Book Review: Fungi in the Environment. British Mycological Society Symposia No. 25

Abstract

I volunteered to review this book with a preconceived notion of the term "environment" as forests, streams, oceans, glaciers, deserts, houses, etc. The first four chapters thus took me somewhat aback: "Imaging complex nutrient dynamics in mycelial networks," "Natural history of the fungal hypha: how Woronin bodies suppolil: a multicellular lifestyle," "Environmental sensing and the filamentous fungal lifestyle," and "Mathematical modelling of the form and function of fungal mycelia." Adjusting my vision to the reality that fungi are always in an environment, and environments may range from the atomic to beyond the planet, I plunged ahead. Well, "struggled" is perhaps the better word. As is true of most multi-authored-books, the different chapters range from very accessible to hyper-sophisticated. This is not a complaint, rather a recognition that not every chapter will be rewarding to every reader. I suspect, indeed, that the authors of some chapters will not be able to follow certain other chapters without considerable preparation and effort.

Citation

Trappe, Jim. 2008. Book Review: Fungi in the Environment. British Mycological Society Symposia No. 25. Inoculum, Vol. 59, No. 4, p. 70-71