Wild Mushroom Fair 2026, Los Angeles

WHAT HAPPENED?

Mushroom heads for all: snug headwear for fans

The Arboretum sold out for everyone who failed to plan. It staggers entrance times, so while it was possible to get a ticket, one would miss most of the fair. The event was packed, the largest in years. Sun broke through the heavily chemtrail sprayed skies. Now the crisscross lines start with perfect X's, which would not happen in nature nor in ordinary flight paths overcrowded LA County. In any case, what was clear was soon covered over in an artificial and no doubt toxin mist. But the sun managed to break through at times. The Fair opened at 9:00 am, the Mushroom Hunt began at 10 with Olga from Smugtown, and it was followed by a fabulous Brando with a culinary demonstration that fed everyone -- hundreds of mushroom fans -- crowding the seating area. It was standing room only after a while, as the samples table was full of gawkers and vendors were hard at work keeping up with demand: medicinal tinctures, popular red-and-white mushroom hats (French berets), grow bags, dried delicacies, books, guide, posters, clothing, jewelry, and services. This is the only event that ever provided samples such as a choice of savory soup, sauteed morrells, black trumpets, or all three. There was a vegan food booth in the back with a line out the door. Then came the first speaker, Mycologist Else, talking about spores, which exists in the billions and trillions. "Spores are not seeds," she emphasized. Each needs a mate since one can create a small mat of tubule structures but must then meet with a partner spore to continue onto the mycelia phase. Mycelia is what keeps forest together, the Woodwide Web, breaking down matter and communicating between individual plants. (See Paul Stamets' Mycelium Running). A "mushroom" is the fruiting body of underground mycelia, what we see popping up from the ground or growing on trees. To study mushrooms and fungi soon becomes the study of trees and ecosystems. Our natural world would not be what it is without fungi.

EVENT DETAILS

LA Mycological Society (lamushrooms.org)

Where, oh where, do the wild things grow? We're determined to find out!

On Sunday, February 15, 2026, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, we're trekking over to Arcadia in the San Gabriel Valley, next to Pasadena, to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

• LA Arboretum & Botanic Garden
• 301 North Baldwin Avenue
• Arcadia, Los Angeles, California

How could an entheogen bring out the divine?

It's time for the 42nd Los Angeles Mycological Society (LAMS) Wild Mushroom Fair. This event is FREE (with the price of admission to the Arboretum). RSVP:

• Wild Mushroom Fair, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, 9:00 AM | Meetup
• Wild Mushroom Fair (Los Angeles Arboretum with LAMS), Sun, Feb 15, 2026, 9:00 AM | Meetup
• (PasaDharma) Dharma Buddhist Meditation
• (Nature Center) Dharma Buddhist Meditation

Wild Mushroom Fair Schedule

• 9:00 am - Wild Mushroom Fair opens
• 10:00-11:00 am - Mushroom Walk with Olga Tzogas
• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon) - Culinary mushrooms of California cooking demo with Brando Farr
• 1:00-2:30 pm - Fascinating mushroom spores keynote address by Else Vellinga
• 2:30-3:00 pm - Art and photo contest winners announced
• 3:00-4:00 pm - Feces, corpses, and the business of fungal decay talk by Sam Shoemaker
• 4:00 pm - Fair closes

TICKETS: Admission to the Wild Mushroom Fair is FREE with admission to The Arboretum. Tickets are available online. Act now because time slots may sell out as they have before. Check ticket availability here: Hours and Admission (The Arboretum).

Admission to The Arboretum: $18 for adults, $14 for seniors (62 and over), $14 for students with school ID, $8 for children (ages 3-12), and children 2 and under $0 (free). Arboretum members: free. Parking is free. More info about LAMS events is available at lamushrooms.org/events.

