ANGWIN, Calif. — Jessica Allen crunched through fallen leaves among Manzanita trees hunting for something few have spotted before: the Manzanita butter clump — a rare and little-known yellow mushroom found, so far, only along North America's Western coastlines.
AP Spotlight
Scientists, aficionados teaming up to learn more about mystical, overlooked fungi
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Valerie McFarlane, top, and Edward Smyth, a member of the California Lichen Society, look toward lichen on a large rock.
Jessica Allen of the California Lichen Society holds up a firedot lichen found in Lower Lake, Calif.
Rock shield and rock tripe lichen are visible on a large rock in Lower Lake, Calif.
Jessica Allen of the California Lichen Society arranges lichen found during a field trip in Lower Lake, Calif.
Jessica Allen of the California Lichen Society arranges lichen found in Lower Lake, Calif.
Gina Min, a member of the California Lichen Society, looks closely at lichen on a large rock during a field trip Jan. 24 at the University of California, Davis' McLaughlin Reserve in Lower Lake, Calif.
Laura Moreno-Baker, an ecologist with the Bureau of Land Management's Ukiah Field Office, looks at lichen through a hand lens loupe during a California Lichen Society field trip in Lower Lake, Calif.
Ever wondered how horses make that high-pitched whinny? A new study says they whistle.
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More than 125 new species of plants and 65 new fungi were discovered in 2025. Dr. Martin Cheek with the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens breaks down …
In the Southern California desert, Krystle Hickman waits hours to photograph native bees threatened by climate change and habitat loss. She’s …
The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse …
Kanzi, a bonobo, was raised in a lab and became a whiz at communicating with humans using graphic symbols.
