Foray Newfoundland and Labrador (2026)

09/10/2026

A Big Thank You to Our Sponsors!

As we look back on another wonderful Foray, we want to recognize the local businesses and individuals whose generous contributions helped make Foray NL 2026 possible!

A huge thank you to:

🌱 Joie de Vivre Farm, operated by Adrian and Rachel, for providing fresh, locally grown produce!

🍄 Shawn Dawson of Barking Kettle for providing a wonderful variety of mushrooms and delicious additions to our charcuterie!

🌲 Tuckamore Lodge & Outfitters of Main Brook, NL, for providing moose meat!

🍄 Brandon Evans for providing a wonderful selection of wild mushrooms for everyone to enjoy!

We are incredibly grateful for your contributions and for helping us bring together a community of people passionate about fungi, lichens, nature, and learning.

We would also like to give a special shout-out to Jess van Bussel of JVB Consulting, who helped keep everyone well fed by preparing all of the moose burgers for the weekend!

Events like the Foray are truly a community effort, and we are fortunate to have the support of so many wonderful local businesses, mycologists, lichenologists, and participants!

📸 A big thank you as well to everyone who submitted photos from the weekend! We’ve included some of your wonderful photos to highlight the people, places, fungi, lichens, and memorable moments that made Foray NL 2026 so special.

We couldn’t do it without you! 🍄💚

22/09/2026

🍃 Lichen of the Month: Textured Lungwort

This month we're highlighting another member of Newfoundland and Labrador's beautiful lichen diversity: the Textured Lungwort (Lobarina scrobiculata, formally known as Lobaria scrobiculata)!

This large, leafy lichen may look inconspicuous when dry but add a little water and its appearance can change dramatically. Its yellowish-grey colour can change into a blue-grey colour, making it a great example of just how different some lichens can look depending on moisture conditions.

🌲 Where to find it:

Textured Lungwort prefers cool, humid environments and can be found growing on tree trunks and rarely on rocks. In Newfoundland, it is an important member of cyanolichen communities in humid forest and has been documented growing extensively on coniferous trees in oceanic forests of the Avalon Peninsula.

🔍 How to recognize it:

• A large, foliose (leafy) lichen with broad, rounded lobes
• Usually yellowish-grey to pale green or olive when dry, becoming blue-grey to deep greyish-blue when wet
• The upper surface has shallow ridges and depressions, giving the lichen its characteristic textured appearance
• Look for blue-grey, powdery granules called soredia along the lobe margins, ridges, and upper surface
• The lower surface is generally pale brown and fuzzy in places
• Reddish-brown apothecia, the structures involved in sexual reproduction, can occur but are uncommon

✨ Fun facts:

• The name scrobiculata refers to the depressions or pits found across the surface of its lobes.
• Textured Lungwort contains cyanobacteria rather than green algae as its photosynthetic partner. The cyanobacterium belongs to Nostoc, allowing the lichen to fix atmospheric nitrogen.
• The powdery soredia are an important form of asexual reproduction. Each contains fungal material together with its photosynthetic partner, allowing both partners to disperse together and potentially establish a new lichen.
• Its colour change when wet can be surprisingly dramatic. A relatively pale, papery-looking lichen on a dry day can become much darker after absorbing water.

🌿 Why it matters:

Textured Lungwort is part of the Lobarion community, a group of moisture-loving lichens including species that share generally similar ecological requirements. Many members of the Lobarion community are capable of nitrogen fixation, making them important for nutrient cycling. Protecting unique forest conditions that supports these lichens also conserves the diverse communities and ecosystem functions associated with them.

📸 Photo credits:
Thanks to Riley Henniffent for providing photos!

Thanks for following along with our Lichen of the Month series! Keep an eye out for our next featured species. 🍃

11/09/2026

🍄 Foray NL 2026 is almost here... and we have multiple announcements! 🍄

The countdown is on! In just a few weeks, fungi and lichen enthusiasts from across the province and beyond will gather on the beautiful Bonavista Peninsula for Foray NL 2026, October 2-4!

We’re getting excited for a weekend spent exploring mossy forests, rugged coastlines, and the incredible diversity of mushrooms and lichens that make this region so special. Of course, the foray is about more than what we find in the woods, it’s also a chance to learn, share knowledge, enjoy some great food, reconnect with old friends, and make some new ones!

