This Saturday – 7 October – is UK Fungus Day. And so for this week’s show, we’re exploring the fascinating faces of fungi. We’re taking a tour of the Fungus Garden at RHS Wisley, journeying back in time with biologist Merlin Sheldrake to investigate our historical uses of these organisms, chatting about 3 easy ways you can grow your own edible mushrooms, and finally, we’re returning to Wisley to get an update on the science team’s honey fungus research. 

The music you hear at the very beginning of the show was created by Cosmo Sheldrake. The sounds you hear -- apart from the accompanying piano -- are from recordings of oyster mushrooms devouring a copy of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. You can listen to the entire song here.

Links:

Saprotrophic fungi

Mycorrhizal fungi

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures

Rebel Gardening: A Beginner’s Handbook to Creating an Organic Urban Garden

Honey Fungus: identifying mushrooms

10 fun facts about fungi