What we’re about
The Los Angeles Mycological Society (LAMS) is a non-profit group whose purpose is to foster and expand the understanding and appreciation of mycology (that is the study of mushrooms and fungi). LAMS is an eclectic group of mycologists, foodies, nature lovers, and mushroom aficionados. Please join us if you are interested in learning about the amazing world of mushrooms, including: how to correctly identify a mushroom, learning about the health benefits of mushrooms, how you can grow your own mushrooms, and about the critical role mushrooms play in the evolution of this planet. For more information about LAMS and its activities please visit our web site.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- LAMS General MeetingSparr Heights Community Center, Glendale, CA
Speaker: Carolina Piña Páez, PhD
Program: “Truffles in the sky: A Fungal Tale of Climate and Chance”
What happens to fungi when forests migrate? As climate change reshapes ecosystems, fungi that depend on tree roots to survive—like the truffle-forming Rhizopogon—must move with their hosts or risk extinction. In this talk, we explore how these underground symbionts responded to ancient climate change using a natural laboratory: the Madrean Sky Islands. These isolated mountain ranges, rising above the Sonoran Desert, were once part of a continuous forest that fragmented as the climate warmed after the last Ice Age. We tracked the diversity of Rhizopogon across these islands and asked: What matters more in shaping fungal communities—tree species, geography, or chance? Join us for a journey through desert “seas” and forest “islands” to uncover how fungi, trees, and climate have shaped each other over time—and what that means for the future of forests.
More information about LAMS events, including a biography of the speaker, is available on the LAMS Calendar page.
Directions to the community center are on the LAMS Locations page.
