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And now... books? #booksky #writersky #writers #canada www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Melanin in radiotrophic Cladosporium sphaerospermum helps the fungus live on ionizing radiation in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. I think there may be a science fiction plot in there somewhere... #fungifriends #fungi #mycology 🍄 dailygalaxy.com/2025/02/blac...

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

They're back!

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Chalk up another one for mycorrhizal fungi! They promote more root growth and plant diversity, thereby increasing carbon storage in grasslands. More carbon storage is a good thing for climate. #fungifriends #fungi #mycology #carbon 🍄 phys.org/news/2025-02...

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana tricks fly immune systems. Well, I learned something today. Flies have immune systems! #fungifriends #mycology 🍄 scitechdaily.com/this-deadly-...

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Partly parasitic orchids and wood-decay fungi: grabbing fungal nutrients is a boost for orchid energy capacity, not just a top-up. #fungifriends #fungi #mycology 🍄 phys.org/news/2025-02...

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

It's February and it's really cold. But when ya gotta fruit ya gotta fruit! #fungifriends 🍄

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

To all my writing friends: Here's a moment to pause and regain equilibrium. Breathe in the cool, misty forest air, then get back into the frey! #writersky #books

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

I finally got around to uploading the e-book version of "New World Endings," an anthology with 19 of my sci-fi and fantasy short stories, novelettes, and novellas. Someone's world is about to change forever! #booksky #scifi #fiction #fantasy www.lulu.com/shop/richard...

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Canadian research shows that β glucans from mushrooms are immune modulators that blunt the effects of influenza. Make sure you add mushrooms to your chicken soup! I recommend shiitakes. #fungifriends 🍄 medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02...

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Photomicrograph of Alternaria cassiae conidia using Nomarski lighting. It is a pathogen studied for biocontrol of sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) weeds, also found on cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). It would be interesting to know the function of the very long conidial 'beaks.' #fungifriends 🍄

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

It's Flag Day! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of...

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Here is my article discussing ways fungi might help space exploration. And yes, I know astronauts don't eat with their helmets on - I was not responsible for that image! #fungifriends 🍄 acceleron.org.in/index.php/aa...

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

The Planetary Society discusses extraterrestrial habitats made with fungal mycelium. I discussed this idea (among others) in my paper 'Mushrooms to Mars' published in Fungi magazine and also in Acceleron aerospace journal. #fungifriends 🍄 www.planetary.org/articles/how...

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

All of my books (both science fiction and mushroom) are now available at Terrier Books in Sooke, B.C. If you stop by to check them out, tell the owner Gladys that Richard sent you 🙂 The mushroom books are also still available at the Sooke Regional Museum. #booksky #fungifriends terrierbooks.com

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Avoiding Amanita muscaria or its look-alikes (due to toxicity) is generally a good idea, but I do love VLDL skits. This new one is a fine example of the kind of silliness that happens when you mix fantasy writing with mycology. 🍄 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak-U...

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

Hawaiian marine fungi adapt to eat plastic. A solution for ocean waste? #fungifriends 🍄 phys.org/news/2025-02...

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aGk...

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

The end of a season. But morels are just around the corner... #fungifriends 🍄

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

People with allergic rhinitis have distinct profiles for fungi colonizing their nasal passage. #fungifriends 🍄 scitechdaily.com/fungi-lurkin...

submitted 23 days ago • 1 comment

Cordyceps mushrooms are now a multi-billion dollar industry. #fungifriends www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

If you're in Vancouver next week I'll be presenting a video based on my "Mushrooms for all Seasons" book series at the VMS meeting on Feb. 11. #fungifriends www.vanmyco.org/event/monthl...

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

Now available in pdf: "A manual of Concise Descriptions of North American Ectomycorrhizae: including microscopic and molecular characterization." #fungifriends ostrnrcan-dostrncan.canada.ca/entities/pub...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

Hi! There is a FB group 'Marketing for Indies' dedicated to discussion of marketing for indie authors (posts by commercial publishers not allowed). It currently has 1.2K members, with lots of collective wisdom regarding best practices, things to avoid, etc. #booksky www.facebook.com/groups/21230...

