Magical world of mushrooms

Biologist delves into the wonders of fungi and their solutions to the planet's problems

Close-up of a copy of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. He seeded the book with a variety of oyster mushroom that ate its way through the book. British biologist Merlin Sheldrake holding a copy of his debut book, Entangled Life.
British biologist Merlin Sheldrake holding a copy of his debut book, Entangled Life. PHOTO: MERLIN SHELDRAKE
Close-up of a copy of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. He seeded the book with a variety of oyster mushroom that ate its way through the book. British biologist Merlin Sheldrake holding a copy of his debut book, Entangled Life.
Close-up of a copy of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. He seeded the book with a variety of oyster mushroom that ate its way through the book. PHOTO: DRK VIDEOGRAPHY
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Most authors do not like to eat their words, but British biologist Merlin Sheldrake has done so with enthusiasm.

Upon receiving a copy of his debut book, Entangled Life, he seeded its pages with Pleurotus mycelium, a kind of oyster mushroom.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 28, 2020, with the headline Magical world of mushrooms. Subscribe