Fungi

by Roy Watling, Jonathan Elphick (Editor)

Fungi are a distinct kingdom, separate from the plants and animals, bacteria and protists. They are everpresent—we inhale them with almost every breath—and without them the recycling of the Earth’s nutrients would be impossible. Yet despite their ubiquitous nature, they are poorly understood. Roy Watling sheds new light on these amazing creatures, explaining why they are so unique and how they live their lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature

96 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Roy Watling (b. 1938) is a retired mycologist who formerly worked for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. He received an MBE for contributions to mycology, particularly recognising his teaching and support for amateurs as well as professional mycologists based in the global south. He received the Royal Society of Edinburgh Patrick Neill medal for contributions to Science. He was the first recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award of Nature of Scotland 2012 for mycological contributions, and the first recipient of the Plant Life International Smart Award 2011 for activities in conservation.

Roy graduated from Sheffield University with a 1st Class BSc (1960) before completing a PhD at Edinburgh University, and then joining the staff of the RBGE as Scientific Officer progressing to Senior Principal Scientific Officer and submitting a successful DSc to Sheffield University. He became Head of RBGE’s Mycology & Plant Pathology on the appointment of D.M. Henderson to Regius Keeper.

Roy has published over 150 academic and popular science papers. He has collected fungi and lectured throughout North America and Europe, with stays in both, initially studying arctic/alpine ecosystems. He has made three trips to Cameroon, and visited diverse sites over a period of twenty years in Thailand and Malyasia. He has made extensive trips to Australia and one to India and Zambia. Roy is currently carrying out co-operative work with researchers in Spain (Madrid Bot. Garden) and Thailand (Nakhan Panon University). He is also cataloguing and data-basing the old collections of fungi held in the Edinburgh herbarium and is custodian of the valuable and extensive fungal collections by the late E.J.H. Corner.

Roy is a Former Acting Regius Keeper RBGE, during the inter-regium between Prof. J. McNeill & the appointment of Prof. D. Ingram. He is an Associate Professor Strathclyde University, an Honorary Associate of Aberdeen University, and Visiting Professor at Ramkanhaeng and Suraneree Universities, Thailand. Roy is also an Honorary Member of the Mycological Association of America and an Honorary Member the German Mycological Society. He is a corresponding member of the Nederlandse Mycologische Vereniging.

Roy is a former Editor of the Biological and Medical Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Past President of the British Mycological Society; Former Chair of the Institute of Biology Scottish Branch, the Yorkshire Naturalists Union and the South East Scotland Fungus group. He is the President of Clyde and Argyll Fungus Group.

Reviews

[Lisa]

I got this book from the library expecting it to essentially be a biology 101 textbook chapter on fungi, and I was not wrong. It covers types, structure, collection, human use, and conservation. It does not cover any of these topics particularly in-depth, but made for a good introduction. This book would not be acceptable for a young child or someone who is already a hobbyist, but makes a good fit for an interested teenager or an adult who is just beginning to learn about mushrooms. I believe the publisher has separate books on lichens and slime moulds.

ETA: much like a textbook, there is also a useful glossary included.