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Enter a fungal wonderland to reconnect with nature.
Welcome to the Mycoverse of Los Angeles! In this wondrous guide to common local mushrooms, Aaron Tupac opens Angelenos' eyes to the mycelial ties that bind us all together. From the San Gabriel Mountains, across the sprawling metropolis, and clear out to the coast, Southern California is teeming with fungal life, whose underground networks support an array of ecosystems. Organized by habitat, and featuring full color photos to aid in identification, this guide will help you spot and marvel at mushrooms burgeoning throughout the cityscapes, sand dunes, oak forests, and deserts that surround us. These fungal friends have lessons to teach us, too: through loving observations and stories, Tupac shares our latest understanding of mushrooms' radical reciprocity, vibrant gender fluidity, and the incredible imaginative possibilities that fungi bring into our lives.
Aaron Tupac (they/them) is a conservation mycologist, speaker, organizer, and founder of Exploring the Mycoverse, a values-based fungi-inspired community focused on building better relationship with the more-than-human world. Tupac is also the founder and chair of the North American Mycological Association's Conservation and Stewardship Committee and works for the Fungal Diversity Survey, the only nonprofit focused on North America's fungal biodiversity and conservation. As part of this work, they collect fungi for the California Fungal Diversity Survey Project, the first government-funded statewide project of its kind. Tupac teaches throughout the greater Los Angeles area at institutions such as the Los Angeles Public Library, California Native Plant Society, Theodore Payne Foundation, and local universities, including the University of Southern California, Occidental College, and Pomona College. They live in Alhambra, California.
Land Acknowledgement
Disclaimer
Preface
Introduction
- The Funga of LA, Their Habitats, and When They Mushroom
- Befriending and Noticing Fungi
- A Relational Approach to Conservation
- The Edible Mushrooms of Los Angeles
- Finding Our Way Home with Fungi
Funga Profiles
- Lichens of Los Angeles
- Mushrooms of Los Angeles
- Generalist Decomposers
- Urban, Landscape, And Mulch Habitats
- Polypores
- Agarics (Cap & Stipe)
- Morels, Earthballs, Stinkhorns, And Bird’s Nests
- Live Oak Woodland Habitat
- Polypores
- Agarics (Cap & Stipe)
- Clubs, Coral, Earthstars, Elfin Saddles, And Tooth Fungi
- Cups
- Jellies
- Moss Habitats
- Mixed Montane Forest Habitats
- Polypores & Cups
- High Elevation & Snow-Associated
- Sandy Desert Habitats
- Insect-Associated
- Corn-Associated
- Burn Habitats
The Fungi You’ve Met Checklist
Love Runs Deep
Acknowledgements
Recommended Reading
General Index
Genus and Species Index
Family Index
About the Author