In this book, leading fungal biologists Lynne Boddy and Ali Ashby bring you closer to 300 species of mushrooms and lichens through fascinating facts, mushroom datasets, and detailed illustrations.

A joyful exploration of the most overlooked and enigmatic kingdom of life, and one that expanded my appreciation of what it means to be alive. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms – and our relationships with them – are changing our understanding of how life works. He has undertaken field trips throughout the British Isles and Europe, as well as North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa, and has published extensively on temperate and tropical fungi. The acclaimed and award-winning author and artist of A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars have created a timely—and funny!

At once rigorously scientific and boldly imaginative, it raises fundamental questions about the many natures of life on Earth. The sixth title in the bestselling Collins Guide series, this book covers the fungi of the British Isles, with considerable relevance for Europe and the wider temperate world. All they actually wanted from me was to show them somewhere they could find some of the things they knew from back home.

For my germs book ( I’m Trying To Love Germs), I spoke with professionals in the fields of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, and medicine, and read every kids' germ book I could get my hands on.It is as good as (and in some ways better than) the 2015 revision that I’m reviewing here, though quite a few of the binomial names it uses are now out of date. Pat, an active conservationist, has chaired and served on several advisory committees and special commissions. Since its first edition in 1981, this has long been the go-to text for those seeking to identify more than just basic edible and poisonous mushrooms in the UK. But the complexity and scientific jargon of the subject made it difficult for newcomers to gain a broad view of this vast topic.

She takes us through her academic career in the forests of Canada and North America, working on tree plantations and eventually discovering that trees coordinate themselves through a network of mycorrhizal fungi that heals, feeds and sustains the entire forest. An unusual fungi guide in that it doesn’t cover any poisonous, inedible or even non-delicious fungi. Read our reviews of the best fungi books, including Merlin Sheldrake’s award-winning Entangled Life to Aliya Whiteley’s exploration of The Secret Life of Fungi. We all know Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated Peter Rabbit and other children’s books, but how many people are aware that young Beatrix was a groundbreaking mushroom scientist? Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that support and sustain nearly all living systems.

Location maps give indications of each species' known global distribution, and specially commissioned engravings show different fruitbody forms and provide the vital statistics of height and diameter. Beatrix studied all sorts of fungi, discovering a mushroom known as the Old Man Of The Woods, but as a female she was prohibited from presenting a scientific paper to London’s Linean Society. Includes excellent sections on lichenised fungi, tree identification and common species of particular habitats (eg. The first is a widespread food revolution: no longer is Britain the land of fried breakfasts, fish and chips, roast beef and not much else. FernGully was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and it made me really think about the natural world and how humans interact with it.

I lost count of the times I exclaimed out loud, drew sharp intakes of breath, reread passages to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. My retired uncle that lives close to a forest goesh mushroom picking every day and brings bucketfuls of boletes.Main image: Omphalotus nidiformis , or ghost fungus, glowing green on an old piece of wood in a driveway at night. With information on the characteristics, distinguishing features, and occasionally bizarre habits of these fungi, readers will find in this book the common and the conspicuous, the unfamiliar and the odd. Whether you’re cured by a fungus, or watch it cure someone else; whether you build your home from fungi, or start growing mushrooms in your home, fungi will catch you in the act. The illustrations are beatiful and even have a little twist to them, which I don't want to spoil here. Mushrooming Without Fear by the same author is a slimmed down version of the same book covering even less species.