Mushrooms and Autumn Plants Show

44th edition of the Autumn Mushrooms and Plants Show

The ^44th edition of the Champignons et Plantes d'automne show will feature :

Fresh autumn mushrooms with :

• an exhibition of over a hundred fresh mushrooms;
• a workshop on the confusion between edible and toxic or even deadly species in our region;
• a workshop to identify crops brought in by the public;
• educational tools to help the public and students (pharmacy, medicine, science, etc.) identify mushrooms.

Autumn plants (flowers and fruit):

Mushrooms and plants will have been collected by members of the Société d'Horticulture et d'Histoire de l'Hérault (SHHNH) and the Faculté de Pharmacie de Montpellier (Laboratoire de Botanique, Phytochimie et Mycologie).

Fungi and plants collected or brought in by the public over the two days will be identified by SHHNH members and academics. 

The CD-ROM "Les principaux champignons comestibles et leurs sosies toxiques ou mortels", created by several SHHNH members, will be made available to the public.

Three card games created by a member of the SHHNH will enable the public, including students, to test their knowledge of mushroom identification, edibility and toxicity.

The SHHNH will also be showcasing mushrooms through the geological ages andinsect displays.

Two conferences will be held in the amphitheatre A of Montpellier's Faculty of Pharmacy:

• Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 4pm: " Cordyceps, les champi(gn)ons de la manipulation" by Luis Portillo-Lemus Senior Lecturer, Laboratory of Botany, Phytochemistry and Mycology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, University of Montpellier.
  
  Manipulating host behavior is one of the most fascinating features of interaction ecology. Zombifying" fungi are capable of modifying the behavior of their hosts in such a way as to favor their own reproduction. This ability to control the insect's movements to its own advantage is known as the "extended fungal phenotype". As a result, the fungus becomes totally dependent on the insect, unable to live without its host.

• Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 4 pm: "Pollinators: what future?" by Gérard Duvallet, Medical Entomologist, Professor Emeritus, Honorary President of the Société Française de Parasitologie.
  
  Biodiversity loss and global warming are among today's major concerns. There is talk of a sixth mass extinction. The disappearance of insects, and pollinators in particular, is beginning to be well documented in several countries. Yet insects play a considerable role in the functioning of ecosystems.
  
  What future for pollinators? What future for ecosystems, particularly agricultural ecosystems? We will see that honeybees are not the only pollinators. And that mini-drones are currently being tested to ensure pollination in places where insects have disappeared.