Fantastic fungi
2020
with

Richard Jacob

Past President, Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club

Fantastic Fungi— The lure of local mushrooms

Mushroom enthusiast Richard Jacobs shares resources for current and would-be mushroomers.

The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center Sewickley, PA

Film Synopsis

The magical world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth.

Imagine an organism that feeds you, heals you, reveals secrets of the universe, and could help save the planet. Now imagine that it’s in the ground beneath your feet. Fantastic Fungi is a journey into the mysterious world of mycelium and mushrooms.

Fantastic Fungi is a vivid journey into the mysterious subterranean world of mycelium and its fruit—the mushroom. A story that begins 3.5 billion years ago, fungi makes the soil that supports life, with its mycelial networks connecting vast systems of roots from plants and trees all over the planet, like an underground internet. Through the eyes of mycologists, like renowned expert Paul Stamets; mushroom enthusiasts, like best-selling author Michael Pollan; and amateur naturalists, like Eugenia Bone, we will learn about the power, beauty, and complexity of the fungi kingdom.

About the Speaker

Richard Jacob, PhD identifies and quantifies proteins and peptides. His work has taken him from his hometown of Cambridge, England, to Germany and the U.S. After finding morels growing in his Pittsburgh backyard, he joined the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club to learn more. This new hobby complements his cooking and photography hobbies. Recently, Jacob used his scientific background to pioneer the club’s DNA barcoding project.