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Out now: Planet Fungi
With stunning macrophotography alongside fascinating science stories and pioneering explorations, this book showcases the extraordinary beauty, diversity and importance of fungi.

Discover the enchanting world of fungi: www.publish.csiro.au/book/8150/

#PlanetFungi #FungiFriday
The book 'Planet Fungi: A Photographer's Foray' in a park setting. The cover features a strikingly beautiful mushroom with a thick white stem and round blue cap.
August 1, 2025 at 1:44 AM
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The blue mushroom #PlanetFungi pin. A rare and desirable treasure that I keep hidden deep in the jungle, protected by highly trained funnel web spiders and elite airborne mosquito teams.
January 24, 2025 at 8:27 PM
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Step into the surreal and spectacular world of fungi with these beautiful photos from Stephen Axford 🍄✨

1) Coprinopsis pulchricaerulia
2) Crepidotus cf. boninensis
3) Marasmius sp.
4) Omphalotus nidiformis

#FungiFriday #PlanetFungi
Two short mushrooms with fuzzy white stems and rounded blue caps nestled together on a log. The blue caps are covered in thousands of tiny white warts, giving the appearance that the mushrooms are covered in an ethereal, glistening frost. Photo by Stephen Axford. Peach-coloured fan-shaped fungi of different sizes growing in a cluster on a log. Their delicate, radiating gills are prominently visible. Photo by Stephen Axford. Three hot pink mushrooms with slender stems and conical caps, set against a dark background. The gills beneath the caps are clearly visible and a lighter colour of pink. Photo by Stephen Axford. A cluster of bioluminescent fungi glowing an eerie green in the dark. The mushrooms have broad, flat caps with gills along the underside that are illuminated by their own light. Photo by Stephen Axford.
September 19, 2025 at 2:36 AM
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From bioluminescent mushrooms to delicate fans & vivid colours, fungi challenge how we see the natural world.

5) Phallus multicolor
6) Clavogaster virescens
7) Campanella sp.

Discover more of Stephen's stunning fungi photos in Planet Fungi: www.publish.csiro.au/book/8150

#FungiFriday #PlanetFungi
A mushroom with a densely-wrinkled yellow cap and an orange, net-like veil extending from its cap to the forest floor. Several flies perch on the cap and veil. Photo by Stephen Axford. A cluster of four fungi with vivid blue bulbous caps and thick cream-coloured stems. They are growing in a leant-over position pointing down a mossy embankment. Photo by Stephen Axford. Cluster of several fan-shaped fungi with cream-coloured, wavy gills and light brown edges. The delicate gill texture is prominent, giving the fungi a translucent appearance. Photo by Stephen Axford. The book 'Planet Fungi: A Photographer's Foray'. The cover features a strikingly beautiful mushroom with a thick white stem and round blue cap.
September 19, 2025 at 2:36 AM
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Welcome to Planet Fungi 🪐🍄

These photos may look like science fiction, but you haven't landed on another planet – these otherworldly organisms are here on Earth.

1) Marasmius sp.
2) Pseudocolus fusiformis
3) Cookeina insititia
4) Physcia jackii & Teloschistes sieberianus

#FungiFriday #PlanetFungi
Vivid pinkish-red mushrooms with delicate bell-shaped caps and long, slender stems tower above the leaf litter like fairy skyscrapers. At their base are scattered three more of their kind, reproduced in miniature. Photo by Stephen Axford. A textured three-pronged fungi reaches up out of the ground. It is white at the base graduating to orange at the top, and its shape is reminiscent of a grasped claw. Photo by Stephen Axford. A group of cup-shaped fungi clustered together, facing the same direction like sunflowers following the sun. The inside of each cup is a creamy-pink colour, and the rim of each cup is fringed by lash-like triangular hairs. Photo by Stephen Axford. Two fungi compete for real estate on a rotting log. The left fungus is a pale grey-green with a multitude of dark curled cups, reminiscent of barnacles, whilst the right side fungus is bright orange and looks like many sections of peeled mandarin skin. Photo by Stephen Axford.
July 18, 2025 at 4:17 AM
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5) Roridomyces phyllostachydis
6) Gibellula sp. inhabits a spider
7) Roridomyces austrororidus
8) Cordyceps militaris

Love these spooky stunners? Discover more fantastical fungi in Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray: www.publishing.csiro.au/book/8150

#FungiFriday #PlanetFungi
A cluster of four mushrooms with stems glowing an eerie green, protruding from a decaying log. Their caps are turned away to show deeply defined white gills on the undersides. Photo by Stephen Axford. A dead spider sprawls, pierced by ghostly white fungal stalks erupting from its body. Photo by Stephen Axford. A mushroom with a speckled brown cap and glistening white stem glows ethereally amidst green foliage. Photo by Stephen Axford. Bright orange fungal stalks with textured tips writhe upward from a clump of dark soil, like fiery red tentacles. Photo by Stephen Axford.
October 31, 2025 at 1:38 AM
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Wishing you a fabulously festive #FungiFriday! 🎄🍄

📷 by Stephen Axford:
1) Gliophorus graminicolor
2) Cruentomycena viscidocruenta
3) Roridomyces phyllostachydis
4) Marasmius sp.

