Fungi: Discover the Science and Secrets Behind the World of Mushrooms (Science and Secrets of Natural History)

A stunning, authoritative book on the fungal kingdom, uncovering the hidden world of more than 300 global species

Discover the fascinating stories behind 300 species of fungi and understand the world of mushrooms like never before!

Did you know that fungi put the fizz in champagne and the flavor in chocolate? Fungi is everywhere we look in a forest, under the sea, and in the kitchen.

In this beautiful 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. Discover some of the fastest speeds in nature, specimens that glow in the dark, and fungi that clean up oil spills.

Humans have had a close relationship with mushrooms for thousands of years-from using the shiitake for healing, to telling stories of enchanted fairy rings, to cooking gourmet dishes with rare specimens. Bringing together technology, medicine, food, culture, and nature, this fascinating book will open your eyes to the wonders of the hidden kingdom all around us.

With tips for mushroom spotting in any habitat, species identification notes, a grow-your-own guide, and more, this book is the ultimate fungi lover's companion.

Lynne Boddy is professor of fungal ecology at Cardiff University. She has authored two academic books and Humongous Fungus (DK, July 2021) for children. In 2019, she was awarded an MBE for Services to Mycology and science outreach, and in 2021, she won the Arboricultural Association Award for her achievements. Lynne has appeared on the BBC’s Deep Down and Dirty: the Science of Soil, Saving Species, Great British Food Revival, and The One Show; BBC Radio 4’s Life Scientifique, In Our Time, and The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry; and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.

Ali Ashby is a fungal biologist and director of a life sciences consultancy company in Cambridge. She is a former Royal Society University Research Fellow and was based in the Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge, where she focused on fungal sexual development and fungal diseases of brassicas. Ali is a member of the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and the British Mycological Society (BMS), and she is a former member of BMS Council and former chair of the BMS Fungal Education and Outreach committee. She coordinated the national BMS UK Fungus Day in 2013 and is actively involved in fungal education. Ali recently wrote a book called Unravelling the Fungus Among Us (LR Price Publications, 2023).