More than Mushrooms: The Stunning Diversity of Fungi (Spring Course)

6 Tuesdays from April 1 - May 6, 2025, 6:30 - 7:45 PM

Location: This course meets at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, located at 100 N. 20th Street in Philadelphia.

This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student. Sign up here or call 215-763-6529 x14 for assistance.

Fungi are a vast group of life as distinct, diverse, and ancient as plants and animals, and they are essential and beneficial members of every ecosystem on Earth. However, fungi are largely ignored—or worse, maligned—by the general public. A growing appreciation for the fascinating ways in which fungi intersect with human lives is shifting this narrative. For millennia, humans have utilized fungi for food, medicine, and artistic inspiration, and in modern times, for biotechnology and environmental remediation. Informed by the most contemporary research on fungal evolutionary history, this introductory mycology course will expose students to the full taxonomic diversity of fungi. Touching on all the major groups of fungi, both familiar and obscure, we will explore how the unique biology of fungi allows them to shape the world.

1. Tuesday, April 1, 2025 – Introduction to kingdom Fungi

Traits of Kingdom Fungi; overview of fungal diversity and taxonomy; using tree thinking to understand fungi in a nonhierarchical, evolutionary perspective.

2. Tuesday, April 8, 2025 – Subkingdom Dikarya pt. I: Basidiomycota and Entorrhizomycota

Deep dive into phylum Basidiomycota, the mushroom-forming fungi; terrestrial fungal ecology; fungal sex and genetic conflict in dikaryotic mycelium; the enigmatic phylum Entorrhizomcyota.

3. Tuesday, April 15, 2025 – Subkingdom Dikarya pt. II: Ascomycota

Deep dive into phylum Ascomycota; plant pathology and human disease; fungal secondary metabolites and medicinal properties.

4. Tuesday, April 22, 2025 – Zygomycete fungi

Deep dive into phyla Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota; biotechnology and sustainable agriculture (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi); horizontal gene transfer and convergent evolution.

5. Tuesday, April 29, 2025 – Zoosporic fungi

Fungi with flagella: phyla Chytridiomycota, Monoblepharidomycota, Neocallimastigomycota, and Blastocladiomycota; chytrid aquatic ecology and batrachochytridiomycosis.

6. Tuesday, May 6, 2025 – Dark matter taxa and the uncultured majority

Endoparasitic phyla Aphelidiomycota, Rozellomycota, and Microsporidia; the vast unknown fungal diversity recovered from environmental DNA; fungal conservation.

Readings consist of select primary literature articles and reviews and are optional. They are provided to enhance your understanding of the lecture material. Dr. Dirks recommends reading the abstract even if you are unable to read the entire article. PDFs of the readings will be made available to registered students via Google Drive. As a general reading to support your education in this course, Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life is recommended.

This is a non-credit course and students will not be evaluated for their comprehension of the material. However, it is recommended that students attend the entire course as lecture content will build off previous weeks. Presentation slides will be made after each class to registered students via a Google Drive link.

Alden Dirks (they/them) became enamored with mushrooms during their meanderings in the woods, prompting them to begin a career in mycology research and teaching about a decade ago. They went on to complete an MS in Agroecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019 and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan in 2024. Alden's research interests include fungal taxonomy and the evolution of mycotoxins in mushrooms, primarily focused on lorchels (also known as false morels) and crust fungi (see crustfungi.com). Alden is also an avid forager with the lifelong goal of eating 1001 species. As an ambassador for the Kingdom Fungi, Alden teaches the public about mycology through mushroom forays, workshops, and lectures, exposing students to the lesser known and underappreciated fungi that make up most of the kingdom. This is his first course for the Wagner.

What is the cost?

Wagner courses are free; donations are encouraged!

Are there minimum age requirements to enter the course?

The adult lecture courses are offered on an introductory college level. They are open to anyone seeking an introduction to various areas of the sciences as well as those familiar with the subjects who wish to broaden and update their knowledge. The courses also provide an excellent opportunity for motivated junior high and high school students to supplement their current science courses and to help prepare them for further study in these fields at a college level. The courses are appropriate as well for teachers seeking to expand their knowledge.

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the course?

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is located at the northwest corner of 20th and Arch Streets in Center City. It is convenient to multiple public transportation routes. The closest trolley stop is at 22nd and Market Streets. The location is also accessible via multiple bus routes and regional rail lines. There is on-street parking on the surrounding blocks, and multiple paid parking options, including a lot at 19th and Arch Streets.

Is the building wheelchair accessible?

Yes

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Click the "Contact the Organizer" link, email [email protected], or call 215-763-6529 x14.

Images: Courtesy of Alden Dirks, via iNaturalist

Top:

Sulfur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), Washington

Neottiella vivids, Wisconsin

Peach-colored Fly Agaric (Amanita persicina), New Jersey

Bottom:

genus Lacrymaria, Wisconsin

Event Venue

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 North 20th Street, Philadelphia, United States