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The Forum: The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi

The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi

03/08/2013

BBC Radio 4 - The Forum, The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi

Chocolate? Furniture? Clothes? Bridget Kendall and guests discuss novel uses for fungi.

Discover underground battles as fungi fight others for food, the thousands of useful species out there which we have yet to discover, and innovative mushroom furniture.

Put any prejudices about poisonous toadstools and mould in damp corners out of your mind: this week's Forum explores fungi as an extraordinarily tough and ecologically friendly building substance that could reshape our world. Plus the hundreds of thousands of species of fungi that have yet to be named and studied: some of them may hold vital clues on how to cure diseases or solve environmental problems. Bridget Kendall is joined by fungal ecologist Lynne Boddy, Danish mycologist and photographer Jens Petersen, and San Francisco-based artist, chef and fungal furniture-maker, Phil Ross. Above photo: Hygrocybe Psittacina Photo: © Jens H. Petersen.  Below clip photo: Mycelium with Hyphal Strings by Jens H. Petersen

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