🎉 Registration is now FULL!

We’re thrilled by the interest in this year’s foray and want to thank everyone who registered. If you missed out, don’t give up just yet! A waitlist is available in case spaces become available.

🍄 Visit www.nlmushrooms.ca for more information and to join the waitlist.

📧 Already registered? Keep an eye on your email! The Foray NL 2026 program was sent out, so be sure to check your inbox for all the details about this year’s event.

To everyone joining us this year: dust off your baskets, grab your hand lenses, and get ready to explore. We can’t wait to see you in Bonavista this October! 🍄🌿

01/09/2026

🍄 Mushroom of the Month: Lobster Mushroom

This month, we have a very strange and colourful fungus that you might encounter in Newfoundland and Labrador: the Lobster Mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum)!

Despite its name and appearance, the Lobster Mushroom isn't actually a single mushroom species. Instead, Hypomyces lactifluorum is a parasitic fungus that grows on and transforms other mushrooms. As the parasite takes over its host, it dramatically changes the mushroom's appearance, producing the bright orange to reddish-orange colour that gives the Lobster Mushroom its name.

🍄 Where to find it:

Lobster Mushrooms grow on the ground in forested habitats where their host mushrooms occur. They can be found in both coniferous and mixed forests and are typically encountered from summer through fall.

✨ How to recognize it:

• A striking orange to reddish-orange outer surface, often resembling the colour of a cooked lobster, with fine darker red dots where spores are produced
• Fruiting bodies are usually firm, dense, and irregularly shaped because the parasite alters the original shape of its host
• The original gills of the host mushroom are often reduced or completely transformed, leaving a smoother or wrinkled underside
• The interior flesh is typically white and contrasts strongly with the bright exterior
• Older specimens may become darker, cracked, or discoloured

✨ Fun facts:

• The Lobster Mushroom is an example of mycoparasitism - one fungus parasitizing another fungus
• Hypomyces lactifluorum commonly parasitizes mushrooms in the genera Russula and Lactifluus (species formerly known as Lactarius).
• The parasite can transform its host so dramatically that identifying the original mushroom can become difficult
• Rather than producing the familiar cap-and-stem fruiting body of many mushrooms, H. lactifluorum produces its spore-forming tissue across the surface of its host
• Soil and litter surrounding old fruiting bodies are often dusted white with the spores of the Hypomyces
• Its common name comes from its distinctive colour, which can make the mushroom look surprisingly similar to the shell of a cooked lobster
• Lobster Mushrooms are well known among foragers and are prized for their firm texture and distinctive flavour

⚠️ A quick safety note:

This post is for learning and appreciation, not as a sole guide for harvesting. Although Lobster Mushrooms are widely collected as edible mushrooms, never consume a wild mushroom unless you are completely confident in its identification and have confirmed it using multiple reliable sources or with an experienced forager.

📸 Photo credits:

Thanks to Riley Henniffent for providing photos!

Thanks for following along with our Mushroom of the Month series! Keep an eye out for our next featured species. 🍄

05/08/2026

Only 4 spots left for the annual Foray NL!

02/08/2026

🍄 Mushroom of the Month: Common Puffball

This month we're featuring one of the most recognizable mushrooms in Newfoundland and Labrador: the Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum), also known as the Gem-studded Puffball.
Unlike the typical mushroom with a cap and gills, the Common Puffball is a round to pear-shaped fungus that releases its spores in a dramatic "puff" when mature. It's a fun species to discover on the forest floor and a favourite among both mushroom enthusiasts and curious hikers.

🍄 Where to find it:

Common Puffballs are widespread throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Lycoperdon perlatum typically grows on the ground in forests, along trails, and in grassy areas, while some closely related puffballs, such as the Pear-shaped Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme), grow on decaying wood. Common Puffballs are most often found from late summer through fall, growing alone or in scattered groups.

