Merlin Sheldrake

Last updated

Merlin Sheldrake (born 1987) is a British mycologist and writer known for his work on mycorrhiza.

Contents

Early life and education

Merlin Sheldrake was born in 1987 in London to Rupert Sheldrake, an English author and parapsychology researcher, and Jill Purce, a therapist. [1] [2] He grew up near Hampstead Heath in London. [3] His brother, Cosmo Sheldrake, is a musician. As a teenager, Sheldrake was influenced by Paul Stamets, a self-taught "fungal evangelist," and Karl von Frisch's book Animal Architecture. [4]

Sheldrake received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge in biological sciences, where he also earned a master's degree in the history and philosophy of science and later a PhD in tropical ecology. [5] He studied underground fungal networks in Panama's tropical forests as a predoctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. [2] [6]

Career

In 2020, Sheldrake published his first book, Entangled Life , which was a bestseller in both The Sunday Times and The New York Times booklists and received the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize. [7] [8] Entangled Life has positioned Merlin Sheldrake as a leading advocate for fungi. [4] He has presented an IMAX film called Fungi: Web of Life which was narrated by Björk and filmed in Tasmania's Tarkine rainforest. [9] [10]

Inspired by Sheldrake's book, couture designer Iris van Herpen created a collection based on fungi, featuring designs mimicking chanterelle mushrooms and hyphae. [4] [11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheldrake and his brother co-founded a business called Sheldrake & Sheldrake that sells fermented hot sauce. [4]

In 2021, Sheldrake consulted on Stella McCartney's fungal-themed Paris runway show, which featured a soundtrack by his brother, Cosmo Sheldrake that used a device to convert mycelium's electrical signals into musical notes. [4] [12] [13]

Sheldrake works with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, which aims to map and protect global mycorrhizal diversity. [14] He also works with mycologist Giuliana Furci and NYU law professor César Rodríguez Garavito to create legal protections for fungi, contributing to a larger movement that aims to provide legal representation for non-human living entities. [4] [15]

Since 2023, he has been a research associate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. [4] In November 2023, Tatler described Sheldrake as a figure-heard of the new vanguard of Bopeas, or "Bohemian Peasants", a socio-cultural group evolving from the Bobos who combine creative expression with a neo-medieval rooted "peasant" worldview. [16]

Personal life

Sheldrake is married to the poet Erin Robinsong. [4]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycology</span> Branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection. Yeasts are among the most heavily utilized members of the Kingdom Fungi, particularly in food manufacturing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russulaceae</span> Family of fungi in the order Russulales

The Russulaceae are a diverse family of fungi in the order Russulales, with roughly 1,900 known species and a worldwide distribution. They comprise the brittlegills and the milk-caps, well-known mushroom-forming fungi that include some edible species. These gilled mushrooms are characterised by the brittle flesh of their fruitbodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Stamets</span> American mycologist (born 1955)

Paul Edward Stamets is an American mycologist and entrepreneur who sells various mushroom products through his company. He is an author and advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fungi of Australia</span> Ecology of Australia

The fungi of Australia form an enormous and diverse group, encompassing a huge range of freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats with many ecological roles, including saprobes, parasites and mutualistic symbionts of algae, animals and plants, as well as agents of biodeterioration. Where plants produce, and animals consume, the fungi recycle, and as such they ensure the sustainability of ecosystems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Mycological Society</span> UK learned society

The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fungivore</span> Organism that consumes fungi

Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and other fungi. Some of these, which only eat fungi, are called fungivores whereas others eat fungi as only part of their diet, being omnivores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fungus</span> Biological kingdom, separate from plants and animals

A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the traditional eukaryotic kingdoms, along with Animalia, Plantae, and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander H. Smith</span> American mycologist (1904-1986)

Alexander Hanchett Smith was an American mycologist known for his extensive contributions to the taxonomy and phylogeny of the higher fungi, especially the agarics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erast Parmasto</span> Estonian mycologist

Erast Parmasto was a noted Estonian mycologist, bioscientist and botanist and onetime director of the Estonian Institute of Zoology and Botany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meinhard Michael Moser</span> Austrian mycologist (1924–2002)

Meinhard Michael Moser was an Austrian mycologist. His work principally concerned the taxonomy, chemistry, and toxicity of the gilled mushrooms (Agaricales), especially those of the genus Cortinarius, and the ecology of ectomycorrhizal relationships. His contributions to the Kleine Kryptogamenflora von Mitteleuropa series of mycological guidebooks were well regarded and widely used. In particular, his 1953 Blätter- und Bauchpilze [The Gilled and Gasteroid Fungi ], which became known as simply "Moser", saw several editions in both the original German and in translation. Other important works included a 1960 monograph on the genus Phlegmacium and a 1975 study of members of Cortinarius, Dermocybe, and Stephanopus in South America, co-authored with the mycologist Egon Horak.

