Harry D. Thiers was the founder and original curator of the San Francisco State Herbarium, renamed the HDT Herbarium in 1989 after his retirement. He was particularly fond of Boletes, and it’s fitting that our logo should highlight one of our native species, Leccinum manzanitae. Thiers wrote the first book on California Boletes, but you’ll find his name as the specific epithet of a multitude of mushroom genera, many described by students or other mycologists he mentored who wanted to honor him. His impact on the field of mycology cannot be understated. One of his students, and the one to take over curation of the herbarium after Thiers’ retirement, Dennis Dejardin, said of Thiers “his influence through the training of young mycologists is felt in all subdisciplines of mycology. Mycology programs in every university in North America have benefited directly from his research and teaching skills.” Dr. Thiers played a major role in establishing our herbarium as the largest and most important collection of fleshy fungi west of the Mississippi (FACT CHECK). Leccinum manzanitae was described by Dr. Thiers in 1971 from collections originally made in San Mateo County, California. These beautiful, massive, mushrooms are in the Bolete family, mushrooms known for having a pore surface as opposed to the more common gills. As the name suggests, the Manzanita Bolete is commonly found under Manzanitas, and Madrones, a close relative of Arctostaphylos. Mycorrhizal relationships, like those between the Bolete and Manzanita, have evolved over millions of years and are an incredibly important part of nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. If you find yourself wandering through one of our coastal Manzanita forests or the Sierra foothills, don’t forget to look down, you may just spot this relatively common bolete with its dark mahogany-red cap and white stem with dark scabers.