DIRECTIONS: The Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia: lamushrooms.org/locations

• LAMS (lamushrooms.org), Rich C. (Meetup); Ananda, Dhr. Seven, Jen B. (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Plants are conscious, emit sounds, TALK

The Secret Life of Plants

Talk to plants? While we may not be able to hear them, plants could very well be talking back. [Perhaps they are not great listeners, after all, but they are conscious enough to "speak"]. They talk all the time and especially if they are having a bad day. (Did we forget to water them again?) For the first time in the world, Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click-like sounds, resembling the snap of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech but at higher frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.

Professors Yosi Yovel and Lilach Hadany (TAU)

Researchers: "We found that plants usually emit sounds when they are under stress, and that each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound. [That is a distinctive mark of speech rather than just sound making.] While imperceptible to the human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice, and insects." More

• Science already knew plants "communicate" with chemical signals and scents (VOAs) through roots, leaves, stems:

(Anton Petrov) Mind blowing: plants 'talking' to each other in real time

Listen to sound plants make when 'stressed'

Indian scientist Bose proved it

(The Independent) April 3, 2023: Plants emit [high pitched] sounds when they are "stressed," a group of scientific researchers has discovered.

A team at Tel Aviv University in Israel recorded and analyzed click-like sounds resembling the popping of popcorn. They found that the sounds plants emitted are at a volume similar to human speech, but humans cannot hear them due to the high frequency.

• Sounds emitted by plants under stress are airborne and informative: Cell
• Science & Astronomy | Israel decoded plant communication signals — hearing trees scream during drought | Facebook
• Plants emit sounds – especially when stressed | Tel Aviv University
• Indian botanist Cambridge at JC Bose on the Secret Life of Plants (SRF)
• VIDEO: Plants are CONSCIOUS, scientist J.C. Bose proved
• Who was visionary Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose?
• Paramhansa Yogananda revealed Bose's plant research in his bestselling classic Autobiography of a Yogi (Chapter 8)

Stone, metal, mineral, crystal are all conscious.

"Each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound.

"While imperceptible to the [ordinary] human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various [naturally more sensitive] animals, such as bats, mice, and insects," the researchers said.

Jump straight to Chapter 8 to hear about JC Bose's plant research

Prof. Yosi Yovel and Prof. Lilach Hidany on their scientific findings

Meditation? How conscious are plants?

Sujata helped Siddhartha become the Buddha because she thought he was a tree spirit.

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Journeys with Plant Spirits

Meditation journeys with specific plant and tree spirits? Yes, Mugwort, Rosemary, Dandelion, Yew, Elder, and Wormwood do it. How can we [humans] achieve a calm mind, cleanse our energy fields, and connect with our hearts in preparation for meditating with plants?

Journeys with Plant Spirits includes a progressive series of introductory meditations, adapted from ancient wisdom traditions, to lay the foundation for working with plant spirits.

Emma Farrell explains how to take a connection and relationship with Nature to a deeper level to access plant spirit healing through meditation with plants.

Dryad (tree spirit) lives in tree

Exploring the nature of plant consciousness and how plants perceive, she details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse an energy field, and connect with heart in preparation for meditating with plants and trees [dryads], showing how the plants can support us not only in the cleansing process but also in teaching us how to sense what is in our energy field.

Offering a progressive series of preparatory meditations adapted from shamanic and indigenous wisdom traditions, the author reveals how to lay the foundation for communicating, working, and developing relationships with plant and tree spirits -- for spiritual connection, personal development, and inner peace.

She then presents meditation journeys with specific plant spirits, focusing on the frequencies within the plant’s bioresonance that can assist us.

Siddhartha awakened with the help of a Tree.

For example, meditation with Mugwort works with the plant spirit’s qualities of alignment and self-awareness to assist with grounding and developing inner vision, whereas Dandelion helps break old habits by working with the plant’s qualities of release, reconnection, and fearlessness.