Roy Watling is a Scottish mycologist who has made significant contributions to the study of fungi both in the identification of new species and correct taxonomic placement, as well as in fungal ecology.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fungi and mycology:

Yolande Dalpé is a former Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She became the first mycologist in Ottawa to study the taxonomy of mycorrhizal fungi. Her research focuses on developing new information on taxonomy, phylogeny, distribution and biology of fungi, including systematic research related to biosecurity/alien invasive species as well as species involved in the development of bioproducts. She was awarded the Lawson Medal by the Canadian Botanical Association for her "cumulative, lifetime contributions to Canadian botany, for the research she has performed in mycology, and has been recognized nationally and internationally." The standard author abbreviation Dalpé is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

Robert W. Lichtwardt was a Brazilian-born American mycologist specializing in the study of arthropod-associated, gut-dwelling fungi (trichomycetes). He is known for his online monograph and interactive keys to trichomycete taxa.

<i>Entangled Life</i> 2020 non-fiction book by Merlin Sheldrake

Entangled Life: How fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures is a 2020 non-fiction book on mycology by British biologist Merlin Sheldrake. His first book, it was published by Random House on 12 May 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fungi in art</span> Direct and indirect influence of fungi in the arts

Fungi are a common theme and working material in art. Fungi appear in nearly all art forms, including literature, paintings, and graphic arts; and more recently, contemporary art, music, photography, comic books, sculptures, video games, dance, cuisine, architecture, fashion, and design. There are some exhibitions dedicated to fungi, as well as an entire museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society for the Protection of Underground Networks</span> Mycorrhizal fungi research organization

The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) is a science-based initiative to map and protect the mycorrhizal networks that regulate the Earth's climate and ecosystems.

Noa Kalos, or MycoLyco, is an American mushroom enthusiast, musician and TikToker.

A bopea is a member of a British upper class socio-economic group who adopt aspects of a rural life. The group blend bohemian values of creativity and non-conformism with a more traditional "neo-peasant" worldview that values nature, community, and craft.

References

  1. ↑ Bone, Eugenia (22 May 2020). "'Entangled Life' Review: Digging Into Enigmatic Organisms". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. 1 2 Cooke, Rachel (23 August 2020). "The future is fungal: why the 'megascience' of mycology is on the rise". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Heather Arndt (14 June 2024). "Merlin Sheldrake wants you to know the mycological ocean of land beneath your feet". Oregon Public Broadcasting.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kahn, Jennifer (8 June 2023). "The Man Who Turned the World on to the Genius of Fungi". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Macfarlane, Robert (7 August 2016). "The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Sheldrake, Merlin William Alfred (1 March 2016). Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and mycoheterotrophic plants to long-term fertilisation in a tropical forest (Ph.D. thesis). University of Cambridge. Department of Plant Sciences.
  7. ↑ "Merlin Sheldrake: 'I care about the ways humans conduct themselves in their relationships with the living world'" . Financial Times.
  8. ↑ "2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize, sponsored by Insight Investment". 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Countryfile (29 November 2023). "Who is Merlin Sheldrake?". BBC One.
  10. ↑ Chen, Nick (12 February 2024). "This Björk-narrated fungi documentary is enough to make you trip". Dazed. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024.
  11. ↑ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (25 January 2021). "Iris van Herpen". Vogue. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Federman, Adam (8 December 2023). "Merlin Sheldrake Will Change the Way You See Mushrooms". The New Republic.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Guy (29 October 2023). "Merlin Sheldrake's guide to the fantastic world of fungi". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ↑ Sengupta, Somini (27 July 2022). "Unearthing the Secret Superpowers of Fungus". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Re:wild and IUCN SSC become first global organizations to call for the recognition of fungi as one of three kingdoms of life critical to protecting and restoring Earth". International Union for Conservation of Nature. 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023.
  16. ↑ Delaney, Evie (17 November 2023). "On England's pleasant pastures seen: Rural rules the roost in the new class of bohemian peasants or 'Bopeas'". Tatler. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.