The 44^th Annual A.H. Smith Lake States Mycological Foray occurred October 4 – 7, 2018, near Mazomanie, Wisconsin. The Smith Foray was attended by nearly 70 mycologists, budding to mature, with interest in a broad spectrum of fungi and lichens. The weather cooperated nicely and the collecting areas, Wisconsin River bottom, field edge hardwoods, and upland mixed hardwood, were productive. The personal interactions, just as important as the fungi, were equally enjoyable and productive.

The first “Smith” was held in the fall of 1975, modeled after the Peck Foray held in the northeastern United States annually since 1954. The impetus for the Smith was a desire for interaction among professional mycologists and their students in the upper Midwest. The location of the Foray is shifted north to south, east to west annually to make it “close” at least every third year. To date locations have been in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, with the furthest north being Itasca Lake, Minnesota, and the furthest south in Dixon Springs, Illinois.

Smith Foray #45 is scheduled for south central Michigan with Greg Bonito as host. Dates and exact location will be announced in early 2019.  If you’d like to be added to the Smith Foray email list, please send your contact information to Nora Duncritts.

To read a fun story from the University of Wisconsin-Madison press office about the Pringle lab at the 2018 foray, go to: news.wisc.edu/foray-draws-scientists-to-wisconsin-in-search-of-mushrooms-fellowship/