Fungarium

Authors: Ester Gaya and Katie Scott. 80 pp. 374 x 279 mm. Hardback, ISBN 9781787415126, Templar Publishing in association with Kew Publishing, 2020.

Illustrator Katie Scott returns to the Welcome to the Museum series with exquisite, detailed images of some of the most fascinating living organisms on this planet - fungi. From the fungi we see on supermarket shelves to fungi like penicillium that have shaped human history, this is the definitive introduction to what fungi are and just how vital they are to the world's ecosystem.

Created in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the captivating and fascinating text is written by Kew mycologists David L. Hawksworth, Laura M. Suz, Pepijn W. Kooij, Kare Liimatainen, Tom Prescott, Lee Davies and Ester Gaya. 

Ester Gaya is a senior research leader at Kew. She began her career in mycology in Spain and after some time in the USA decided to settle in the UK. She has spent the past 20 years researching fungi. She is especially fascinated by lichens and tries to understand their evolution.

Katie Scott graduated from University of Brighton in 2011. Her work draws influences from traditional medical and botanical illustration, both in aesthetic and subject matter. Her work plays with the ideas of scientific uncertainty and speculation, fabricating the inner and outer workings of the world. Her illustrations depict a familiar yet fantasy vision of plants, humans and minerals.