Pacific, join us at the HUUF (24 Fellowship Way, Bayside, CA) for show and tell and social time. At 7:30, we'll transition to club business and at 7:45 we'll introduce our George Verback scholarship recipient, Jay Yeam, for a talk about Suillus (and other EM) and our changing climate.

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi are plant-root symbionts that form obligate, mutualistic interactions with forest trees in seasonally cool and temperate climates. This mutualism involves plants sharing sugars with fungal symbionts in exchange for essential limiting nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. However, this plant-microbe partnership is highly context dependent, and the impact fungi have on their hosts may shift depending on their environment. As our climate continues to change, a major question is raised in the field regarding how EM fungi adapt to local climates. In this talk, I will share different approaches that the Peay lab at Stanford University uses to study the impact EM fungi have on their host, as well as how we can use genetic approaches to investigate how fungal populations structure and how these populations adapt to their local climates.

Speaker Bio

Jay was born and raised in Southern California, where he found his love for the outdoors from spending much of his childhood outdoors and frequenting backpacking trips in the Sierras. He studied Organismal Biology during his undergrad at Claremont McKenna College, where he spent his time exploring different biological systems and topics. He spent a summer working at a conservation center in Zimbabwe and also studied plant adaptation with Dr. Kailen Mooney at the University of California, Irvine. However, he didn’t discover his true passion in biology until he stumbled up the world of fungi. Amazed by their ubiquity and diversity, while also being drawn in by their mystique and weirdness, he now studies fungal symbiosis as a PhD student in Dr. Kabir Peay’s lab at Stanford University, where he investigates what symbiotic interactions do, how they form, and how they adapt to their environments.

This will be streamed on Zoom!