How to recognize it:

• Small to medium-sized, usually pear-shaped with a slightly pointed or conical top
• Covered in tiny white, wart-like spines ("gems") when young, giving it a rough texture
• The outer surface becomes smoother and turns tan to brown as the spines wear away with age
• Instead of gills, the inside is filled with spore-producing tissue
• A small opening develops at the top when mature, allowing spores to escape in a visible "puff" when struck by raindrops, animals, or even a gentle squeeze

Fun facts:

• Lycoperdon perlatum is just one of several "gem-studded" puffball species found in North America
• Similar species include Lycoperdon candidum, which is rounder and loses its outer skin in large flakes, and Lycoperdon nigrescens, which has finer, darker spines
• The scientific name perlatum means "widely spread," reflecting how common this species is around the world
• Young puffballs have a firm, pure white interior, but as they mature the inside turns yellow and eventually olive-brown as millions of spores develop
• Historically, the dry spores of puffballs were used to help stop bleeding from wounds. The spores provided a large surface area for blood to clot against, making them a valuable first-aid resource before sterile dressings became widely available
• Puffballs are decomposers, helping recycle nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter in forest ecosystems

⚠️ A quick safety note:

This post is for learning and appreciation. While young Common Puffballs are considered edible, some young poisonous mushrooms can resemble puffballs before their caps develop. Never consume a wild mushroom unless you are completely confident in its identification and have confirmed it using multiple reliable sources or with an experienced forager.

📸 Photo credits:

A very special thank you to Brandon Evans (last 3 pictures) and Michael Burzynski (first 2 pictures) for sharing some wonderful photos!

Thanks for following along with our Mushroom of the Month series! Keep an eye out for our next featured species. 🍄

17/07/2026

🍃 Lichen of the Month: Bear P**p Lichen

This month we're highlighting a very unusual lichen: the Bear P**p Lichen (Protopannaria pezizoides)!

Despite its peculiar common name, this fascinating lichen is an important member of northern ecosystems. Its dark-coloured thallus (vegetative body of the lichen) and orangish-brown apothecia (disc-shaped structures that release fungal spores), gives this species its common name, as it can resemble bear f***s at a quick glance.

🍃 Where to find it:

Bear P**p Lichen is most commonly found in cool, moist environments, particularly in Arctic and alpine habitats. It typically grows directly on soil, at the base of mossy trees, and less commonly on rocks. Because it requires high moisture availability, it is often associated with damp sites that remain humid throughout much of the year.

✨ How to recognize it:

• The upper surface ranges in colour from gray-blue to brown
• This lichen has a squamulose thallus, meaning that the lichen is made up of many small, scale-like structures, giving it a “flakey” appearance
• It commonly produces numerous brown fruiting bodies called apothecia
• The apothecia are lecanorine, meaning that the apothecial margins are formed with the same tissue as the lichen thallus, containing both the mycobiont and photobionts of the lichen symbiosis. The apothecia itself contains only fungal (mycobiont) tissue

✨ Fun facts:

• Its common name, Bear P**p Lichen, comes from its resemblance to bear f***s
• Although it may not be the most attractive-looking lichen at first glance, it is a fascinating species adapted to northern environments
• Its compact growth and presence in sheltered habitats help it withstand exposure to wind, cold temperatures, and fluctuating moisture conditions

🌲 Why it matters:

Species like Bear P**p Lichen are part of the rich diversity of lichens that help define northern and alpine ecosystems. Their presence can provide insights into habitat conditions and moisture availability. Furthermore, this species is a cyanolichen, which is capable of nitrogen fixation and contributes to ecosystem health.

📸 Photo credits:

Thanks to Riley Henniffent for providing photos!

Thanks for following along with our Lichen of the Month series! Keep an eye out for our next featured species. 🍃

09/07/2026

🍄 Mushroom of the Month: Violet Cortinarius

This month we're featuring a very striking mushroom found in Newfoundland and Labrador: the Violet Cortinarius (Cortinarius violaceus).

With its deep violet colour, velvety cap, and mysterious appearance, this mushroom looks like something straight out of a fantasy novel. Although many mushrooms lose their vibrant colours as they age, the Violet Cortinarius often retains its rich purple tones throughout much of its life.

🍄 Where to find it:

Violet Cortinarius grows on the ground in both coniferous and deciduous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal partnerships with trees. In Newfoundland and Labrador, it is most likely to be encountered from late summer through fall, especially in moist woodland habitats.

