An animated field guide
Spore&Wonder
Pink oysters, blue milk caps, lace-skirted ladies and tiny nests full of eggs. Meet fifteen of the strangest, most beautiful fungi on Earth.
Not a plant. Not an animal.
A whole kingdom of its own.
Fungi do not make their own food from sunlight like plants, and they cannot chase it like animals. Instead, they grow through soil, wood and leaves as fine threads, digesting the world around them and recycling it into new life. A mushroom is only the fruit.
- 155,000+species described by scientists so far
- 2–4millionspecies estimated to exist in total
- 90%of land plants team up with fungi at their roots
Meet the cast
Fifteen fungi with star quality.
Lion's ManeHericium erinaceus
Coral ToothHericium coralloides
Pink OysterPleurotus djamor
Golden OysterPleurotus citrinopileatus
Chicken of the WoodsLaetiporus sulphureus
MaitakeGrifola frondosa
Indigo Milk CapLactarius indigo
Blue ChanterellePolyozellus multiplex
Lobster MushroomHypomyces lactifluorum
Cauliflower MushroomSparassis crispa
Veiled LadyPhallus indusiatus
Snow FungusTremella fuciformis
Black TrumpetCraterellus cornucopioides
Bird's Nest FungusCyathus striatus
Octopus StinkhornClathrus archeri- Explore them all
Underground
The real fungus is hiding below your feet.
Beneath every mushroom is a mycelium: a web of threads called hyphae, each one thinner than a hair. A single teaspoon of forest soil can hold several kilometres of them.
Many fungi wrap these threads around tree roots in a partnership called mycorrhiza. The fungus brings water and minerals; the tree pays back in sugar. Whole forests are stitched together this way.
Play with colour
Pick a colour, any colour.
Fungi come in shades that seem almost unreal. Tap a colour and watch the field guide rearrange itself.
15 species
- Lion's ManeHericium erinaceus
- Coral ToothHericium coralloides
- Pink OysterPleurotus djamor
- Golden OysterPleurotus citrinopileatus
- Chicken of the WoodsLaetiporus sulphureus
- MaitakeGrifola frondosa
- Indigo Milk CapLactarius indigo
- Blue ChanterellePolyozellus multiplex
- Lobster MushroomHypomyces lactifluorum
- Cauliflower MushroomSparassis crispa
- Veiled LadyPhallus indusiatus
- Snow FungusTremella fuciformis
- Black TrumpetCraterellus cornucopioides
- Bird's Nest FungusCyathus striatus
- Octopus StinkhornClathrus archeri
Golden rules
Wonder first. Snacks later.
Look, then learn
Most of the joy is in noticing. Take your time, crouch down and look underneath.
Photos over picking
Rare species need to drop their spores. A picture lasts longer than a basket.
Ask an expert first
Never eat a wild mushroom unless an experienced expert has confirmed exactly what it is.