Each plant is an expression of the spiritual force of Mother Nature and carries a unique blend of her medicine and wisdom. This book details step-by-step how to effectively work with plant spirits for emotional and spiritual healing, enabling us to awaken spirit to become truly multidimensional and whole. More

• The Secret Life of Plants: A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man – Revolutionary Science on Botanical Consciousness (by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird)

ABOUT: The Independent: making change happen. The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary, and analysis for the independently-minded. Connect with The Independent (published in Britain): Check out full video catalog: theindependent. Videos, daily editorials, and more: theindy.com. Watch more videos at the Independent TV: independent.co.uk/tv/edit... Subscribe to Independent.

• Yosi Yovel, Lilach Hidany, U of Israel (english.tau.ac.il/plants_emit_sounds); The Independent (UK); Anton Petrov; Emma Farrell; Dhr. Seven, Kalyani, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

To save the remaining trees of Altadena

There is an organization that is currently doing something to save the remaining trees of Altadena, more than half of which were wiped out by the Eaton Fire. They are Amigos de los Rios ("Friends of the Rivers," referring to the Emerald Necklace).

(amigosdelosrios.org)

ADLR offers free watering assistance for Altadena homeowners:

In the wake of the Eaton Fires, our local trees need our help. We’re offering watering assistance for Altadena’s homeowners to protect and preserve our community canopy.

By signing up, those in need give permission for ADLR's trained team to visit a property and water its trees.

Amigos de los Rios is an Altadena-based 501c3 urban greening non-profit that has served the community since 2003.

(Amigos de los Rios) About us: The story of Amigos de los Rios

Its office was destroyed in the Eaton Fire and many of our staff have been impacted by fire damage and loss, leading to a great deal of concern about the tremendous loss of trees thoughout this Los Angeles foothill community.

It is critical to protect the remaining trees in Altadena by watering them over the hot Indian summer months to help them survive.

• DONATE TO THIS EFFORT
• SIGN UP FOR FREE SERVICES
• VOLUNTEER FOR THIS INITIATIVE

As such ADLR has started a program to help all families provide water to surviving trees. ADLR is working hard to raise grant funds for this endeavor. Support ADLR by donating to this effort or volunteering.

(NBCLA) An initiative to save the foothill trees in Altadena

Mission

If LiDAR is brought in, what's under the canopy?

Amigos de los Rios is working to create the Emerald Necklace: a natural infrastructure network of green spaces, green schools, parks, and trails throughout under-served communities in the Los Angeles Basin. ADLR is connecting the mountains to the sea, helping to provide equitable access to nature, and protecting our environment and urban communities from the threats of climate change. More

• Emerald Necklace vision plan
• Board of Directors | Amigos de los Rios
• SITEMAP | Amigos de los Rios - Emerald Necklace Group

Effort to save Altadena’s remaining trees after Eaton Fire

Highlighted by NBCLA, California Community Foundation, ABC7, and Pasadena Star News, after the devastating Eaton Fire, local groups are leading an urgent effort to save Altadena’s remaining trees. More

Creating an Emerald Necklace of parks in the Los Angeles Basin with support from California Climate Investments funding through the California Natural Resources Agency’s Urban Greening Program, Amigos de los Rios expanded the green schoolyard project at Mary Jackson. Multilingual More

• Amigos de los Rios
• DONATE TO THIS EFFORT
• 65 South Grand Ave.
• Pasadena, CA 91105
• amigosdelosrios.org/contact-us
• Greening at the Altadena Collaboratory
• Claire Robinson, amigosdelosrios.org, ADLR in LA schools | Spectrum News, In Focus; NBCLA; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

National Wild Foods Day (10/28)

Let's go forage in the forest and make lunch

Wild Foods Day is celebrated in America every year on Oct. 28th. It is a holiday dedicated to wildflowers, fruits, and veggies.

Humans have foraged, gathered, and consumed plants food from the wild for thousands of years. However, these wild foods are now increasingly appearing on menus in gourmet and raw food restaurants due to them being nutritious, delicious, and trendy.

Moreover, wild foods are free of farming, tilling, preserving, and pesticides. Consuming them contributes to an environmentally conscious lifestyle.

History of Wild Foods Day

What kind of space cadets would eat wild foods?

