Category: Blog
2022 OMS Scholarship Winner
OMS Scholarships – 10 years of supporting mycology students! It is my pleasure to announce our scholarship winner for 2022. Nathan Stewart is a PhD student at Portland State University studying in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Ballhorn. Nathan’s research is exploring the interactions…
Amanita muscaria poisoning report
A recent report in the Journal of Clinical Toxicology describes a case of severe Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) poisoning. The victim said that he consumed about 8 caps of Amanita muscaria. Friends later found him “covered in vomit, urine and feces”. They took him…
Introduction to Mushrooms, Class 1
Introduction to Mushrooms, Class 1, is now available on demand to OMS Members via the OMS Media Center. Introduction to Mushrooms is OMS’s Beginner Identification Course, created by OMS Education co-chairs Dick Bishop and Sallie Jones. The Course has three Classes. Dick Bishop has created audio-visual…
Can Golf Balls Grow On Trees?
Although they resemble golf balls, this is actually the mushroom Cyttaria darwinii (Darwin’s fungus). Cyttaria darwinii grows in the southern tip of South America. It was collected and described by Charles Darwin. It’s edible and can grow in large quantities, with dozens of mushrooms…
Pucciniales (Rust fungi)
Although Pucciniales (Rust fungi) are tiny — often appearing as just discolorations on leaves — they have some of the largest fungal genomes, with a complicated and fascinating life cycle, and are an important plant pathogen. To learn (a lot) more about them, try…
New OMS ID badges are here!
OMS Members can find ordering instructions here.
Know your trees
Many mushrooms, including some of our prime edibles, are associated with particular kinds of trees. The ability to identify trees can help you identify mushrooms and narrow your search for edibles. In order to help OMS members with tree ID, OMS has held specialized…
Morels: Where did they start?
With the start of Morel season, it’s interesting to contemplate where Morels themselves started. Studies published within the last 11 years suggest that Morels originated in North America. A Study published 18 March 2021 reexamines the evidence. There are over 80 Morchella (Morel) species…
A Bolete Story: 50 Years of Macrofungi
A March 12 talk by Roy Halling, a world-renowned bolete expert, has been put online by the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Dr. Halling explores some highlights of 50 years of researching boletes and other macrofungi, including photos of some of the species he…
2021 NAMA Mushroom Poisoning Report
The North American Mycological Association periodically issues reports on mushroom poisonings in the NAMA database. These well-written and lively reports always make for interesting and informative reading. The 2021 report covers cases from 2018 through 2020. You can find the Executive Summary in the…
