Radical Mycology: A Treatise On Seeing & Working With Fungi

Peter McCoy

Portland

:

Chthaeus Press

,

2016

.
Reprint.

25cm x 21cm. xx, 650 pages, [15] pages of colour photographs, black and white photographs and illustrations. Illustrated wrappers.

“Fungi are found throughout the world, often playing critical roles at the center of all ecological webs. As culturally important foods and medicines, they have been intimately tied to the development and spread of human societies. Even today, fungal cultivation offers numerous means to increase the health of humans and the environment. And yet, the fungal kingdom is the most understudied branch on the tree of life. Thankfully, Peter McCoy has provided the means for dispelling this paradox in Radical Mycology, the most accessible book on the science of fungi ever published. In this comprehensive text, readers will find in-depth information on the uniqueness of fungal biology, compelling descriptions of their ecological importance, guides to accurately identifying mushrooms, skills for using lichens as indicators of environmental health, techniques for making potent fungal medicines, as well as how to grow fermenting fungi and cheaply cultivate mushrooms with recycled tools (and yet still achieve lab-quality results). McCoy also details what he calls “regenerative outdoor mushroom farming”–a practice largely influenced by the design system of permaculture–along with extensive information on mycoremediation, the application of fungi to mitigate pollution. Concluding the book are deeper insights into the cultural effects that fungi present, from a philosophical reflection of fungal growth in the design of human societies, to an exhaustive examination of the history of psychoactive mushrooms.” (publisher’s blurb)

. New Book.