Science writer and mushroom specialist. I have a deep interest in mycorrhizal fungi, conservation, and mushroom photography. Check out my website at encounteringfungi.com . https://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3m7gthzzfy22oCould mycorrhizal fungi actually be part of plant "cognition"? While this isn't a classic animal cognitive process, there are some interesting parallels. I really enjoy this perspective, and it makes sense. What do you think? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13199-025-01065-y08 Dec 2025 01:03 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7gthzzfy22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3m76anee6fc2oAn interesting study from Japan observes how animal-dispersed truffle-like fungi are more prone to genetic isolation due to forest fragmentation. Not a surprising finding, but interesting to consider from a conservation standpoint! https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-025-02475-804 Dec 2025 15:04 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3m76anee6fc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3m35y6ikdjs2rArticle I wrote for Rewilding Magazine, also featuring some of my photography. Check it out. https://www.rewildingmag.com/why-rewilders-shouldnt-forget-about-fungi/14 Oct 2025 14:52 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3m35y6ikdjs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3ltwtzgds6c25I found a cool cordyceps on a stink bug the other day! Pretty rad! What do you think?14 Jul 2025 16:53 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltwtzgds6c25https://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3ltwtwdttuk25Some folks have reached out about the photos I've taken of ectomycorrhizal root tips. I wrote a short article about this for my brand-new Substack. If this sort of long-form content interests you, please subscribe and let me know if you want to see more! https://timomendez.substack.com/p/photographing-ectomycorrhizal-root14 Jul 2025 16:51 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltwtwdttuk25https://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lmwubizhec2lA recent article I wrote for the JSTOR Daily about mycorrhizal fungi and the carbon cycle. Features my photos as well. Check it out. https://daily.jstor.org/the-fungi-in-the-carbon-jigsaw/16 Apr 2025 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmwubizhec2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lkhgcralhc2fErgothioneine is a unique antioxidant with many promising health benefits, including for cognitive health. As this study shows, arbuscular mycorrhizal is crucial in the uptake of this compound by plants, as it is almost exclusively produced by fungi. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.1036516 Mar 2025 00:51 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkhgcralhc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lk3b6qidds2vEctomycorrhizal structures are produced by an incredible diversity of fungi. In this new study, researchers documented a fusarium forming EM structures and improving plant health. https://imafungus.pensoft.net/article/143240/download/pdf/11 Mar 2025 04:47 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lk3b6qidds2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lj4yzrfgrs2yLooking forward to reading this amazing research by brilliant scientists. Check it out. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Feb 2025 04:01 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lj4yzrfgrs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3liswla7gks2qAnd I though Lycoperdon perlartum (Common puffball) was saprobic. This study shows it forms ECM relationships with populus and may improve their resistance to drought. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13199-025-01035-423 Feb 2025 03:51 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3liswla7gks2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lhodqcqvqc2nThe first description of mycorrhizae was published in 1885, where A.B. Frank first coined the term. His study, commissioned by the Kingdom of Prussia, explored the potential for truffle cultivation. Despite it's age, it's insightful to anyone interested in the subject. Read it ⬇️ tinyurl.com/ABFrank08 Feb 2025 14:38 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhodqcqvqc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lhfnkhxfjs2uAn undescribed purple Cantharellus sp. from Tepoztlan, Morelos. Beautiful species, most likely forming mycorrhizal associations with Oak.05 Feb 2025 03:39 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhfnkhxfjs2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lhcaapleck2rA wasp infected by Ophiocordyceps humbertii I photographed last summer in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca.03 Feb 2025 19:03 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhcaapleck2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lhaqjmgzzv22I've been looking for EM root tips to photograph with minimal experience in the field. While this study focuses on Himalayan fir, their description of morphotypes is insightful regarding the grand anatomical diversity of these brilliant structures. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266671932100092303 Feb 2025 04:49 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhaqjmgzzv22https://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lhahfspuw22fLactarius indigo is a delicious ectomycorrhizal species found with Oak and Pine in Mexico, Central America, and the eastern United States. There are numerous varieties, which may be broken up into several different species soon. I took this picture near my home in Morelos, Mexico last season.03 Feb 2025 02:06 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhahfspuw22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lhagz3wibk2fInteresting study by Chinese researchers shows that ECM trees in tropical forests sequester more carbon in N-rich soils, while AM tree diversity rises in P-rich soils but stores less carbon. This may be due to lower AM fungal abundance, making AM trees more prone to pathogens. tinyurl.com/4xzhajus https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001670612500026603 Feb 2025 01:59 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhagz3wibk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lh3g6omsbk2tThis new study outlines how canopy trees & understory shrubs can host the same species of ectomycorrhizal fungi. It finds that oaks & pines form overlapping ECM assemblages with Hazel when growing in proximity. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Feb 2025 02:01 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lh3g6omsbk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lgxq6fauts2mThe common idea that plants "warn" each other of threats through mycorrhizal networks might not be correct, according to this fascinating research. Instead, fungi may act like whistleblowers, detecting plant stress and signaling others in their network to prepare their defenses. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jan 2025 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgxq6fauts2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lgxpd56iws2mBefore their extinction 600 years ago, the giant flightless Moa ate and dispersed truffles. This was likely true for many of the 41% of bird species now extinct in New Zealand. What is the best way to approach species conservation when the mutualist dispersers are now extinct? tinyurl.com/yeznr8ez https://tinyurl.com/yeznr8ez30 Jan 2025 14:34 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgxpd56iws2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lgxovj3q7c24Aureoboletus aff. betula from the Sierra Sur in Oaxaca, growing with Pine.30 Jan 2025 14:26 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgxovj3q7c24https://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lgxmdrtuic2wLaccaria are early successional ectomycorrhizal fungi, fundamental for the establishment of young trees in various parts of the world. They are also edible. This is Laccaria amythestina s.l. is from Tepoztlan, Morelos.30 Jan 2025 13:40 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgxmdrtuic2whttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lgwrnhd3322qSome ectomycorrhizal root tips I recently had the pleasure of photographing. #mycorrhizal #emfungi #mycorrhizae30 Jan 2025 05:43 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgwrnhd3322qhttps://bsky.app/profile/timomendez.bsky.social/post/3lgwr7biyzc2qI photographed a tarantula infected by a cordyceps the other day. It was amazing and unexpected. Discovered by friends, inside a cave in complete darkness, near my home. It is likely a new species in the Cordyceps nidus complex.30 Jan 2025 05:35 +0000at://did:plc:gxme4dnt3vntgk3kfa322o7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgwr7biyzc2q