After a three-year hiatus, the Point Reyes Fungus Fair will return as a one-day event this Saturday, featuring mushroom identification and educational exhibits that explore the impacts of wildfire.
Bay Area Mycological Society founder Dave Rust said the fair is focused on science and education, and it has the guest list to prove it. Esteemed mycologists Louise Glass and Saumitra Kelkar from University of California, Berkeley, George Riner from Sonoma State University and truffle expert Stephanie Jarvis will help identify specimens and provide context.
After the Woodward fire burned nearly 5,000 acres of the Point Reyes National Seashore in 2020, some fungi were wiped out and they later reassembled in a new landscape. Researchers from U.C. Berkeley have studied the event’s legacy on fungus and the communities of insects and bacteria that interact with it. (For example, a rare false truffle grows among the bishop pine saplings spread by wildfire.)
As in past years, the mycological society will display its famous three-foot-tall Amanita phalloides, commonly referred to as a death cap, as a reminder to steer clear of the fatal species. “It’s quite anatomically correct,” Mr. Rust said.
After January’s rains, the ground is saturated, and too much water can suppress fruiting fungus. But as the soil dries, the landscape will likely produce a plethora of mushrooms for those who have the patience to search. Before the pandemic, the society held a two-day event with a collection on the first day and a presentation on the next. This year, organizers encourage an early-morning forage the day of the event so specimens stay fresh. For best results, bring complete mushrooms and note their habitats.
The fair takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Point Reyes National Seashore’s Bear Valley Visitor Center.