On todays THE FOOD SEEN, author Eugenia Bone shares her revelations from the weird world of mushrooms in her book, Mycophilia. Youll learn how to start foraging fungi through groups like the NY Mycological Society (of which shes President), and how to best understand and respect its omnipresence. At an estimated 1.5 million species, fungi is second only to incests in its number and diversity, yet only 5% have been identified. It outnumbers plants by a ratio of 6:1, makes up 25% of the Earths biomass, and is the biggest single living organism at 2,220 acres in size, weighing over 6 tons, living in the Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Fungi is not just a mushroom joke anymore. This program has been brought to you by Whole Foods. Insects and fungi, in terms of diversity, are the dominant complex lifeforms. Theres never been a plant on land that hasnt had a fungus living in it or on it. -- Eugenia Bone on THE FOOD SEEN