The Société mycologique de France (, Mycological Society of France), often known by the abbreviation SMF, is an association linking French and French-speaking

mycologists Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

History

The society was founded in 1884 in

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

by three doctors,

Lucien Quélet Lucien Quélet (; 14 July 1832 – 25 August 1899) was a French natural history, naturalist and mycologist. Quélet discovered several species of fungi and was the founder of the Société mycologique de France, a society devoted to mycological ...

(1832-1889), Antoine Mougeot (1815-1889) and René Joseph Justin Ferry (1845-1924), joined by two pharmacists, Émile Boudier (1828-1920) and

Narcisse Théophile Patouillard Narcisse Théophile Patouillard (2 July 1854 – 30 March 1926) was a French pharmacist and mycologist. He was born in Macornay, a town in the department of Jura (department), Jura. He studied in Besançon, then furthered his education at the ...

(1854-1926). The object of the society was to "Establish relationships between mycologists scattered in various parts of French territory, centralize their research and thereby achieve the foundation of a complete fungal flora of France". It was the first mycological society in the world. One year after its creation it already had 128 members and three years later it had 250. Most founder members were pharmacists, doctors or teachers and then it opened to amateurs. The society's headquarters are located at 20 rue Rottembourg in the 12th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Activities

The society provides many activities and facilities for its members including * Forest excursions hunting

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

accompanied by mycologists * Identification sessions of collected fungi * An annual exhibition of fresh mushrooms in Paris (in 2006 this was held from 11 to 15 October in the pavilion 18 of the Parc floral de Paris). * An annual congress held in the French provinces (in 2006, this was held in Herbeumont (

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) from 25 to 30 September. In 2007, in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

. In 2008 in

Dourdan Dourdan () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France. It is the capital of the historical region of Hurepoix. It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris. Geography Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western Es ...

). * Courses in mycology and microscopy for beginners. * Access to its publications including the SMF database

Publications

The society publishes a newsletter, an

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

(the ''Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France''), a list of recommended French names of fungi and a database.

The SMF database

The SMF database ("'") operates under

Access Access may refer to: Companies and organizations * ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network * Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom * Access Co., a Japanese software company * Access International Advisors, a hed ...

and contains more than 16,000 species of fungi studied by mycologists for their botanical interest, notably those of particular interest to humans: * 1384 edible fungi * 469 inedible and toxic fungi * 45 fatally poisonous fungi

References

External links

*
les-champignons.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Societe mycologique de France Mycology organizations

Mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

Professional associations based in France 1884 establishments in France Scientific organizations established in 1884