ID Classes & Workshops

Whether eating mushrooms or simply studying them (the science of mycology), it all comes down to mushroom identification. You don’t want to eat a poisonous mushroom!

The Start of a Long, Safe Collecting Career

You (or nowadays even your phone) might recognize the genus of a mushroom, but only learning mushrooms to genus can result in grave consequences. For example, the genus Amanita contains not only the most deadly mushrooms in the world, but some of the best edibles. Know the difference!

FFSC offers in-person classes in systematic methods of mushroom identification. Our knowledgeable instructors will guide you in how to develop your own ID skills. No prior knowledge of mycology or mushroom identification is required.

Any FFSC member with a serious interest in learning how to ID mushrooms can participate! This is a hands-on class, so you will get as much out of the class as the effort you put in. This class will not turn you into an instant mushroom expert, nor enable you to effortlessly identify every mushroom in the forest. Rather it will give you an introduction to a systematic approach for identifying your finds and give you a foundation you can build your ID skills on.

Typical Mushroom ID Class Agenda

In the morning, you'll meet other participants in a forested area for a class overview and a short foray. (You'll look for and collect wild mushrooms.)

After a break, you'll meet the group again in a classroom downtown, and spend the rest of the afternoon learning and practicing how to identify your findings to genus and species.

Past students have expressed that taking two or more sessions really builds those skills. Thus, we offer basic ID classes to FFSC members at least twice a season (or more, in years when wild mushrooms are more abundant).

Mushroom ID Class Costs and Fees

We use the classic field guide Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora as the primary class text. Plan to purchase or borrow a copy of the text before the class. New and used copies of the book are available on several websites. (As mushroom classifications continue to evolve due to DNA sequencing, the instructors may also refer you to other optional books and resources.)

In order to take the class, you must be a current, paid-up, member of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz. The class size is limited to 20 participants.

The class fee is typically $20 to $30 to cover costs related to the classroom rental, any shared supplies, and fundraising for FFSC educational programs. The instructors are volunteers. The price for each class will be specified when the tickets go on sale.

Mycology Workshops: Forge a Deeper Understanding

Mycology workshops are usually one full day long and cover a multitude of subjects, open to suggestion. In the past, our workshops have included beginning to advanced microscopy, which are hands-on sessions on how to use a microscope for mushroom identification. Instructors include both knowledgeable members as well as invited professional mycologists.

Other popular workshops have included advanced study of specific genera of mushrooms by invited specialists, microscopic study of different types of fungi (e.g. ascomycetes), or in mushroom cultivation techniques.

Mycology Workshop Costs and Fees

Workshop fees vary based on the venue, instructor, and length.