Fungarium

by Ester Gaya

Genres: Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

Published August 3, 2023

About the author

Ester Gaya is a senior research leader at Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. She began her career in mycology in Spain and lived in the US before settling in the UK. She has spent the past twenty years researching fungi and is especially fascinated by lichens and their evolutionary process.

Reviews

[Rachel McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful little table top journey through fungi with beautiful imagery. Great gift for plant lovers.

[Serena Locritani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and essential amazing book about the Fungi world! Brief explanation between different classification of mushroom, lichens, spore and mould. And the different environment where they grow and how the can develop! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, very well detailed and very helpful during the reading! Lovely book for nature and fungi lovers!

[Roxana David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review for the big/full edition. This one is a tad better because it has an extra illustration, but the text is incomplete (which I'm not even sure is a bad thing, as it might make it easier to follow)

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little intro into fungi with lots of beautiful illustrations.

[Jess Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful illustrations and really accessible to read

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute little intro to some fungi with pretty illustrations

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a confession to make, until very recently I was not a fan of fungi, at least not the type that are edible… I am coming around, changing my mind, slowly! The fungi which are inedible have always fascinated me however. They are one of nature’s overlooked wonders. We sometimes get the most amazing shapes and sizes of fungi growing near our wood pile and I have quite a few photos of them along with other fungi I spot on trees and in woodlands on the nature walks we love to take. So, fungi. Fascinating. Unusual. Occasionally tasty. And… There is a very special, miniature hardback, clothbound book which you could quite easily take with you on nature walks this Christmas to help identify the various fungi that you will no doubt spot. Fungarium is a title in the Welcome to the Museum series and this book is a miniature welcome to the museum of Fungarium. The perfect little gift for anyone ready to begin an exploration of the world of wonders that are fungi.

Each of the fungi featured in this little gem has been illustrated by Katie Scott and I can only marvel at the detail, the colour, the simple wonder that her illustrations produce. And, it is not only the pictures of the fungi themselves but also some technical drawings showing us the sexual reproduction process for fungi which are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction, a timeline of their long existence and, in one of the galleries, some insects too. So much thought and attention has gone into the information presented in this book that it is impossible not to get caught up in it and learn. If you wonder whether this book will fascinate the child in your life as well as the adults – tell them about the zombie fungi that can take control of insects and they will be instantly hooked. For the budding mycologist the amateur (or professional) forager and anyone with a fascination for nature this little book is the perfect introduction to the world of the mushroom, okay to fungi and an enticement to help mycologists find more than the 5% of the 2.2-3.8 million anticipated species on earth!

[Adrián · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado, tanto el arte como las descripciones de este libro son increíbles.
Sin duda, un muy buen regalo para cualquier amante de la Micología.