The Fungi Kingdom contains organisms such as yeasts, molds, mushrooms, and lichens. These organisms play an essential role in nutrient cycling and plant growth. Mycorrhizae are fungi that live in soil and are essential for nutrient supply to the growing vascular plant. Fungi play a role in our lives everyday; the mushrooms we eat, the yeast we use to bake bread, the beer and wine we drink, as well as some solvents and medicines come from fungi.

In California, many resources are available about fungi including:

• MykoWeb offers many resources related to fungi and the study of mycology.
• The Fungi of California includes scientific name, common name, photos, and species descriptions.
• The Boletes of California, an online reprint of: Thiers, Harry D. 1975. California Mushrooms -- A Field Guide to the Boletes. New York, NY: Hafner Press.
• The Mycological Society of San Francisco founded in 1950 to promote the understanding and enjoyment of fungi.
• Mushroom Guide that includes photographs taken at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, which encompasses 47 acres that lie in northern California between scenic Highway One and the Pacific Ocean and includes canyons, wetlands, coastal bluffs, and a closed-cone pine forest.
• Checklist of Lichens in California from the Global Checklists of Lichens and Lichenicolous Fungi, an international information system for the biodiversity of lichens and lichenicolous fungi.
• California Bryophyte Conservation, a recent database made available for mosses, liverworts, and hornworts that provides information about the likely distribution of species at the county and province level.

  Species of Greatest Conservation Need Find out more about California Fungi of Greatest Conservation Need