Celebrating Regional Mushrooms, Sept 1 Botanic Garden

Celebrate the richness of autumn mushrooms in Illinois

An exhibit featuring many local varieties of fungi. This event will be located in the Chicago Botanic Garden's Regenstein Center on Sunday.

The Illinois Mycological Association's (IMA) Annual Mushroom Show at the Chicago Botanic Garden will celebrate all things fungi by showcasing the richness of Illinois autumn mushrooms, with an exhibit featuring a variety of local wild fungi types, and presentations by local and professional mycologists.
This event will be at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Illinois 60022, at their Regenstein Center on Sunday, September 1, 2019 from 10:00 am until 4:30 pm. The Mushroom Show is free, though there is a fee for parking at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Mycology is the study of fungi, including mushrooms. The IMA is a group of professional and amateur mycologists, and mushroom enthusiasts committed to the promotion of scientific and educational activities related to fungi. Our interests in mycology include their use by humans as a source for medicine and food. In addition, we seek a greater understanding of their benefits to natural ecosystems.
One of the IMA’s major goals is to educate the general public about the importance of fungi to enlighten others about these magnificent organisms. The IMA supports conservation efforts to preserve the integrity of natural areas in order to preserve and promote fungal diversity and communities.

Members of the IMA collect fungi for scientific purposes from spring to fall, and specimens may end in the Field Museum, or sent to the North American Mycoflora Project for further evaluation or DNA analysis. In 2016, it was sampling of DNA from Chanterelle mushrooms found in Cook Country, investigated by a team of mycologist including Patrick Leacook, IMA scientific advisor, that lead to our own Chicago fungi, the Cantharellus chicagoensis. It and many other types of mushroom sand fungi will be at the show.

Bring your friends and family to enjoy an early autumn day learning about the wonders of mushrooms and basking in the beauty of nature at the Chicago Botanic Garden. A children's education area is available, and mushrooms, books, and t-shirts will be for sale. Speakers include biology student Nicolle Omiotek at 11:30 am on “What’s in a name? Gene trees can identify species needing taxonomic revision,” the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of FUNGI magazine Britt A. Bunyard at 12:30 pm with "How to know edible and notable wild mushrooms (and their lookalikes)," and keynote speaker University of Wisconsin La Crosse Professor Tom Volk at 2:30 pm with “Seven deadly sins committed by Fungi.”

Join us for a fun, educational, and family-oriented introduction to fungi! Additional information can be found at the IMA website at http://www.illinoismyco.org/