THE KINGDOM: HOW FUNGI MADE OUR WORLD

Neither plant nor animal, fungi has form their own biological  kingdom. They’ve have been around for a billion years and kick-started evolution on land. They ate the rocks which made the soil that allowed plants to colonise land, changing the atmosphere and sparking the evolution of large animals – including us. It was fungi that rebooted life after each mass extinction in Earth’s tattered history. Without fungi we wouldn’t have the planet we have today. Yet, they are the most misunderstood and least known life forms. Today we rely on them not only for the good things of life like beer and bread and chocolate, but also for many of the life-saving drugs we depend on.

By looking at fungi in the context of an epic evolutionary story, scientists are making discoveries that will change our lives. Some fungi will save us, others will threaten us and we are just beginning to understand which is which. This is natural history that matters.