What is

Radical Mycology?

Words & Photos Peter McCoy

Evolving tones for seeing and working with fungi

June 15, 2026

Features

Words Peter McCoy

Photos Peter McCoy

What is Radical Mycology? This simple question is one of the most common that I’ve received over the last twenty years, and the one that long remained among the most difficult for me to address. This was not because I didn’t know what the term meant to me. Rather, I didn’t know what it meant for the countless people engaged in its defining.

During the initial years following the release of the Radical Mycology zine, the feedback I received from the text constantly expanded my perception of what an unconventional approach to mycology could look like. It was an exciting time, where nearly every conversation I had about fungi offered new points of inspiration. The more alternative mycologists that I met, the more I realized how deep the mycelium traveled, and how vast was the unexplored terrain of its inquiry. In short time, I came to the conclusion that the best way to advance mycology was to invite more voices to its philosophical round table to imagine – together – where fungi could lead us.

Recognizing how nascent the conversation was, I resisted summarizing its semi-formed state. Talking points felt counter-productive to exploring an barely-understood science. So for years I would reply to that simple, difficult question by asking what the term meant for the inquirer – with each inspiring reply assuring me that Radical Mycology could not be a prescribed. Rather it was best presented then as a means toward seeing fungi and working them from a place of respect.

Establishing Threads

For better or worse, the RM definition conversation thus remained open-ended for years. In time, though, this void caused those not involved in the effort to superimpose descriptions that were far from the ethos I had advocated since the first Radical Mycology Convergence (RMC). Assumptions that “radical” implied using psychoactive fungi or adhering to explicit political motivations became increasing murmured by outsiders – assumptions that detracted from the core aim of nurturing a community of people who want to form reciprocal relationships with fungi.

The initial RMC approached this intent by revolving around the practical benefits of applied mycology. Since then, consideration of mycological influences on the humanities, psychology, and semiotics has come to take equal attention in the Radical Mycology movement due to the deep impact that these disciplines have on the long-term functioning and structuring of societies. Our work has never been driven to antagonize the status quo. Radical Mycology is a way of being that is for the fungi – a sentiment that is slowed by a respect for nature’s wisdom, drawn from a desire to share mycology holistically, and attendant to the human condition that strides alongside all acts.

With the gap between the intention and reception of our work growing, I offered the first definition of “Radical Mycology” in the Preface to the book Radical Mycology (2016) as:

A social philosophy that describes cultural phenomena through a framework inspired by the unique qualities of fungal biology and ecology.
A mycocentric analysis of ecological relationships.
A grassroots movement that produces and distributes accessible mycological and fungal cultivation information to enhance the resilience of humans, their societies, and the environments they touch.

Intentionally brief, I hoped then that these terms provided enough context to offset common points of confusion, while still allowing space for readers to develop their own relationship with the phrase as they worked through the text. Sure enough, over the proceeding years the Radical Mycology community greatly expanded its discourse in response to the book’s contents– so much so that these original definitions now reflect only a small portion of the paradigms most commonly held by Radical Mycologists.

Radical Mycology is a way of being that is for the fungi – a sentiment that is slowed by a respect for nature’s wisdom, drawn from an intention to share mycology holistically, and attendant to the human condition that strides alongside all acts.

—Peter McCoy

Expansion

Today, those initial descriptors could be elaborated upon in many ways. For example, the first one sets a narrow limit on the ways by which fungi might inspire someone to see and engage in the world – an important topic that is intimately tied to the foundation of Radical Mycology. Though this notion did originate with a focus on direct metaphors between human habits and fungal actions, richer nuances have since developed in the Radical Mycology milieu. The subtler queues that come from connecting with mushrooms and mycelia – those found in their ways of being and in the deeper tones of their patterns and habits – have proven more moving to many than mere surface-level comparisons, despite the difficultly in articulating such personal experiences and sentiments. To be accurate, a thorough definition of Radical Mycology must account for the whole-brain and whole-person subjective experience of being in relation with fungi, and it should make space for the diverse expressions that come from reconsidering the world through a mycelial lens.

The second definition is also limited, for it places Radical Mycology’s “fungi first” mentality solely within discussions of environmental assessment. While this is important, our approach to reconsidering models of place now span into the rest of human endeavors. Fungi have been overlooked and maligned for much of history and throughout most disciplines. There is now a clear and pressing need to research where these oversights remain, and to develop means to bridge those gaps – a task Radical Mycologists are well equipped to creatively address.

