“Mushrooms and Autumn Plants” Fair

At the^45th edition of the Fall Mushrooms and Plants Fair, the following will be on offer:

Fresh autumn mushrooms with:

• an exhibition featuring over a hundred fresh mushrooms;
• a workshop on distinguishing between edible and poisonous—or even deadly—species in our region;
• a workshop to identify plants brought in by the public;
• educational tools to help the general public and students (in pharmacy, medicine, science, etc.) identify mushrooms.

Autumn fruits and flowers, including:

• an exhibition of more than 200 recently harvested plants;
• a workshop to identify plants brought in by the public.

The mushrooms and plants were collected by members of the Hérault Society of Horticulture and History (SHHNH) and the Faculty of Pharmacy at Montpellier (Laboratory of Botany, Phytochemistry, and Mycology).

Members of the SHHNH and university researchers will identify the mushrooms and plants collected or brought in by the public over the two-day event. 

The CD-ROM titled “The Main Edible Mushrooms and Their Poisonous or Deadly Look-Alikes,” created by several members of the SHHNH, will be made available to the public.

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

The SHHNH will also feature mushrooms from throughout geological history and displays of insects.

Free guided tours of the Albert CIURANA Pharmacy Museum on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings and afternoons:

Two lectures will be held in Lecture Hall A at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Montpellier:

• Saturday, October 18, 2025, at 4:00p.m.: “100% Natural Doesn’t Mean 100% Safe!” by Olivier MATHIEU, Ph.D. in Pharmacy, Head of the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Montpellier and Montpellier University Hospital.

• Sunday, October 19, 2025, at 4:00p.m.: “Mushrooms Through the Geological Ages” by Michel CROUSILLES, geologist , Ph.D. in Earth Sciences, and vice president of the Hérault Society of Horticulture and Natural History.