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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-18/fungi-living-kingdom-recognition-biology-environment/107029164>
“Mycelium would not know or care if it was recognised by the Australian Labor
Party.
Its priority over millions of years has been to work underground in ways that
scientists are only beginning to appreciate.
But the ALP has a soft spot for mycelium, and all other forms of fungi.
At its recent national conference, federal Environment Minister Murray Watt
explicitly recognised fungi as part of Australia's natural environment and
biodiversity, separate and equal to flora and fauna.
"Fungi are vital to our ecosystem, and it is crucial that our environmental and
biodiversity frameworks reflect this," Senator Watt told the conference.
The recognition follows years of advocacy by mycologists, biologists,
ecologists and Australian citizen-scientist organisation Fungimap.
They are part of a global network of fungi fans celebrating the recent addition
of the word "funga" to the Cambridge Dictionary to describe the third kingdom
of living things.
FUNGA
noun [u] biology, environment specialized
All the fungi (=organisms that usually grow on and get their food from
decaying material or other living things) that grow in a particular area or
a particular period in time
~ Cambridge Dictionary
Fungimap committee member Catherine Marciniak, a grassroots ALP member of the
Ballina branch in northern New South Wales, was one of the driving forces
behind the party's recognition of fungi in its national platform.”
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
