Gary Lincoff papers

Gary Lincoff (1942-2018) was an American mycologist, writer, naturalist, and educator who championed fungi as food, medicine, and a source of wonder. He was born in Pittsburgh in 1942, he remained there through his childhood and went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh. He majored in Philosophy and later conducted graduate work in English Literature and Greek Studies. Lincoff met Irene Liberman in 1967 and the couple moved to New York together in 1970. In the early 1970s in New York, Lincoff spent most of his time in Central Park teaching himself plant and mushroom identification for a book he was writing. His penchant for foraging, identification, and storytelling led him to start leading wild edible plant tours in 1974. He was later invited to lead these workshops through the New York Botanical Garden, where he then taught for 40 years. He led workshops and college-level courses in plant science, identification, mycology, and ethnobotany, among others.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he led Mushroom Study Tours to over 30 countries, traveling to every continent except Antarctica. He authored and edited several books and articles on mushrooms including, but not limited to Toxic and Hallucinogenic Mushroom Poisoning (co-authored with D.H Mitchell, M.D. 1977), The Audubon Society Field Guide to Northern American Mushrooms (1981), Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Mushrooms (1982), The Mushroom Book (co-authored, 1996), The Joy of Foraging (2017), and The Complete Mushroom Hunter (2017). He contributed regularly to Fungi Magazine. In addition to his educational and scientific work, Lincoff was also a creative writer, authoring many mushroom-themed poems and plays.

Lincoff contributed extensively to the mycological community nationwide, participating in forays, festivals, and as a board of mycological associations in the northeast. In 1981, Lincoff co-founded the Telluride Mushroom Festival in Colorado. From 1983 to 1988, Lincoff was the president of the North American Mycological Association. Lincoff was an enthusiastic member, scientific advisor, and trip leader for the New York Mycological Society. In 2017, the Mycological Society of America honored Lincoff with the Gordon and Tina Wasson Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Mycology. Lincoff passed away in 2018. In 2020, Vivien Tartter with assistance from the New York Mycological Society successfully petitioned the city to dedicate the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and 95th Street in Manhattan as Gary Lincoff Way.