✨ How to recognize it:

• A deep violet to dark purple cap covered in fine, velvety scales
• Purple gills that darken as the spores mature
• A stout purple stem, often with a slightly swollen base
• Young specimens may show remnants of a cortina; a delicate, cobweb-like veil that gives the genus Cortinarius its name
• Rusty-brown spores, which eventually colour the gills and veil remnants

✨ Fun facts:

• Cortinarius is one of the largest genera of mushrooms in the world, containing thousands of species
• The genus name comes from the word cortina, meaning “curtain,” referring to the cobweb-like veil found on young mushrooms
• The Violet Cortinarius is considered one of the most recognizable members of the genus because of its distinctive colouration
• Like many forest fungi, it plays an important ecological role by helping trees obtain water and nutrients from the soil

⚠️ A quick safety note:

This post is for learning and appreciation. Although Cortinarius violaceus is often listed as edible, the genus Cortinarius contains many species that are difficult to distinguish and some that are dangerously toxic. Never consume a wild mushroom unless you are completely confident in its identification and have confirmed it using multiple reliable sources or with an experienced forager.

📸 Photo credits:

Thanks to Brandon Evans for providing photos of this species!

Thanks for following along with our Mushroom of the Month series! Keep an eye out for our next featured species. 🍄

25/06/2026

🍄 Thinking about joining Foray NL 2026? Now's the time to register! 🍄

Spaces for this year's foray are filling up quickly, and only a few spots remain!

Join us October 2–4, 2026, on the beautiful Bonavista Peninsula for a weekend of fungi, lichens, food, and friendship. Together, we'll explore mossy forests, rugged coastlines, and the incredible diversity of mushrooms and lichens that make this region so special.

Whether you're an experienced mycologist, a curious naturalist, or simply looking for a fun weekend outdoors with like-minded people, Foray NL has something for everyone.

Don't miss your chance to be part of this year's event, register now before the remaining spaces are gone!

🍄 Register today at www.nlmushrooms.ca

We can't wait to see you in Bonavista this October!

🍄

16/06/2026

🍃 Lichen of the Month: Blue Felt Lichen

This month we're highlighting a very special and charismatic lichen found in Newfoundland and Labrador: the Blue Felt Lichen (Pectenia plumbea).

Known for its blue-grey colour and felt-like texture, Blue Felt Lichen is a species that often captures the attention of anyone lucky enough to encounter it. It produces distinctive orangish-brown “fruiting bodies,” called apothecia, which are structures that release the fungal spores. Formerly classified in the genus Degelia, this species is now placed in the genus Pectenia.

🍃 Where to find it:

Blue Felt Lichen grows primarily on the bark of tree trunks in humid, mature forests. In Newfoundland and Labrador, it is commonly found on hardwoods such as trembling aspen, but it can also occur on softwoods such as white spruce, depending on local environmental conditions. It is often associated with old forests and areas that experience frequent fog, rainfall, or consistently high humidity. As a result, it is commonly found in coastal forests, however, it can also be found in inland regions on the island of Newfoundland, depending on environmental conditions.

✨ Fun facts:

• Blue Felt Lichen gets its name from its distinctive blue-grey colour and velvety, felt-like surface. When dry, the lichen is a light blue-grey, but when wet it becomes a deep blue to nearly black-blue colour
• Unlike plants, lichens are partnerships between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism. In this case, Blue Felt Lichen contains cyanobacteria rather than green algae
• Because it contains cyanobacteria, it is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen and release it into forested ecosystems, making it biologically available • This species is often associated with the Lobarion community, a group of large, “leafy” lichens that thrive in humid, stable forest environments
• The presence of Lobarion species, including the blue felt lichen, can indicate that a forest has a high humidity and good air quality
• Blue Felt Lichen typically grows as individual rosettes, but may grow as extensive mat-like colonies that spread across tree trunk when the conditions are just right
• In Canada, the species was assessed as Special Concern by COSEWIC and was listed with the same status under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA)
• On the island of Newfoundland, Blue Felt Lichen is listed as Vulnerable under the Newfoundland and Labrador Endangered Species Act

🌲 Why it matters:

Blue Felt Lichen is more than just a beautiful forest resident. As a member of the Lobarion community, its presence in a region can indicate ecologically important forests that support rich lichen diversity and stable environmental conditions. Furthermore, this lichen plays an important role in forest productivity, due to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Protecting these forests helps conserve not only Blue Felt Lichen, but many other species that depend on these unique ecosystems.

📸 Photo credits:

All photographs featured in this post were taken by Riley Henniffent.
Thanks for following along with our Lichen of the Month series! Keep an eye out for our next featured species. 🍃

Foray Newfoundland and Labrador

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