Wildspawn Mushrooms: Cultivating and Foraging Gourmet Fungi with Cody Iannozzi (Nov. 17)

Cody Iannozzi became captivated by mushrooms through wild foraging. This lecture will begin with a brief history of his adventures in the field and follow how Wildspawn Mushrooms was founded. With an emphasis on Northeastern wild species, Iannozzi will describe some of the identifying characteristics of mushrooms as well as some common misconceptions. He will delve into concepts such as mycorrhiza and the roles of saprophytes and parasites in the ecosystem. Iannozzi will also touch on cooking with mushrooms, medicinal uses of fungi and foraging for them in the wild. Participants will learn what role we can play in the fascinating symbiosis between plants and fungi and how they can grow mushrooms at home!

Mycoenthusiest Cody Iannozzi grew up in rural Hunterdon County, NJ. He attended Lock Haven University, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in ecology and a minor in environmental science. It was during his first full-time job working for Hunterdon County Mosquito Control that he began collecting mushrooms for identification while surveying potential mosquito habitats. This small side interest quickly skyrocketed into a total love for fungi due to their aesthetic, culinary and medicinal values. By spring of 2021, Iannozzi and his close friend Jeff Mertz officially founded Wildspawn Mushrooms, LLC, a business that specializes in the cultivation, foraging and sale of choice edible mushrooms.