Have you ever been mushroom hunting? Have you ever eaten a mushroom so tasty it brought a tear to your eye? Have you ever grown mushrooms and experienced the feeling of enchantment that can only come from holding a fungal fruit body?
In my life, I’ve been lucky enough to do these things, and to spend a significant amount of my time helping others explore the world of fungi. They are unique and beautiful, an important food source, and an often overlooked component of our natural world.
There is currently a campaign underway to have Boletus edulis, the porcini, named the Utah state mushroom. We already have a state bird, a state flower, a state gem, and many other designated representatives of Utah’s culture and environment. Fungi deserve the same recognition.
Porcini is a bolete, a cap and stem mushroom with pores. The stem is centrally located under the cap, giving porcini that iconic mushroom look. It is a choice culinary edible all over the world, and highly sought after by Utah foragers. It grows in close association with tree roots, helping to fulfill critical nutrient cycling duties and adding to the resiliency of our forests. Porcini is common enough to spend time looking for, but rare enough to make your day really special when you find one.
The porcini mushroom is a wonderful representation of fungi and Utah’s forests. Having a state mushroom would call attention to the critical roles that fungi play, provide educators with an accessible way to bring fungi to the classroom, and highlight responsible foraging as a favorite outdoor activity of Utahns.
Readers can learn more about the porcini, our campaign, and Utah’s mushroom culture at utahmushrooms.org.
Katie Lawson, Salt Lake City
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