2011 Mushroom Fair Forays |
About
LAMS (Home) Mushroom
Hunting (Forays) |
LAMS will be offering one foray, on Saturday, February 12 to gather specimens for display at the 27th Annual Los Angeles Wild Mushroom Fair to be held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia (301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia) on Sunday, February 13.
El Cariso "Big Woods" Foray 9:00 AM--1:00 PM, Saturday, February 12. Please read the "General Guidelines" below before going to the foray information page. IMPORTANT NOTE: Before past Wild Mushroom Fairs we have always offered two or more forays to gather specimens for display. Unfortunately, this year we have not yet been able to secure permission to gather specimens in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles. We are still trying to obtain permission for a foray, but up to this time we have been unsuccessful. Please check this page later in the week in case we are able to offer a foray in the Santa Monica Mountains. Please participate in the foray. If you have a friend, relative or co-worker interested in mushrooms they are also invited-- they need not be a member to participate. Members and the public are also encouraged to bring in mushrooms they find around their homes or in their neighborhoods. A signed liability release will be required to participate in the foray.
General Guidelines for ALL Fair Forays (Please Read) Please wear sturdy, comfortable shoes, long pants and a long sleeved shirt. Even if the weather is warm these will help protect against poison oak or prickly shrubs. A hat is recommended. Bring a lunch, water and warm clothing. Bring a basket or other sturdy container (no plastic bags, please) for your finds and a knife or trowel for digging. The primary purpose of these forays is to COLLECT MUSHROOMS FOR DISPLAY AT THE FAIR---not for personal use! This means edible species too! Because it will be necessary to take specimens to the Fair location as soon as possible, there will be little, if any, time to identify specimens at the foray site. Do not expect the foray leader to go through your basket and identify every mushroom you have found. Identification will be made at the Fair, not in the field! If you are not going immediately to the Fair location at the end of your foray, please give your specimens to the foray leader or someone he or she designates who will be taking them to the Fair. Try to collect fresh, intact specimens. Dried, broken, old or rotten specimens are difficult to identify and not likely to be useful for display. Collect the entire mushroom. This means digging them up and not cutting the base. Cut specimens are useless for display and may be difficult to identify in some cases. Wrap your specimens to keep them fresh and prevent damage. Waxed paper (including Waxtex bags), aluminum foil and egg cartons are recommended to hold specimens. Plastic bags are NOT recommended--they promote rapid decay of mushrooms. Take notes when you collect your specimens and place the notes with the specimens. Include associated trees or shrubs (oak, pine, etc.) and substrate, (wood, leaves, soil, etc). These will help identify your specimens especially if you are not there to describe the location to the identifiers at the Fair. Here is a link to field description slips you can include with your specimens to simplify the process of taking notes. (Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.) Bring a cardboard box to place your specimens in when they are taken to the Fair. Put your name on the box holding your specimens. This will help the identifiers locate you in case they need some additional information about your finds and to allow you to be recognized in case you have found something very unusual. |
Created in January 2011. Last update February 10, 2011. Contact
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