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

A state mushroom for Colorado: Agaricus julius, a.k.a. 'The Emperor', a.k.a. 'The mushroom formerly known as Prince' (in reference to its close relative A. augustus). #fungifriends www.kunc.org/news/2025-01...

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

Sir David Attenborough gets a new zombie-fying fungal species named after him. But don't worry--it only attacks Irish cave spiders. #fungifriends phys.org/news/2025-01...

submitted 33 days ago • 2 comments

People were still finding winter chanterelles here in January. Here is a nice winter chanterelle soup for the colder months, from part 4 of Mushrooms For All Seasons. #fungifriends

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

Mycophobic or Mycophilic? Use of Fungi by Ancestral Southwestern Native Americans by Mike Dechter in Fungi Magazine. #fungifriends www.fungimag.com/v17i3/v17i3-...

submitted 34 days ago • 1 comment

Armillaria sp. (possibly A. ostoyae) fruiting near the Beatton Airport Road north of Ft. St. John, B.C. #fungifriends

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

A brief poetic respite. #booksky

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

Captain Christopher Perry guards One World's quarantine line, over 400 years after the Americas are overwhelmed by a lethal plague. An evil conspiracy makes him a castaway in the forbidden zone, along with his crew. The hidden truth they find there is... Merika #booksky www.lulu.com/shop/richard...

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Multispetate conidia of a Bipolaris species isolated from Johnsongrass, illuminated with nemarski imaging. I studied this one for biocontrol potential. It is related to B. sorokiniana, the imperfect stage of Cochliobolus sativus. I also think it has its own kind of beauty. #fungifriends

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Older phoenicoid (emerging after fire, like the phoenix) pixie cups. Maybe Geopyxis vulcanalis due to the yellowish colour, but it's hard to tell once they fade and flatten. I have no idea what the spider might be, but it looks comfortable. #fungifriends

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

Plants gaslighting other plants and spying on them with the help of fungi... such bad behaviour! :-) #fungifriends www.earth.com/news/plants-...

submitted 36 days ago • 1 comment

Inoculating with mycorrhizal fungi to support endangered plant species. #fungifriends knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

Stella's a rookie cop in the 25th Century. Trapped on a starship, she finds friends, intrigue, and a threat to civilized space. Is this the end? Not if Stella can help it! #booksky www.lulu.com/shop/richard...

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Dacrymyces chrysospermus, a.k.a. orange jelly or orange witch's butter, growing on the cut surface of a grand fir stump. Yep, it's very orange alright! #fungifriends

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

Mushrooms in winter? We can hunt for them just about every month here on Vancouver Island. There are great recipes for winter chanterelles in Part 4 of 'Mushrooms For All Seasons.' #mushroom #fungifriends #booksky www.lulu.com/shop/richard...

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

Pacific Golden Chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus), lurking in the deep shade. In B.C., it likes stands of Douglas fir and western hemlock between 60 to 80 years of age. 🍄 #mushroomfriends

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

A close-up of our western blue chanterelle, Polyozellus atrolazulinus. (More of an indigo blue, actually). 🍄 #fungifriends

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

A morel appearing after the 2004 fires near Kewlona, B.C. Probably M. sextelata. 🍄 #fungifriends

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

Not really a fan of mdpi journals, but still, here is some interesting work on the regulation of thermal tolerance in Morchella sextelata, probably with implications for other morels. www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11...

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

Two new edible truffle species discovered in Eastern North America with the aid of truffle dogs: Tuber canirevelatum and Tuber cumberlandense. www.sci.news/biology/two-...

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

How fungi may affect our immune system. healthenews.mcgill.ca/discovery-of...

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

For those interested in upmarket women's fiction, this indie book will be worth checking out. I helped review it - it's a very imaginative journey of personal discovery written by one of our very own here on Vancouver Island. Shakespeare, Pooh, and more. #booksky www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-...

submitted 41 days ago • 0 comments

3-D printed biodegradable batteries for powering outdoor sensors. Now, if the sensors could also be biodegradable... newatlas.com/energy/3d-pr...

submitted 43 days ago • 0 comments

It turns out that extinct flightless birds liked bright purple truffles. www.science.org/content/arti...

submitted 43 days ago • 0 comments