Mushrooms grow all over in Utah — and the fascination with them is growing, too.
Several Facebook groups based in Utah are dedicated to mycology, the study of fungi, with thousands of members passionately discussing the mushrooms they find around the state.
Here are five ways mushrooms are involved in the lives of Utahns:
1. There’s an effort to make the porcini the official state mushroom.
The Mushroom Society of Utah, has been lobbying to have the porcini — a species that grows in mountainous areas, such as Utah’s forests — named the state’s official mushroom. The lobbying effort has made significant progress, enlisting Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, to sponsor a bill in the 2023 legislative session.
Ashley Simon, president of the Mushroom Society of Utah, said her group supports making the porcini the official state mushroom “because they make up so much of the biomass that our forest trees are growing in, they’re in 50% of the soil, that’s a huge indicator of forest health.”
“They’re ready to sell this mushroom,” Watkins said of the bill’s supporters, who have even created an online petition. “They told me the porcini is very prevalent in Utah and it plays a huge ecological part [in our state].”
Simon said the bill will do more than give Utah another state object. “By having a state mushroom, we can bring attention to the fungal kingdom and get more support and attention paid to this critical part of our ecosystem,” she said.
2. Mushrooms help Utahns get out into nature.
Tama Anderson and her daughter, Bronwyn, 15, started foraging for mushrooms when Bronwyn was 12, so they could explore the Uinta Mountains and get away from screens.
Bronwyn, her mother said, has always been in tune with nature. “She’s always been kind of a little naturalist of a kid,” Tama said.
Mostly, they forage in Vernal and other nearby spots in the Uinta Mountains. They have taken trips to Kanab, in far southern Utah, and at Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons in the Salt Lake Valley.
“I think mushroom hunting, although fun to find new and interesting mushrooms, is most beneficial because it teaches how to slow down and respect the delicate balance of nature,” Anderson said.
Being able to see the great outdoors and get down to seek mushrooms has reminded the Andersons that “nature [is] sometimes dirty, but sometimes you have to get dirty to find the real beautiful things in life.”
3. Mushroom foragers use mushrooms for all types of things.
For Yesenia Aguilar, who has been foraging for three years, a time-lapse YouTube video of a mushroom growing that sparked her curiosity.
Aguilar has taken to making her own mushroom-art jewelry. She creates earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings. The most popular items are mushroom- and forest-themed terrariums, made out of smaller mushroom species she forages.
Since creating her first jewelry three years ago, Aguilar now sells them at events all over Utah, from Eagle Mountain to Park City. She also has an Etsy shop.
4. There are economic benefits of mushroom farming in Utah.
Ryan Jacobsen has been growing mushrooms for 20 years, first in California and now in Utah’s Cache Valley, where he founded his company, Bear River Mushrooms. (According to its website, the company sells mushrooms May through October at the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market, so Jacobsen is in his off-season now.)
“When I moved here, I looked around and didn’t see anyone growing mushrooms, so we started up the farm,” he said.
“Initially, it was a lot of education that had to be done,” Jacobson added, noting that each mushroom grows differently. Groups like Mushrooms of Utah, he said, help farmers like him because they educate the general public.
5. Mushrooms have a significant impact in Utah’s ecosystems.
Tyler Hacking, a recent botany graduate from Utah Valley University, says when it comes to ideal fungi growth environments, Utah is interesting because it has every type of habitat for different species of mushrooms.
Utah, he said, is “spoiled” when it comes to diversity in edible and medicinal mushrooms. For example, Hacking cites the morel mushroom, of which some 30 species grow in Utah.
The recent waves of snow storms, Hacking said, will be the biggest factor in determining how many mushrooms will grow in the upcoming season.
For more about Utah’s mushroom boom, and the community that appreciates it, find the full version of this story on sltrib.com.
