Crunching through fallen leaves beneath Manzanita trees, Jessica Allen was on a quest for a rare and elusive prize: the Manzanita butter clump.
This little-known yellow mushroom has, so far, only been spotted along North America's Western coastlines, with its last recorded sighting in California's Napa County two years prior. Yet, within moments of her search, the fungi scientist’s attention was diverted by a dazzling array of lichens – a type of fungi – bursting with intricate shapes, textures, and colours on a nearby rock.