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Wild foods are believed to have been in existence for over 40 million years. "Wild food" can generally be any edible plant that grows naturally without human intervention or any animal taken from its native environment for human use.

It is easy to observe that this Earth is brimming with wild foods. Some animals are considered native and wild in the United States. In addition, some fruits, herbs, and vegetables grow wild in many parts of the nation.

Dipa Ma, do they gather wild food in India?

Berry bushes of many sorts offer tasty fruits, and mushrooms (which are not plants but their own mycological kingdom) cover the woodland floor cleaning and revitalizing the land. According to experts, there are approximately 2,000 edible and medicinal mushroom types worldwide. 

Nuts, seeds, herbs, tree fruits, and cactus apples ("prickly pears") and pads are among the native foods that grow independently, even in concrete cities.

Ashkenazi Jews created 60s?

In many cases, wild foods are more nutritious than their farmed counterparts. This is most likely due to their natural survival mechanisms. For example, some plants grow thorns or emit an unpleasant odor to prevent predators, while others produce bitter-tasting chemical compounds.

These substances are known as phytochemicals, and research reveals that they can offer humans health benefits if consumed regularly. Think of the "chocolate tree" with its delicious fruit and giant seeds (Theobroma cacao) from which rich chocolate is made.

Pema Chodron, were you ever a hippie?

Wild Foods Day started being mentioned regularly in the print media around 1974. Euell "Grape Nuts" Gibbons, a wild food enthusiast who became a minor media celebrity, most likely inspired the popularity of this day. He is best known for his debut book, Stalking the Wild Asparagus.

Wild Foods Day is a celebration of all things wild and delicious that the planet has to offer. More: nationaltoday.com/wild-foods-day

• Search for a wild food date at eharmony.com

Wild Plant Mushroom Hunt: What happened?

Christopher Nyerges, School of Self-Reliance; Seven, Ananda (Meetup), Wisdom Quarterly

WHAT HAPPENED?

Chris Nyerges is an expert.

We converged right on time. I had a basket full of mushrooms I'd hunted down in a woven basket ready for identification. The prizes were very large chanterelles (Cantharellus californicus?), but it was not to be. With years as a mycologist, our prolific wilderness author and Nature Guide Christopher Nyerges scoffed. They were hollow and seemed to have gills. But what caught his eye were some false morels he had spotted nearby. I found these near the stream a distance from our gathering spot. They are in abundance at this time. But what is not is the delicious tree oyster, which previously could always be depended on in some fallen logs and living specimens. They're saprotrophic. Then we set off in search of stinging nettle, chickweed, lambs quarter (Chenopodium, a kind of local quinoa), horehound, blewits, and false morels, which were collected boiled, drained, then sauteed in olive oil with a few potato flakes sprinkled in at the end. They had no salt but were delicious in our hearty vegan soup with bouillon and miso powder we brought along.

Fire is fun and a necessary survival skill.

We learned to make fire by the four methods -- chemical, electrical, mechanical (friction), and solar. A lighter is always good, but a simple clear plastic magnifier works wonders. Two used batteries and steel wool is even better (no sun required), mugwort as kindling and a little breath of life. But the most fun was derived from rubbing two sticks together, a near impossible feat. Some, however, are naturals and can do it in under 30 seconds. Most will not succeed in 30 minutes of trying, hands calloused and arms exhausted.

The soup was wonderful, salty and rich, full of fresh picked greens. And we learned to recognize spurge, poison oak, elderberry, everlasting, wild cherry, acorns (oak nuts), polypores like turkey tail and chicken of the woods (with some chanterelle lookalikes called Jack o' lanterns Omphalotus olivascens), possible agaricus and Lactarius deliciosus, and some mystery mushrooms yet to be keyed, spore printed, and positively identified. The best part is that Nyerges is a wealth of knowledge with a wry sense of humor, constantly playing off his two foils, dedicated students with comedic routines at the ready.

