17 July 2021 | New Scientist | 27Fantastic fungi
Photographer Guy Edwardes
Agency naturepl.comTHESE enchanting images look
like illustrations from a book of
fairy tales, but the magic is really
that of the natural world of fungi.
The shots come from a
collection called Mushroom Magic
by photographer Guy Edwardes.
He took various images of the very
different fungi growing near his
home in Dorset, UK, highlighting
the diversity of fungal species.
The largest photo (far left)
shows an amethyst deceiver
(Laccaria amethystina). This
fungus grows in the leaf litter
of forests and is a key food
source for fly larvae. It is edible
for humans, but not considered
a choice mushroom. Collectors
must be careful to avoid the
poisonous lilac fibrecap (Inocybe
geophylla var. lilacina) that the
amethyst deceiver resembles.
The image next to it (near
left, top) shows night falling
on clusters of Mycena fungi –
notable for their bell-shaped
caps and their small size of
only a few centimetres.
Below it, the two images show
(left to right): a variable oysterling
fungus (Crepidotus variabilis) with
its distinct kidney shapes, which
grows on dead branches and isn’t
edible; and the hallucinogenic
but deadly fly agaric (Amanita
muscaria), a species native to
the northern hemisphere. ❚Gege LiBudding photographer?
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