The fungal kingdom is rich and expansive, but scientists estimate that only about 10 percent of the total number of fungal species has been described and characterized. When microbiologist Diego Bianchi began his graduate studies at Trinity College Dublin in 2021, he was curious about the hidden world of fungi and their agricultural applications.
This sprawling blue and orange-rimmed fungal colony is called STAR WARS. It depicts a Penicillium sp.
Diego Bianchi
But his fascination deepened one day when his colleague showed him a collection of fungi in the fridge. Something stirred within him. Beauty, he realized, is in the eye of the fungal Petri dish beholder. For his lab project, he worked on bioprospecting filamentous fungi from grasses and grains, searching for species with potential to boost plant growth or resist disease. Along the way, he started keeping an eye out for unusual fungal forms as a separate personal project.
After three years of curating his own fungal collection, he felt compelled to document it—hoping to one day turn the images into a book. His first photos were taken with a rented camera, and from that point, he was hooked. It became an artistic escape. Whether gathering samples from coastal field sites or his local public parks, Bianchi began to amass a collection of images. The selection of fungi showcased a rainbow of colors and features, spreading across the Petri plate, when Bianchi launched the project as Fungal Galaxies in 2025 as a manifesto of biodiversity.
This orange fungal colony is titled PÌRAMO & TISBE. Some of Bianchi’s fungal forms have yet to be characterized.
Diego Bianchi
When he shared these images with his colleagues, it was almost like a Rorschach test: People had different interpretations of his work, describing them as fried eggs, seashells, flowers, and ghosts. While some of his photographed fungi can be mapped to known species, others remain a mystery. He noted that it is not possible to certainly identify these at the molecular level. The above image shows one of his fungal samples: a Penicillium sp. with a bright orange outer rim and red-tinged browns.
“[Fungi] are some of the most important species on planet Earth,” explained Bianchi. Through this work, Bianchi showcases his images at conferences and art events, engaging both scientific and general audiences. He hopes the visual project sparks curiosity, challenges people’s interpretations and conceptions about fungal molds, and expands into a living library that may serve as a valuable resource for discovering new fungal species.