PRIZES to win! PROMOTIONS

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

Mushroom Day

A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Fungal Lives

Alison Pouliot Stuart Patience

$29.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Chicago University Press
20 December 2025
Series: Earth Day
An hourly guide that spotlights twenty-four fungus species as they spread spores, find food, and adapt to a changing planet.

On this mushroom-filled day, ecologist Alison Pouliot tours the world to introduce readers to a fascinating variety of fungi. Each chapter of Mushroom Day introduces a single fungus during a single hour, highlighting twenty-four different species.

In the dark of the night, the green glow of the ghost fungus guides us into the forest to learn the mysteries of bioluminescence. At dawn, we awaken to find a fairy ring of mushrooms that has appeared overnight like something out of folklore. But we don't have much time to linger, as we must reach the Italian forest before other porcino hunters forage the morning's fattest and finest. In the heat of the afternoon, the ripe stench of the stinkhorn might send us out of the woods, while the enticing aroma of the aniseed funnel lures us back in. Late in the evening we spy a mushroom known as the witches' cauldron and wonder what it might just tell us about the future. By the end of our mushroom day, we'll have glimpsed the diversity of this unique kingdom, met fungus friends that feed and fascinate, and learned how humans can encourage their flourishing.

For each hour, celebrated artist Stuart Patience has depicted these scenes with evocative pen and ink illustrations. Working together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Pouliot and Patience have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two—and a true gift for foragers, mycophiles, and anyone who wants to stop and appreciate fungi.
By:  
Illustrated by:   Stuart Patience
Imprint:   Chicago University Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 152mm,  Width: 121mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   340g
ISBN:   9780226838441
ISBN 10:   0226838447
Series:   Earth Day
Pages:   216
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Preface Artist’s Note Midnight         Midnight Disco (Europe) 1 AM               Ghost Fungus (Australia) 2 AM               Honey Fungus (Worldwide) 3 AM               Devil’s Bolete (Europe) 4 AM               Ergot (Worldwide) 5 AM               Hou Tou Gu (Asia, Europe, North America) 6 AM               Fairy Ring Mushroom (Worldwide) 7 AM               Porcino (Worldwide) 8 AM               Chi-Ngulu-Ngulu (Africa) 9 AM               Veiled Polypore (Asia and North America) 10 AM             Lawyer’s Wig (Worldwide) 11 AM             Golden Chanterelle (Northern Hemisphere) Noon               Arctic Orangebush Lichen (Canadian Arctic) 1 PM               Penicillium (Worldwide) 2 PM               Branched Shanklet (Europe and North America) 3 PM               Sandy Stiltball (Worldwide) 4 PM               Aniseed Funnel (Asia, Europe, North America) 5 PM               Anemone Stinkhorn (Australia, Introduced Worldwide) 6 PM               Hairy Nuts Disco (Europe) 7 PM               Red-Green Truffle Milky (North America) 8 PM               Horn Stalkball (Worldwide) 9 PM               Inky Cap (Worldwide) 10 PM             Vegetable Caterpillar (Australia and New Zealand) 11 PM             Witches Cauldron (Europe and North America) Epilogue Acknowledgments Further Reading Index

Alison Pouliot is an ecologist and photographer with a passion for fungi. She divides her time between the northern and southern hemispheres to ensure that she experiences two autumns per year in the pursuit of fungi. She has written several books, including Funga Obscura: Photo Journeys Among Fungi and Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms: Forays with Fungi Across Hemispheres, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Stuart Patience is a London-based illustrator whose hand-drawn work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times, New Scientist, and the World Wildlife Fund.

Reviews for Mushroom Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Fungal Lives

“Wow! What a cool way to learn about fungi. Each of the twenty-four mushrooms described here is a gateway to an aspect of mycology: lion’s mane and cultivation, the ghost fungus and bioluminescence, the veiled polypore and symbiosis. In a style both easygoing and thoughtful, Pouliot delivers enough science to be accurate but not so much that a newbie will stumble—no easy feat. While this book will delight folks at all stages in their fungal journey, it will be especially inviting to those just starting out. And Stuart Patience’s graphic illustrations? Simply gorgeous. Mushroom Day is in every way a great addition to any mycophile’s library.” * Eugenia Bone, author of ""Have a Good Trip: Exploring the Magic Mushroom Experience"" * “A feast of fungal wonders and superb drawings. Mushroom Day is a fabulous illustration of symbiosis: between fungi and animals, fungi and plants, science and art—and more—with creativity at its core. A delight!” * Giuliana Furci, founding director, the Fungi Foundation * “From the luminous to the ghoulish, the fragrant to the stinky, the tiny to the giant, Pouliot showcases twenty-four very different fungi—often taking the reader to far-flung places across the globe to find habitats where these special fungi live. And no matter the time of day or night, there’s a fungus of relevance. Whether fungi are entirely novel to you or you are already a fungus fan, enjoy the adventure of discovering this often-overlooked world, as revealed through this intriguing journey through the second-largest kingdom of life.” * Peter Buchanan, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (Aotearoa—New Zealand) * “Mushroom Day is popular science at its very best—knowledge spiced with passion for the fungal kingdom. The combination of evocative and diverse stories of fungal wonders is captivating.” * Anders Dahlberg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences *


See Also