About New York Mycological Society (NYMS)

The New York Mycological Society is a mushroom club for anyone with an interest in mushrooms or fungi.  They are a 501(c)(3) dedicated to the awareness, knowledge, appreciation and protection of fungi.

The NYMS goes on walks almost every weekend of the year to one of 17 different New York City parks.  Two things to note.  One, these walks are not for foraging.  Foraging is against the law in NYC parks.  Two, these walks are for members only.  

The NYMC has two projects on iNaturalist.  The first is called “Fungi of NYC – New York Mycological Society”.  The second is called “Fungi beyond NYC – New York Mycological Society”.  If you’d like more information on finding these projects on iNat, you can visit THIS page for a complete walk through.  

Becoming a member

An annual membership to the NYMS costs $20.  You can sign up for a membership on their website, here.  No prior knowledge of mushrooms is required to join the society and become a member.  The main benefit to becoming a member is joining the organization on their walks in NYC parks and being notified of their forays outside the city.

Special Events

The NYMS has an excellent events section on their website, which can be found, here.  Some of the special events you can expect to see from the NYMS include:

• Community (walks, festivals, etc.)
• ID Sessions
• Lectures
• Workshops
• Festivals

Staying up to date

The NYMS has an excellent website with a lot of useful information. They have an events page on their website that lists many of the events the NYMS has going on throughout the state.  They also have a resources section with a glossary of commonly used mushroom and fungi terms as well as a “Genus Keys to Species” page.  

They also have an active Facebook Group for members.

The New York Mycological Society is a great organization to get to know if you enjoy mushrooms and mushroom hunting around the state of New York.