Join us at Brookline Booksmith to celebrate the release of The Complete Fungi with author David Hibbett, in conversation with Maria Pinto.

This event is cosponsored by The Boston Mycological Club (BMC). BMC is a community of mushroom enthusiasts dedicated to the study and enjoyment of fungi.

Long Now Boston also co-sponsors this event. Long Now Boston encourages long-term awareness and responsibility on issues that shape a sustainable world for our descendants.

The Complete Fungi: Evolution, Diversity and Ecology

A richly illustrated natural history of fungi

Occupying an entire kingdom of their own, fungi comprise over 155,000 species that include yeasts, rusts, and molds as well as the more familiar mushrooms and toadstools that we see in the wild and on our plates. Found worldwide, they represent a diverse group of organisms, with some living freely in soil and water and others forming parasitic or symbiotic relationships with plants, algae, and animals. This book presents a broad and accessible overview of fungal diversity, evolution, and ecology. It describes the various forms of fungi and covers topics ranging from fungal origins and reproduction to fungi’s historical and cultural significance for humankind. Blending stunning illustrations with a lively and engaging text, The Complete Fungi is a must for fungi enthusiasts and armchair naturalists alike.

  • Features a wealth of photos and infographics
  • Discusses the relationship of fungi to plants, animals, and protists in the tree of life
  • Describes the features that distinguish fungi from funguslike organisms such as slime molds and oomycetes
  • Highlights the major life-forms of fungi such as yeasts and filamentous fungi
  • Looks at the elaborate life cycles of fungi and how they reproduce sexually and asexually
  • Sheds light on the multicellularity in fungi and the diverse ways fruiting bodies adapt to the challenges of spore dispersal
  • Explores interactions of fungi with plants and animals

David Hibbett is the Andrea and Peter Klein Professor of Biology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a former President of the Mycological Society of America, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hibbett’s research focuses on fungal evolutionary biology. The Complete Fungi is his first book for a general audience.

Maria Pinto is a Boston-area author and naturalist whose writing has appeared in Science, Orion, and Obsidian, among other publications. She leads regular fungal forays at Arnold Arboretum, and her book of lyric essays inspired by fungi, Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival was shortlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, is a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award, and was the recipient of the Don Kissel Prize for Nonfiction.