Fungi: nature’s hidden kingdom

On a summer’s day, your garden is full of activity, with hoverflies, butterflies and bees flying from flower to flower. But that is only one slice of the action on your plot. In the ground beneath you

A fungus only given a scientific name in 2014 has proved fascinating to both mycologists and psychedelics researchers alike. Eaten raw, Lanmaoa asiatica triggers vivid hallucinations, but, unlike almo

Whether mutually beneficial or a parasitic nuisance, Nature’s symbiotic relationships are as multifarious as they are marvellous, says John Lewis-Stempel

Hop aboard as Daisy Dobrijevic sets sail to discover the world’s most unusual beasts.

HAVE you ever taken a close look at your soil? I mean, a really close look? And if not, why not? Soil, compost, dirt, earth – whatever you want to call it, it’s often overlooked, and yet it’s one of t

Johnny Drain Adventures in Fermentation From ancient origins to culinary frontiers, an exploration of the microbes that shape the world we live in 320pp. Penguin Life. £20. Tim Spector Ferment The lif