#PlanetFungi #Fungi #Mycology
A bright green mushroom with a glistening stem stands upright amidst a patch of moss. Photo by Stephen Axford. A cluster of four deep red mushrooms with glistening stems stand together on a rotting log. Their caps are angled away from the viewer, exposing the deep red gills on the underside. Photo by Stephen Axford. A cluster of four mushrooms with stems glowing an eerie green, protruding from a decaying log. Their caps are turned away to show deeply defined white gills on the undersides. Photo by Stephen Axford. Vivid pinkish-red mushrooms with delicate bell-shaped caps and long, slender stems tower above the leaf litter like fairy skyscrapers. At their base are scattered three more of their kind, reproduced in miniature. Photo by Stephen Axford.
December 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
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It's the spookiest #FungiFriday of the year! 👻🍄

We're sharing these hauntingly beautiful fungi photos in the spirit of the spooky season – beware to those with arachnophobia, trypophobia or mycophobia...

1) Cookeina tricholoma
2) Ramaria sp.
3) Mycelium
4) Cyttaria septentrionalis

#PlanetFungi
Two crimson cup fungi rise from dark soil, each bristling with fine, translucent hairs that catch the light. One twists into a clasping spiral, whilst the other is more cup-like, resembling an open maw thronged by needle-like teeth. Photo by Stephen Axford. A dense cluster of coral-like fungus rises from mossy ground, each of its pale pink branches thick and fleshy at the base before splitting into dozens of finger-like tips. The smooth, skin-like texture and hollow folds evoke something disturbingly organic. Photo by Stephen Axford. White, cobweb-like fungal threads stretch across damp, decaying wood. Photo by Stephen Axford. Clusters of fleshy, beige fungal spheres cling tightly to a thin branch, their rippled, swollen surfaces resembling unnatural growths. From the center hangs a bulbous sac that is covered in a lattice of deep yellow cavities. Photo by Stephen Axford.
October 31, 2025 at 1:38 AM
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In their book Planet Fungi: A Photographer's Foray, Catherine Marciniak, Stephen Axford and Tom May unveil the beauty and ecological wonder of fungi through stunning imagery and fascinating science stories.

Out in August, pre-order today: www.publish.csiro.au/book/8150

#FungiFriday #PlanetFungi
Planet Fungi
Fungi are nature’s great networkers, weaving connections, driving transformation and thriving in the most unexpected places. Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray is a feast for the eyes, with stunning...
www.publish.csiro.au
July 18, 2025 at 4:19 AM
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Behind every great book are talented creators – in this case a trio of passionate mycophiles!

Stephen Axford, Catherine Marciniak and Tom May were thrilled to receive their author copies of Planet Fungi: A Photographer's Foray.

#PlanetFungi #FungiFriday
Stephen Axford and Catherine Marciniak stand together in a forest, smiling and holding a copy of their book Planet Fungi. Tom May sits in front of his study bookshelf, smiling and holding a copy of the book Planet Fungi.
July 25, 2025 at 3:37 AM
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Discover more fabulous fungi in Planet Fungi, by Catherine Marciniak, Stephen Axford & Tom May. Available from your local bookshop or online: www.publishing.csiro.au/book/8150

Order via our website by 22 Dec & use promo code GIFT25 for a festive discount!

#PlanetFungi #FungiFriday #Fungi #Mycology
Planet Fungi
Fungi are nature’s great networkers, weaving connections, driving transformation and thriving in the most unexpected places. Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray is a feast for the eyes, with stunning imagery and pioneering explorations that reveal the intricacies of fungal biology and their ecological significance. It was a chance encounter in the forest with a purple mushroom that completely changed photographer Stephen Axford’s view of the world. He became obsessed with documenting the largely unexplored kingdom of fungi and, alongside his partner, Catherine Marciniak, capturing the beauty and diversity of fungi in some of the most remote regions on Earth. There are an estimated 2–5 million species of fungi found all over the world, yet with only around 155,000 described so far, there is so much left to discover. From glowing mushrooms in ancient forests to bizarre, alien-like forms, these extraordinary organisms will challenge how you see the natural world. “A stunning exploration of a hidden world. These are among the most remarkable images of fungi I’ve ever seen, woven into relation by a series of writings that beautifully illuminate the mysteries and wonders of fungal life.” – Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life “A wondrous journey through epic fungal encounters, with sublime photography and beautiful tales.” – Giuliana Furci, Founding Director, Fungi Foundation
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December 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
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With fascinating science stories accompanied by stunning macrophotography from Stephen Axford, this enchanting book is fungi-tastic – and it’s almost here!

Out in August, get your copy of Planet Fungi from your favourite bookshop or online: www.publish.csiro.au/book/8150

#PlanetFungi #FungiFriday
Planet Fungi
Fungi are nature’s great networkers, weaving connections, driving transformation and thriving in the most unexpected places. Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray is a feast for the eyes, with stunning...
www.publish.csiro.au
July 25, 2025 at 3:37 AM