The final term is also short-sighted as it places the output of the Radical Mycology community solely within the realm of applied mycology. Unacknowledged here is the depth and breadth of expression that Radical Mycologists produce across the arts and sciences. While a wealth of skill-based information has been offered by Radical Mycologists over the years, potent cultural shifts have also come through the experiences, connections, stories, music, films, and art of the Radical Mycology community – many of these creations having been made to embody the values woven throughout the first two definitions above. These contributions profoundly impact how members of the mycoculture relate to fungi and each other. For though sharing practical skills enables action, artworks and stories settle in the heart to transform and endure – a truism found in the wakes of the renaissance, surrealism, and the rise of underground punk and hip-hop music scenes. Creativity is integral to the Radical Mycology spirit and deserves highlighting any time our community is celebrated or described.

With the limitations of those original descriptions now apparent, updating and broadening what defines Radical Mycology is only fitting – especially if the term is to be a reflection of fungi in general and a mycelial network specifically (both being in a constant state of evolution and expansion). Further, as Radical Mycology’s meaning has deepened over the years, so too has its grammatical placement. Where it was initially just a noun (“radical mycology is a way of thinking”), many now use it as an adjective (“this is a radical mycology approach to cultivation”) and title (“she’s such a radical mycologist”). Increasingly inextricable from the modern mycocultural lexicon, Radical Mycology needs an up-to-date and robust linguistic profile that reflects the entirety of its usage.

Creativity is integral to the Radical Mycology spirit and deserves highlighting any time our community is celebrated or described.

—Peter McCoy

Tones of Approach

The following terms are provided to resolve this disparity between the definition of Radical Mycology presented ten years ago, and how the phrase has been carried since.

Radical Mycology

Noun

A perception of or appreciation for fungi as models for value formation, decision making, or general ways of being – especially in regard to personhood, societal engagement, or cultural contributions.
The cultivation or maintenance of a subjective relationship to the natural world that emphasizes an intentional connection with fungi.
The creation of mycology-inspired cultural artifacts that promote reciprocal relationships between humans, fungi, and nature.
The posteriori presumption that the traits of mushrooms, lichens, and micro fungi can be utilized to significantly address complex social and environmental issues; and the desire to promote this potential throughout society.
The process of inventing, iterating, or enacting applications of mycology that promote natural resource regeneration, reduce waste stream volumes, cultivate place-based fungal phenotypes, mitigate impacts of pollution, or otherwise increase human or habitat resilience.
The assessment of anthropological, mythical, artistic, technological, communicative, environmental, spiritual, and ontological disciplines to identify their intersections with mycology and determine whether conceptual models or protocols within those fields are incomplete due to a lack of robust mycological considerations.
The novel incorporation of fungi or their attributes within disciplines outside of mycology.
Descriptions of fungi, their traits, or mycology in general that allow for poetic liberties in place of physiological accuracy.
Novel research- and/or evidence-based mycological hypotheses that notably differ from currently-accepted models of fungi or their functions.

Adjective

A noun modifier that implies one or multiple Radical Mycology characteristics are expressed or held by the substantive of discussion.

Radical Mycologist (Rad Mycist)

A practitioner of any form of Radical Mycology.
A person who promotes the ideas and creations produced by the Radical Mycology Movement.

The Radical Mycology Movement

The global sum of Radical Mycologists, some of whom engage in the events and curated initiatives produced by Mycoculture Research, Arts, and Development.

While the above terms describe how Radical Mycology has been practiced to date, new definitions are likely to arise in time. Offered as tones of approach to mycology, the above are starting places for the personal journey of discovering what Radical Mycology means for each individual. As new voices and perspectives are heard in time, the facets of Radical Mycology will likewise increase – a natural evolution that can only be developed through the engagement of each person drawn to the conversation.

Peter McCoy

Peter McCoy is the author of Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working with Fungi and The Mycocultural Revolution: Transforming Our World With Mushrooms, Lichens, and Other Fungi. He is the founder of Mycoculture Research, Arts, and Development, as well as the founder of Mycologos, an applied mycology school that is set to launch in 2026. For over 20 years, Peter has immersed himself in the scope of human-fungal relations and endeavored to support the modern mycocultural movement through his in-depth trainings and novel research. When not wandering in the forest, Peter can be found cultivating, creating, or writing in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.

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