How Did Colorado Get a State Mushroom?

On March 31, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed bill HB25-1091, enshrining Colorado’s first state mushroom, Agaricus julius. Colorado has many state symbols that serve to represent the natural beauty and stature of this unique state. There are five different animal symbols, four plants and even three “rocks” (gemstone, state mineral and the official state rock). And now, this wonderfully wild state has a mushroom as a state symbol. 

But how did we get here? The recent effort to establish a state mushroom for Colorado began in 2021 when Horizon High School civics teacher Greg Sanchez reached out to District 31 Representative Yadria Caraveo to propose the new state symbol. At that time, only three other states (Oregon, 1999; Minnesota, 2010; and Texas, 2021) had state mushrooms. Given the significant growth in attention to mycology, Greg – then the president of the Colorado Mycological Society (CMS) – saw an opportunity to get a state mushroom bill passed.  

Similarly, in 2023, CMS member Alex Merryman began a survey to get public opinion on a choice for state mushroom. The most popular results included Boletus rubriceps, Cantharellus roseocanus and Amanita muscaria. However, despite this public input, introducing a bill was challenging. In 2022, Greg’s legislative contact for District 31 left to represent Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives. The new representative, Rep. Said Sharbini, agreed to sponsor the bill and even went to Horizon High School to meet with Greg’s civics class. At that time, State Senator Kyle Mullica joined as a co-sponsor of the bill, helping to add momentum to the process. Unfortunately, Rep. Sharbini’s tenure was short lived, and he stepped down at the end of 2023. After one more short term by former Rep. Julia Marvin in 2024, Kelsey Harbert – Rep. Sharbini’s former legislative aide – connected Greg with new Rep. Jacque Phillips who agreed to introduce the bill.

While Alex and Greg had both identified Boletus rubriceps as the lead candidate for the state mushroom – great choice by anyone’s standard – several issues put its candidacy into question. First, this species was described from New Mexico. Additionally, some experts consider it a subspecies of B. edulis, which by 2023 became the state mushroom for Utah. It was for these reasons that by the end of 2024, a small committee of professional and amateur mycologists gathered to select a Colorado State Mushroom. To provide some objectivity, the committee developed several criteria outlined in the Q1 2025 issue of Mycophile Quarterly. After applying these criteria, Agaricus julius became the clear choice.  

On January 23, bill HB25-1091 was introduced to the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee. After a couple committee meetings that included testimony from several members of the Colorado Mycological Community and Horizon High School students, some minor discussions and several votes on the House and Senate floors, the bill passed the Senate, with amendments, on March 12. A few days later, it passed the final vote in the house leading to the governor’s desk where he made it an official act. Now, Colorado can add this regal mushroom to its long list of charismatic state symbols.