The Book of Fungi

The Book of Fungi PDF

Author: Peter Roberts

Publisher: Ivy Press

Published: 2014-06-30

Total Pages: 1987

ISBN-13: 1782401369

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The fifth order of the natural kingdom is made up of an estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, found in every habitat type worldwide. The Book of Fungi takes 600 of the most remarkable fleshy fungi from around the world and reproduces each at its actual size, in full colour, and accompanied by a scientific explanation of its distribution, habitat, association, abundance, growth form, spore colour and edibility. Location maps give at-a-glance indications of each species known global distribution, and specially commissioned engravings show different fruitbody forms and provide the vital statistics of height and diameter. Theres a place, too, for readers to discover the more bizarre habits of fungi from the predator that hunts its prey with lassos to the one that entices sows by releasing the pheromones of a wild boar. Mushrooms, morels, puffballs, toadstools, truffles, chanterelles fungi from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to our own gardens are all on display in this definitive work.

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture PDF

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2019-03-12

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 9251312702

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The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture worldwide. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture. The report complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.

Mycelium Running

Mycelium Running PDF

Author: Paul Stamets

Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Published: 2011-03-09

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1607741245

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Mycelium Running is a manual for the mycological rescue of the planet. That’s right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text from mushroom expert Paul Stamets, you’ll find out how. The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called “mycelium”--the fruit of which are mushrooms--recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening). In this comprehensive guide, you’ll find chapters detailing each of these four exciting branches of what Stamets has coined “mycorestoration,” as well as chapters on the medicinal and nutritional properties of mushrooms, inoculation methods, log and stump culture, and species selection for various environmental purposes. Heavily referenced and beautifully illustrated, this book is destined to be a classic reference for bemushroomed generations to come.

Entangled Life

Entangled Life PDF

Author: Merlin Sheldrake

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2020-05-12

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0525510338

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “brilliant [and] entrancing” (The Guardian) journey into the hidden lives of fungi—the great connectors of the living world—and their astonishing and intimate roles in human life, with the power to heal our bodies, expand our minds, and help us address our most urgent environmental problems. “Grand and dizzying in how thoroughly it recalibrates our understanding of the natural world.”—Ed Yong, author of An Immense World ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—Time, BBC Science Focus, The Daily Mail, Geographical, The Times, The Telegraph, New Statesman, London Evening Standard, Science Friday When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave. In the first edition of this mind-bending book, Sheldrake introduced us to this mysterious but massively diverse kingdom of life. This exquisitely designed volume, abridged from the original, features more than one hundred full-color images that bring the spectacular variety, strangeness, and beauty of fungi to life as never before. Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. 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. Winner of the Wainwright Prize, the Royal Society Science Book Prize, and the Guild of Food Writers Award • Shortlisted for the British Book Award • Longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize

The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi

The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi PDF

Author: Keith Seifert

Publisher: Univ. of Queensland Press

Published: 2022-08-02

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 0702267333

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Fungi are essential to all life on Earth and yet fungal diseases and toxins lead to over one million deaths each year. How can we strike a better balance with our microbial cousins? These remarkable microbes enrich our lives: from releasing the carbon in plants, to producing life-changing medicine, to adding umami flavour and B vitamins to our food. But not all fungi are good for us. This compelling book from esteemed mycologist Keith Seifert ventures into our homes, bodies, farms, and forests to profile the fungi that inhabit our environments. Drawing from the latest research, he explains where fungi came from and how yeasts, lichens, and moulds have evolved and adapted over millions of years. The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi urges us to better understand our relationship with fungi, while revealing their world in all its beautiful complexity.

Fossil Fungi

Fossil Fungi PDF

Author: Thomas N Taylor

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2014-08-14

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0123877547

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Fungi are ubiquitous in the world and responsible for driving the evolution and governing the sustainability of ecosystems now and in the past. Fossil Fungi is the first encyclopedic book devoted exclusively to fossil fungi and their activities through geologic time. The book begins with the historical context of research on fossil fungi (paleomycology), followed by how fungi are formed and studied as fossils, and their age. The next six chapters focus on the major lineages of fungi, arranging them in phylogenetic order and placing the fossils within a systematic framework. For each fossil the age and provenance are provided. Each chapter provides a detailed introduction to the living members of the group and a discussion of the fossils that are believed to belong in this group. The extensive bibliography (~ 2700 entries) includes papers on both extant and fossil fungi. Additional chapters include lichens, fungal spores, and the interactions of fungi with plants, animals, and the geosphere. The final chapter includes a discussion of fossil bacteria and other organisms that are fungal-like in appearance, and known from the fossil record. The book includes more than 475 illustrations, almost all in color, of fossil fungi, line drawings, and portraits of people, as well as a glossary of more than 700 mycological and paleontological terms that will be useful to both biologists and geoscientists. First book devoted to the whole spectrum of the fossil record of fungi, ranging from Proterozoic fossils to the role of fungi in rock weathering Detailed discussion of how fossil fungi are preserved and studied Extensive bibliography with more than 2000 entries Where possible, fungal fossils are placed in a modern systematic context Each chapter within the systematic treatment of fungal lineages introduced with an easy-to-understand presentation of the main characters that define extant members Extensive glossary of more than 700 entries that define both biological, geological, and mycological terminology

The Mushroom at the End of the World

The Mushroom at the End of the World PDF

Author: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-06-08

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0691220557

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"A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes, The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. Here, we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, Yi Chinese goat herders, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction."--Publisher's description.

Fungi in the Ancient World

Fungi in the Ancient World PDF

Author: Frank M. Dugan

Publisher: American Phytopathological Society

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13:

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Fungi in the Ancient World is a comprehensive review on the impact of fungi in helping to shape ancient civilizations. Mushrooms, mildews, molds, and yeast had a surprisingly profound impact on: diet, custom, politics, religion; human, animal, plant health; art, folklore, and the beginnings of science. This insightful book is a gateway to current methodologies for investigation of the co-evolution of plants, fungi, and humans from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. The book includes a historical perspective on co-evolution of fungi with early agriculture that provides documented summaries of contemporary research in this area, from archaeology to molecular-genetics.