Dozens of claims are made for medicinal mushroom products. The Bristol Fungarium, for example, sells extracts of fungi that it says relieve anxiety, prevent wrinkle formation, stabilise blood pressure and ease hot flushes. From heart health and type 2 diabetes to allergies and cancers, the list of ailments that mushrooms are said to alleviate is long. But are these claims supported by scientific evidence? Or are medicinal mushrooms just the latest fad? Planetarium will give readers a beautifully illustrated insight into our exploration of the universe so far.

The illustrations are gorgeous, of course, but there isn't even the smallest attempt at least some sense of proportion; plus - even thought this is a completely personal problem, I admit it - I find that this kind of encyclopaedic books work much better with actual photos than with drawings. After all, wouldn't it be much easier to recognize a fungus in real life if you firstly saw it in a photo compared to a drawing, no matter how beautiful and accurate? I understand that recognizing fungi in the wild is not the main aim of the book, but I still feel like I would have learned much more from real life photos. Veteran broadcaster Sheila Dillon, who was diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow in 2011, shared some personal information while presenting a recent episode of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme. She began taking mushroom supplements after discovering that patients in Japan were given them to help deal with the effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and that there was, she told listeners, “a good deal of evidence” that they did. The last time she saw her oncologist, he told her she was “in danger of becoming a super-responder”.Aunque los hongos son un grupo de organismos (reino) que no pertenece ni a las plantas ni a los animales, contrariamente a lo que podríamos pensar, están más emparentados con estos últimos. Contienen quitina, que es similar a la queratina del cabello y piel de los humanos; no producen sus nutrientes, como las plantas y la fotosíntesis, sino que deben engullirlos de materia orgánica. ¿Quizá por eso serán tan recurridos en las dietas vegetarianas? What you learn about fungi is incredibly fascinating. For example, of the estimated 2.2 to 3.8 million different species of fungi on Earth, fewer than 5 percent have been identified! They are so diverse, and full of surprises. A lichen, for example, is actually made up of two different organisms functioning as a single, stable unit: a fungus, and an alga or cyanobacterium, which is it's source of food. Sort of like mating with a grocery store owner. Pretty clever!

When I first saw this book (and the others from the same series) at the bookstore, I thought it was meant for young kids; so I was elated when I found out that these are aimed to an adult public as well. I'm always happy when I find an adult picture book - plus, I am a huge mushroom nerd. I wanted to make sure that this was not a cover-buy or, in general, that I wasn't just buying this because it looks good (which it does, o so much), so I decided to read the kindle version first. And, well, I didn't really like it. Ester Gaya is a senior research leader at Kew. She began her career in mycology in Spain and after some time in the USA decided to settle in the UK. She has spent the past 20 years researching fungi. She is especially fascinated by lichens and tries to understand their evolution. Numerous other bequests and donations over the years have greatly enhanced the collection, alongside many specimens collected by Kew staff from all corners of the globe. Fungarium is aimed at adult visitors at Kew and joins the imprint’s “flagship” Welcome to the Museum series, which has sold nearly one million copies worldwide in 28 languages. Extracts of turkey tail have been used as mainstream cancer treatments since the 1970s in Japan and 1980s in China. “Turkey tail is an immune system regulator,” says Baxter. “It’s very good for lung cancers and a lot of different cancers.”

Success!

Our specimens help us identify and describe species that are yet unknown (which is approximately over 95% of all fungal species). They also allow us to investigate the interactions between and distribution of plants and fungi, as well as understand and analyse the impact of invasive species, pathogens and climate change.

Who isn't excited about fungus? Unfortunately too many people, which is why I am so pleased that this book exists. A favourite Christmas present, this has left be with the New Year's resolution of becoming the best amateur mycologist I can be - something I had forgotten mattered to me so much despite a favourite series of unfortunate events book being The Grim Grotto (no spoilers on that one here - that is for another time).Tour the galleries and learn why fungi are more related to animals than plants. Discover how they evolved. Find out about their amazing variety of shapes and colors, some of them alien-like, almost monstrous, and disgustingly smelly, others incredibly beautiful.”

Chaga, which grows on birch trees and resembles burnt charcoal, prevents wrinkles, helps counter IBD and fights bacterial and viral infections, according to some of those that sell it. Cordyceps militaris, the “zombie fungus” that inspired the HBO series The Last of Us, is reported to improve exercise performance, act as an antidepressant and boost female libido. In none of these cases however, are such claims supported by well-designed clinical trials. The second book, Fungarium, in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is written by the Kew mycology team and illustrated by Katie Scott – the artist behind Animalium and Botanicum in the same series. The book is the second title that Big Picture Press has created in partnership with Kew, the first, Botanicum, published in 2o16 and was written by Kew’s Director of Science, Kathy Willis. Our fungal collections are particularly rich in type specimens: original material that is used to make clear links between the fungus as a living organism and the name applied to it. A digitised collection can be accessed online for free by researchers from anywhere in the world. It helps make research more efficient by sharing our knowledge with as many people as possible. Product restrictions: We are unable to ship seeds, plants, bulbs, inflammable products, food and beverages outside of the United Kingdom Xmas Delivery DatesLos humanos vivimos en una eterna relación de amor-odio con ellos. Gracias a ellos tenemos productos como el café, chocolate, quesos, bebidas fermentadas, vinagre y entre una larga lista de productos. Gracias a ellos la madera y las hojas muertas se degradan. Nuestro correcto funcionamiento del sistema digestivo depende de muchos de ellos y lo que es más, por el lado de la farmacéutica les estamos tremendamente agradecidos puesto que algunos de los medicamentos más importantes que tenemos provienen de ellos y siguen estudiándose para encontrar otros nuevos. Por el otro lado, luchamos para evitar que maten los cultivos, que echen a perder nuestra comida o que sencillamente muramos envenenados por ellos. BBC Radio 4 presenter Sheila Dillon recently revealed she has taken mushroom supplements after her cancer treatment. Photograph: BBC Under UK law, food labelling cannot “attribute to any foodstuff the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease”. Such claims fall under medicines regulations and require marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). A spokesperson for the MHRA said it had received no marketing applications for products containing lion’s mane, turkey tail, reishi, cordyceps, chaga or shiitake, and that a number of retailers had been warned about making health claims for mushroom products and use of the term “medicinal mushrooms”.