In an Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, Two Mycologists Catalogue Hundreds of Fantastical Fungi
Scientists believe that less than 4% percent of the world’s fungi have been documented, which adds up to only 150,000 species described out of an estimated 2.2-3.8 million worldwide. Mycologists Danny Newman and Roo Vandegrift have spent the last 12 years focusing on locations impacted by the climate crisis and increasing human interference, like Ecuador’s Reserva Los Cedros.
Got a chance to look through very old illustrations while visiting my family- these are all from when I studied abroad in Peru, back in 2014! It cracks me up how dirty they are- I mean, I was living out of a tent in the cloud forest getting eaten by bugs, but dang! In case you ever wondered why I’m wormyorchids- pretty sure I came up with that name while weeding around these beauties.