Allen and Miller are enchanted by what they describe as the wondrous and mystical world of fungi, and they’re part of a growing community of people working to protect them. Nearly all life-forms depend on the estimated 2.5 million fungi species on Earth, and they contribute an estimated $54 trillion to the global economy as food, medicine and more, according to a study published in Springer Nature. Despite their essential role, they’ve been largely neglected by conservation efforts even as they face increasing threats from pollution, habitat loss and climate change. That’s been changing in the last decade thanks in part to citizen scientists and a greater understanding of fungi diversity.
To aficionados, fungi are freaky, mystical and overlooked. They’re helping scientists learn more
Gina Min, a member of the California Lichen Society, looks closely at lichen on a large rock during a CALS field trip at the University of California, Davis’ McLaughlin Reserve in Lower Lake, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
ANGWIN, Calif. (AP) — Jessica Allen crunched through fallen leaves among Manzanita trees hunting for something few have spotted before: the Manzanita butter clump — a rare and little-known yellow mushroom found, so far, only along North America’s Western coastlines.
It was last seen here in California’s Napa County two years ago, and Allen, a fungi scientist, was keen to find it. But within minutes, something caught her attention. She knelt, pulled a hand lens to her eye, and peered nose-close into a rock: lichens — a type of fungi — bursting with dazzling shapes, textures and colors.
“That was a good rock,” said ecologist Jesse Miller, president of the California Lichen Society.
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