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Fungi with the Fun Guy March 18, High Country Audubon Society Presents Mushroom Workshop in Boone

March 10, 2014. The fungi in your backyard may all be “mushrooms” to you, but before putting one in a salad you need to know if it’s edible, inedible, hallucinogenic or poisonous.

Amanita muscaria
Above is a photo of mushrooms, Amanita muscaria. Photo courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture

On Tuesday, March 18, at 6:30 pm at the Holiday Inn Express in Boone, High Country Audubon Society presents a look at the wonders of fungi through the eyes of Dr. John Bond, ASU biology professor emeritus. The program will help you avoid mistaken mushroom identity so you don’t pick Amanita virosa, the destroying angel, thinking it’s Armillaria mellea, honey fungus.

Many delicious edible wild mushrooms grow in western North Carolina. For individuals who aren’t experts in mushroom identification, however, there generally are no easily recognizable differences between poisonous and nonpoisonous species. The Audubon program will enhance your identification skills and teach you how to forage for and store wild mushrooms properly. Hunting for mushrooms is a direct, positive experience with nature, one that’s guaranteed to raise your environmental awareness. 

This program, as well as all of High Country Audubon’s activities, is open to the public and is part of Audubon’s mission to provide opportunities to learn more about the world around us.  For more information about High Country Audubon Society, please visit www.HighCountryAudubon.org/