Name: Gasteromycetes of Colorado: Puffballs, Earthstars, Stinkhorns, Earthballs & False Truffles Across Elevation and Habitat
Start: 2026-08-13T11:30:00-0600
End: 2026-08-13T12:30:00-0600

SCHEDULE LAUNCH IS JUNE 21st, 2026

Welcome to the largest wild mushroom happening in North America, the 46th Annual Telluride Mushroom Festival! This program of the Telluride Institute, a 501c3 non-profit, offers a plethora of events ranging from foray and mushroom ID sessions, to hands-on demonstrations and lectures—all led by regionally, nationally, and internationally-known experts, (and we cannot forget the wide variety of social and cultural events offered, along with the famous Mushroom Parade!) there is plenty for everyone, every day.

On this website, you can filter your search by events, venues, presenters, etc. Each year the Mushroom Festival features many wonderful presentations on “all things fungi.” Presentations on similar topics are grouped together at the same venue so that attendees interested will be able to spend more time learning and interacting, and less time walking between venues. See who else is interested in each event and interact with our extended Mushroom Family.

See you soon!

Gasteromycetes of Colorado: Puffballs, Earthstars, Stinkhorns, Earthballs & False Truffles Across Elevation and Habitat

Thursday August 13, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT

Sheridan Opera House @ 110 N Oak St, Telluride, CO 81435

Colorado is gasteroid country. From shortgrass prairie to subalpine spruce–fir, the state’s huge elevation range, monsoon pulses, and patchwork of forests, dunes, riparian corridors, and even urban woodchips create an ideal map for “gasteromycetes”—puffballs, earthstars, stinkhorns, earthballs, and false truffles. While “gasteromycetes” isn’t a single modern clade, the gasteroid strategy still matters: spores mature enclosed, then disperse by wind, rain splash, trampling, insects, and mammals. In this talk, we’ll use Colorado habitats as the organizing framework so you can predict which gasteroid guild you’re likely to find—then learn what to look for once you’re there.

We’ll start with puffballs as Colorado headliners, covering simple anatomy (peridium, gleba, capillitium) and the essential safety rule: puffballs are edible only when the interior is uniformly white, firm, and homogeneous—plus how to avoid dangerous look-alikes by sectioning. You’ll learn an easy field ID approach to common groups (woodland Lycoperdon, lawn Bovista, giant Calvatia, sand specialists like Disciseda, and more) and how seasonality and disturbance shape where they appear. We’ll also explore earthstars as “desert origami,” earthballs (Scleroderma) as a key cautionary group, stinkhorns as insect-powered dispersal machines, and false truffles and hypogeous allies (including conifer partners like Rhizopogon) as part of the underground network tied to wildlife and forest regeneration.

You’ll leave with a practical documentation checklist (photos, notes, habitat + elevation cues) and a new way to read Colorado landscapes through gasteroid fungi.

Speakers

Stephanie Jarvis

Pacific Truffle Growers, LLC

Stephanie Jarvis is a truffle cultivator, mycologist, ISA Certified Arborist, and founder of Pacific Truffle Growers. She holds a Master of Science degree in Conservation Genetics with a specialization in mycology and has spent more than 25 years working in mushroom cultivation, mycology... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Sheridan Opera House

Passholder Event (included in Festival Pass), General Mycology

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46th Telluride Mushroom Festival

Stephanie Jarvis

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46th Telluride Mushroom Festival

Stephanie Jarvis

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