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Which poisonous mushroom kills flies? Which mushroom may have caused the symptoms displayed by ‘witches’ in the 17th century? What are the little cups growing in the carpet of my car? How do fungi feed themselves?

The answers to these questions and many more are answered in a new suite of posters and CDs developed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

The Forgotten Flora program tells the story of mosses, lichens and fungi, organisms that are essential to many ecosystems.

According to one of the authors, Dr Teresa Lebel: "The forgotten flora are found throughout Australia, are extremely diverse and their presence is usually a sign of a healthy ecosystem."

The plants provide food and shelter for many indigenous animals and insects and help protect soils from water and wind erosion as well as controlling run-off of rainfall.

The Forgotten Flora education materials comprise three educational CDs and ten posters on mosses, fungi and lichens. Each partially interactive CD is in five parts and expands on the basic information in the poster series. The parts include general information, how to study forgotten flora, activities and a list of resources.

The complete set of materials costs $154 including postage and GST. There is a range of ordering options.

To order and for more information:

or email