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PSMS Inclusivity Statement
For over fifty years, the Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS) has nurtured collaboration amongst its members for an understanding and appreciation of the wide diversity of mushroom species in the Pacific Northwest. We also depend on a diverse membership to support our mission to foster the understanding and appreciation of mycology as a hobby and a science. In recent months, as systematic inequality in U.S. society is revealed to a broader audience, it becomes clearer that inequality imposes barriers on marginalized groups to participation in a wide variety of activities. PSMS opposes all barriers that limit participation in mycology. PSMS and its board members support a more diverse, inclusive, and welcoming organization where all people, especially those who are underrepresented in our organization and society at large, can enjoy mushrooms and all of the activities associated with them. We realize this will be an on-going conversation and are looking to our members for suggestions on ways to increase diversity, inclusivity, and welcoming. Thank you as we join together to make this long-overdue journey toward systemic equality!
Featured Content
If You Suspect
a Poisoning
Contact a physician or Washington Poison Center: 1-800-222-1222
More Poison InformationSpore Prints Newsletter
Spore Prints is the monthly newsletter of PSMS containing announcements of coming events and speakers, plus a variety of tidbits, trivia, recipes, and research developments.
Spore Prints Archive
Harvesting Rules
Washington state is divided into numerous federal, state, local and Native American jurisdictions. Learn the proper rules for each jurisdiction.
Harvesting Information
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 - 7:00pm
Monthly Meeting
Marion Richards - Time to Dye with Fungi
Our February 8, 2022 General Meeting will be "virtual only" due to the recent surge in COVID-19. We expect in a month or so we can get back to our hybrid (in-person / virtual) meetings once again. We will be expanding our ZOOM account to allow for more people to attend while in-person attendance is paused. Check back soon for a link to this meeting. It will also be e-mailed to those who have signed up on the e-mail broadcast list by our Outreach Chair Person, Marian Maxwell.
Once again, we will be featuring one of our talented members of PSMS, Marion Richards, who will present "Time to Dye with Fungi". In her words, "You have probably heard of mushrooms for culinary dishes, but have you ever considered then for other purposes? Outside of eating them, mushrooms can create a unique dye palette as well. Every color of the rainbow and beyond can be achieved through various mushrooms and dye techniques, and I am here to share some of this with you".
Marion Richards is an avid mushroom forager, with special focus on using mushrooms for color, through natural dyes. She first became interested in mushrooms in 2011 while attending the University of Washington, and joined the Puget Sound Mycological Society in 2017 to continue learning all about the fungi of the Pacific Northwest. Since Joining PSMS, she has continued to work and learn about using mushrooms for dye, and has taught dye workshops at the Ben Woo Memorial Foray, hosted the dye table at the fall mushroom show, and was a guide and instructor for the Seattle Mountaineers mushroom weekend at Meany Lodge. When she isn't scouring the west coast for mushrooms, she spends her time working at an animal hospital, and volunteering with animal welfare groups.
Special Note
On January 11th we once again featured a long standing member of PSMS. Larry Lee who works as a professional in the field of Industrial Hygiene and owns his own business in that field presented on the topic of "Mold - A Four Letter Word". He discussed these under-appreciated fungi, their benefits, their potential health effects, and mythologies surrounding them. As he promised, here are the links from that lecture to references that he provided in his presentation along with two bonus links. These links are also posted in the Message Boards in the Member's area (requires Member's user name and password).
1. EPA Mold Remediation in Schools & Public Buildings
2. EPA Mold Course (a bonus reference)
3. Washington State Department of Health Mold FAQS
4. Washington State Department of Health - Got Mold?
5. Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments - NYC Dept. of Health