• A more intense wild plant and mushroom foraging nature walk awaits explorers next Saturday morning (see below) from the School of Self-Reliance

Saturday, March 9th

Wild Plants (Chris Nyerges)

At 10:00 am join in as we explore the ethnobotanical treasures of the wild areas of Los Angeles. We'll learn about the common wild foods in season and the many introduced useful plants (mostly from Europe). Many native foods that have been used for millennia, and recent rains have caused them to bloom along with mushroom springing up in the area. We will be examining plants useful for making fire without matches.

• Wild Food Foraging class and fire making
• 3/9, 10:00 am-1:30 pm, $45.00–$65.00
• School of Self-Reliance

Coming up: Seasonal Spring Foraging Walk (3/16)

How to read maps and navigate

On Saturday, March 16, 10:00 am-2:00 pm, spring foraging gets underway as part of the School of Self-Reliance's ETHNOBOTANY SERIES. Spring is the peak of leaf production, when native and non-native plants sprout up everywhere. It’s usually a bit cooler, and everything is going green.

However, in Southern California, we have had only light rain most of the time, so many areas were drying up before the sudden blessing of abundant rain. This means what is available now has changed. We'll learn which plants are useful as food and how to collect them sustainably.

In some cases, learning how to recognize sprouts can lead to plans to come back to a spot for harvesting. The newer growth of the prickly pear cactus or nopal occurs now, so this is the best time to gather them. (But they can be harvested year-round).

Some tree barks are best collected now, such as willow. Some fruits occur early, and we’ll see them in the woods. Some non-natives (invasives), like the mustards, flower early and can be readily collected and used as food or medicine.

Learn how some of these can be dried and stored for later use. Learn what the edible salad plants are likely growing right in our backyards, in the neighborhood, and in wild areas this spring.

Learn which plants can be foraged and made into nutritious foods with simple recipes. We’ll examine images and learn about diverse uses.

We’ll also share a way to look at the environment to see what the future will bring in terms of foraging.  Seasonal Foraging walks are offered four times to “read” the environment. It's a great survival skill.

Location: Upper Arroyo. Registrants will be sent the exact meeting location. Bring drinking water.

• Seasonal Spring Foraging
• Wild foods and useful plants by season
• March 16 @ 10:00 am-2:00 pm
• $45.00–$65.00
• School of Self-Reliance

Plant People Holiday Market, Los Angeles

Plant People; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Berbo Studio, Margaret Gallagher, and Arlington Garden invite PLANT PEOPLE with art, native plants, handmade goods, food, books, community, gifts: Arlington Garden.

The Holiday Market, Dec. 9th

Arlington Pasadena (reposted from @berbo.studio)

Arlington Garden Pasadena (arlingtongardenpasadena.org)

Everyone is invited to PLANT PEOPLE, a nature-centric holiday market hosted by @berbo.studio and @margaretgallagherart at @arlingtonpasadena on Saturday, December 9th.

We’ve hand-picked a lineup of artists, horticulturalists, craftspeople, food and drink makers, and nonprofits whose work centers around native plants and the natural world.

Join us to shop native and edible plants, handmade goods, books, food, and more, and mingle with these local plant-loving artists:

• Holiday Market
• Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, 10:00 am-3:00 pm
• Arlington Garden in Pasadena
• 275 Arlington Dr., Pasadena, LA
• PasaDharma: Plant People Holiday Market, Arlington Garden, Pasadena, Sat, Dec 9, 2023, 10:00 AM | Meetup
• Disclosure Project: Plant People Holiday Market, Arlington Garden, Pasadena, Sat, Dec 9, 2023, 10:00 AM | Meetup
• Nature Center: Plant People Holiday Market, Arlington Garden, Pasadena, Sat, Dec 9, 2023, 10:00 AM | Meetup

Arlington Garden in Pasadena: PLANT PEOPLE is a nature-centric holiday market hosted by @berbo.studio and @margaretgallagherart at @arlingtonpasadena on Saturday, December 9. The work here centers around native plants and the natural world. Join us to shop for native and edible plants, handmade goods, books, food...

