Field mycology in practice at the recent German Mycological Society in Springe (DGfM) - zoom in for details and see the amazing illustrations!

Beyond the science, the week was filled with memorable cultural and social events:
🍷 Welcome at @FutureAfrica
🔬 FABI, UPLC & NMR lab tours
🖼️ Private tour of the Javett Art Centre
🐘 Safari in Pilanesberg @funguscrous.bsky.social @ms-fungi.bsky.social @bernardslippers.bsky.social

1/🌍 The Mycobiomics team from the Czech Republic, Germany, Kenya, South Africa, and Thailand came together for an exciting expedition in the biodiverse Arabuko Sokoke Forest, north of Malindi, Kenya. 🍄🧵 @ms-fungi.bsky.social @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social @lisha-hzi.bsky.social

2/ Hosted by Josphat Matasyoh (@EgertonUniversity), the team explored multiple sites to collect soil, mushrooms, and insect- & plant-associated fungi in one of East Africa’s richest biodiversity hotspots. 🌱🌿🪲 @ms-fungi.bsky.social @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social @lisha-hzi.bsky.social

3/ Each day ended with lab sessions: processing samples, exchanging techniques, and diving deep into the shared passion for fungal diversity. These moments of collaboration were as valuable as the time in the forest. 🔬💬✨ @ms-fungi.bsky.social @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social

4/ From forest floors to lab benches to conference halls, this collaboration is a powerful reminder of how global partnerships drive science forward, especially in uncovering the hidden world of fungi. 🍄💡

5/ The expedition didn’t end in the field. Most of the team then travelled to 🇿🇦 to join the Mycobiomics meeting at #FABI, continuing discussions & strengthening international networks in fungal research @ms-fungi.bsky.social @funguscrous.bsky.social @nerimanyilmaz82.bsky.social

1/ 🚨 A big update: Our paper on #Bisifusarium taxonomy is now out!
This genus (formerly Fusarium dimerum complex) is linked to cheese 🧀, soil & arid plants 🌵, and even opportunistic human infections 🧬 @funguscrous.bsky.social @westerdijkinst.bsky.social

DNA sequences as type meeting at Westerdijk - is today the day that we change life as you knew it? Cobus Visagie kicks it up a gear

Neil Gow delivering a wonderful keynote at ICFG17 in Dublin, highlighting the negative effects of fungal infections on humans

In oktober ruilde Geert de Snoo zijn directeurschap na vijf jaar bij het NIOO in voor zijn nieuwe rol bij de KNAW. Lees in dit interview waar De Snoo trots op terugblikt binnen zijn tijd als NIOO-directeur en hoe hij vooruitkijkt naar de toekomst: nioo.knaw.nl/nl/nieuws/vi...

During surveys for Gibellula attenboroughii on cave-dwelling, orb-weaving zombie spiders in the UK, a new species of Samsoniella, S. scoliopterygis, was found infecting moths in the same caves.
doi.org/10.3114/fuse...

Along came a zombie spider: Gibellula attenboroughii, a unique fungus killing spiders in caves in the British Isles has been named after Sir David Attenborough, a pioneer of BBC natural history programmes, which indirectly led to the discovery of this fungus.
🔗 doi.org/10.3114/fuse...

Join us at the 2025 Westerdijk Spring Symposium!

📅 When: April 7–8, 2025
📍 Where: Utrecht, the Netherlands
🎯 Theme: DNA Sequences as Type

For more Information and Registration
👉 ymlp.com/z4iFHn

Hi Eric
I can try - you might not find it again 😳

Oh YES! Eric - we need to culture this as well - you seem to be collecting like a demon! Santa appears to favour mycologists!

Wow Eric - lovely find! I would be happy to culture and sequence it for you - there are several species on Claviceps, and it would be interesting to see which you collected 👍

The branched stalk of Dendrocollybia racemosa growing among the slender fruiting bodies of a Collybia species.

View through the stereomicroscope of a brownish piece of old mushroom with black sclerotia from which the fruiting body of Dendrocollybia is growing. Three fruiting bodies of a Collybia species are also growing from the old fruiting body.

One of my highlights of the past mushroom season was finding this Dendrocollybia racemosa 🍄📷 It grows in fruiting bodies of Russula species, where it then forms black sclerotia from which the fruiting body grows the next year. I found it growing between a Collybia species with the same ecology.

New publication 📜

This re-evaluation of the Fusarium sambucinum species complex clarifies its diversity and solidifies its role as a major producer of harmful plant pathogens and mycotoxins.

Read here👇
doi.org/10.3114/sim....

IMC12 Fungal Landscapes Movie YouTube video by Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

Loved this new work of art produced for IMC12. It was so cool on the big screen! Now we can all enjoy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUct...

📢Our paper on mycological long-term studies in tropical regions was finally published in #IMAFungus! It emphasizes results in the Pakaraima Mountains of #Guyana, but also mentions other long-term projects such as ours in #CusucoNationalPark in #Honduras. doi.org/10.1186/s430...

The Silent Pandemic of Antifungal Resistance As the world grapples with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, another insidious threat looms large: drug-resistant fungi.

The Silent Pandemic of Antifungal Resistance www.the-scientist.com/the-silent-p... interview with @fhagen.bsky.social #fungi

🎙️ New Interview Alert

The Scientist sat down with @fhagen.bsky.social from the Westerdijk Institute to discuss a global health challenge: the silent pandemic of antifungal resistance.

Read here:
www.the-scientist.com/the-silent-p...

Strobilomyces strobilaceus, or "old man of the woods"

Strobilomyces strobilaceus, or "old man of the woods" is found solitary or in groups in deciduous or coniferous forests in low mountain ranges. With a 4-10 cm cap it is a small member of the Boletales. Edible, but the taste is bitter and therefore not recommended. #fungifact 🍄📷🦠🧪 #fungifriends

Shepard’s crook disease of Protea caffra caused by Colletotrichum along the Swartberg Pass in the Western Cape of South Africa

Assistant Professor in Fungal Biology University of California, Riverside is hiring. Apply now!

My department is hiring a fungal biologist! aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF01990

Polyphagous shothole borer with Neocosmospora killing oak trees in Somerset West, South Africa. Seems unstoppable…

Eustilbum aureum
Another resincolous fungus! Some weird stuff has happened with how to sort this fungus, but I think it's settled now. Looks a lot like a stubble lichen morphologically, but are (insertae sedis) placed more closely to powdery mildews.

13 years ago I found this nice little marine fungus in the Coorong in southern Australia. It has distinctive wavy setae. I was new to phylogenetics, so when I found that it was not in a known family or order I shelved it because it was too hard and I was not confident enough to publish it. 1/3

We are now also on Bluesky!
zenodo.org/communities/...
Here is the link to the previous publications of our @MSCActions project that is being continuously updated