Funga Obscura

**Longlisted, Indie Book Awards 2026, Illustrated Non-Fiction**

'I scanned the forest floor around me. I couldn't yet see fungi, but I could smell them. Lowering my nose to the ground, I inhaled a distinctive fungal funk. I rolled over some bark and there they were! Gossamer threads of mycelia wended their way through the layers, weaving them together. Soon these furtive fungi would fashion their mycelia into mushrooms and heave their way through the earth.'

This book is about fungi, and the photography of fungi. The title Funga Obscura unites the two. Beginning in elemental landscapes of ice and rock, the book traces the evolutionary path of fungi as enablers of life on land, and creators of soils and forests. Crossing continents and ecosystems, we navigate lichen-covered landscapes, crawl in the fungal undergrowth, scale glacial extremes and duck between rainforest shadows.

Alison Pouliot, ecologist and environmental photographer, captures these remarkable lifeforms in this visual love letter to fungi.

'A gallery of exquisite photographic artworks; a celebration of the diversity, eccentricity, beauty and resilience of fungi; a meditation on relationships between all living things, and an invitation to wonder about our own place in the natural world.' Jeanette Miller, Mornington Peninsula Landcare

'This festival of fungi encompasses the cute and the creepy and reminds us that fungus is a vital component of life on Earth.' Newcastle Herald

'Funga Obscura is a tour de force that celebrates the beauty and complexity of fungi while challenging readers to look more closely at the world around them. Alison Pouliot has crafted a work that is as educational as it is inspiring, as artistic as it is scientific.' Australian Garden History Society

'Who'd have thought fungi could be so...fabulous? Ecologist and environmental photographer Alison Pouliot has a focus on fungi and her pictures take us across continents and hemispheres...This festival of fungi encompasses the cute and the creepy and reminds us that fungus is a vital component of life on Earth.' The Canberra Times

'Funga Obscura is a beautifully crafted book that explores the world of fungi through a blend of storytelling and photography. It features Pouliot's stunning, high-quality photographs of fungi each thoughtfully composed-paired with personal reflections and engaging insights into her deep passion for fungi and the art of capturing them on camera...Funga Obscura invites you to wander into nature and study fungi for yourself.' The Tasmanian Times

'Pouliot's [new book] showcases some of the most striking members of this often-overlooked kingdom of life.' New Scientist