Mingle with these local plant-loving artists: @adeledesigns @arlingtonpasadena
@artemisia.nursery @berbo.studio @bluehourgoods @blueynco_cafe @californicanursery @cnps_sgm @eatshoor @falk_ceramics @formosanativeplants @fostering.flowers @golden_heron @heydaybooks @lanatureforall @lindahsiao @lesleygoren @margaretgallagherart @mustardbeetle @nocanyonhills @plantintelligenceagency @ruyi.studio @sentient.kin.apothecary @shadow.pies @urbanfarmsla.

Hope to see everyone there! Pasadena's water-wise, community-supported garden (arlingtongardenpasadena.org)

Fungi recycle: Let it rot in peace

Paul Stamets, D.Sc. (Fungi Perfecti, 5/31/16), Dhr. Seven, Ananda (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"Chicken of the Woods" is an edible polypore mushroom that grows on trees and deadwood.

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Mycelia make the forest work.

We humans are experts in our misguided attempts to clean up the environment. Such is the case with our misunderstanding of the importance of [mushroom] decomposition.

I wish to help reframe the benefits of fungi with a “Let it Rot” Campaign. Rather than removing or chipping a fallen tree or its branches, leave them on the property and allow them to decompose to support fungal biodiversity.

Decomposition = new green growth

Alternatively, inoculate the fallen tree with gourmet mushrooms (more on this subject here) and see new delicacies bloom with a little help from nature’s own recyclers.

While sinister actors like blight, root rot, and rust mold make the news headlines, the truth is that fungi form an essential underpinning of the natural world.

Carbon cycling, soil formation, nutrient mineralization and utilization, protection from pathogens and herbivores, and control of plant and insect populations are only a few of the roles that fungi fulfill in the environment.

One inoculated wood chip is enough

Saprophytic or "wood-decomposing" fungi help drive the world's carbon cycle by making the carbon stored in wood available to build soils, microbial communities, and ultimately nourish plants.

The “white rot” fungi (such as Oyster mushrooms) break down the lignin in wood and the “brown rot” polypore fungi (such as Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur or Yellow Polypore) break down the cellulose.

As these fungi dine, their extracellular digestive systems leak some of the nutrients into their surrounding environment. These liberated nutrients that escape digestion by the fungi become “mineralized” in the soil and help form the base of the terrestrial food web.

"Mushroom" is fruit of mycelia

The mycorrhizal species — including some favorite edible mushrooms like Chanterelles and Porcini mushrooms — critically aid the growth of their plant symbionts by scavenging and translocating mineral nutrients such as phosphate.

Throughout the process they colonize the roots of the plants and alter the microbial community in the rhizosphere (root zone) to help protect their plant host from pathogens.

Acids and digestive enzymes secreted by mycorrhizal fungi (as well as saprophytic species and lichens, a strange combination of algae and bacteria) can even break down rocks to further liberate minerals and micronutrients.

Shroom Junkie makes healthy mushroom mylk

The increased growth of the plant improves crop yields, soil aggregation, and carbon immobilization, to name just a few of the benefits.

Endophytic fungi are a fascinating group that live within and between the vascular cells of plants in a mutualistic relationship.

Researchers are now discovering them within nearly every plant that has been studied. These hidden fungi are known to increase drought tolerance and reduce predation by herbivores, among other yet-to-be discovered benefits to their host plants.

So the take home message is: LET IT ROT in peace! While there are certainly legitimate concerns about the rise of fungal pathogens, cankers, and blights on a warming planet, there is no reason to let them blind us to the wonders of the fungal fabric that builds and binds our biosphere.

Fungi Perfecti (fungi.com)

Explore, study, and cultivate the fungi in our life, and see nature rebound in a joyous chorus with mushrooms leading the way! To our planet, Paul Stamets

Here's a second opinion on Chicken of the Woods wild foraged shelf mushroom