Alan Rockefeller (born 1980) is an American mycologist who specializes in

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

photography, microscopy, DNA barcoding, and taxonomy. ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' described Rockefeller as "one of the most well-known mycologists studying

psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Many species contain the Psychedelic drug, psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the ...

species", citing his memorization of Latin names and his "near-encyclopedic knowledge of mushrooms on the west coast of the U.S." Rockefeller, an expert in collection and classification of

psilocybin Psilocybin, also known as 4-phosphoryloxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (4-PO-DMT), is a natural product, naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid and Investigational New Drug, investigational drug found in more than List of psilocybin mushroom ...

and

muscimol Muscimol, also known as agarin or pantherine, as well as 5-(aminomethyl)-1,2-oxazol-3-ol, is the principal psychoactive constituent of ''Amanita muscaria'' and '' Amanita pantherina''. Muscimol is an isoxazole alkaloid and a potent and selectiv ...

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, has used phylogenetic and microscopic analysis to identify several species not previously described. Rockefeller participates in several

citizen science The term citizen science (synonymous to terms like community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is research conducted with participation from the general public, or am ...

projects by identifying fungi on

iNaturalist iNaturalist is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its web ...

Mushroom Observer Mushroom Observer is a collaborative mycology website started by Nathan Wilson in 2006. Reproduced on thMykoWeb website. Its purpose is to "record observations about mushrooms, help people identify mushrooms they aren't familiar with, and expand t ...

, and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, as well as teaching mushroom photography classes. Rockefeller's iNaturalist images are released under a

Creative Commons license A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and bu ...

, allowing their use as photo illustrations for news articles and sites like Wikipedia. Rockefeller asserts that fungi photography is valuable not just for scientific documentation but "to get people excited about nature." Rockefeller is self-taught, and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' once described him as a "remarkably dedicated volunteer".

Mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

is an underfunded field that relies more than many scientific disciplines on independent naturalists for taxonomic extensions. Rockefeller worked professionally in

information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...

but "the son of two science teachers...started studying mushrooms in 2001 and has since traveled around the world to find and classify them. Since 2007, he has made annual visits to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and has photographed more than 1,000 fungi species that grow there." His explorations of Mexican

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...

have included studies of night-fruiting,

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms inc ...

and

fluorescent Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...

mushrooms. Since 2023, Rockefeller and Mandie Quark, in cooperation with the indigenous Sacha-Wasi people, have been working to catalog Ecuadorian fungi species. Rockefeller was one of the taxonomists who first described ''

Psilocybe allenii ''Psilocybe allenii'' is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. Described as new to science in 2012, it is named after John W. Allen, who provided the Type (biology), type collection. It is found in the northwestern North Am ...

'' and he "recently co-authored a 2020 publication characterizing five ''Psilocybe'' species." He also moderates Shroomery.org, a discussion forum for enthusiasts and home cultivators of

psychedelic mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, which remain illegal in many/most

jurisdictions Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple levels ...

.Gonzalez, Tony. "Psychedelic Mushrooms Grow Off Radar." ''McClatchy - Tribune Business News'', Jul 03, 2009''.''

References

External links

Alan Rockefeller on ResearchGate

Alan Rockefeller on Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Alan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births American mycologists American taxonomists Biologists from California Psychedelic drug researchers Wikimedia image contributors

See also

References

External links