Stinkhorns, puffballs, the "corpse finder," deadly
Galerina
, Satan's bolete, birch conks, black mold, the old man of the woods—the world of fungi is infinitely varied and not a little weird. Now, in
Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard
, Nicholas Money introduces readers to a dazzling array of fungi, from brewer's yeast and
Penicillium
to the highly lethal death cap. We learn of
Madurella
, which can erode bones until they look moth-eaten;
Cordyceps
, which wracks insects with convulsions, kills them, then sends a stalk out of the insect's head to release more infectious spores; and
Claviceps
, the poisonous ergot fungus, which causes hallucinations.
Money also showcases the lives of famed mycologists—including Reginald Buller who wore horse blinders as he walked to work, the better to study luminescent fungi in his dark lab, and Charles Tulasne, the Audubon of fungi, whose illustrations of specimens border on art. And he recounts his own childhood introduction to fungi in Mr. Bloomfield's orchard, where trees and fruit were devoured by a rogue's gallery of bitter rot, canker, rust, powdery mildew, rubbery wood, and scab. Replete with historical photographs and simple yet effective illustrations, told with a refreshing sense of humor,
will fascinate anyone interested in the natural world.