Alan Rockefeller

Alan Rockefeller

@alanrockefeller.bsky.social

Mycologist based in the Bay Area, California.

3.6K followers75 following334 posts

Pectiantia pentandra in 365 nm UV light. Someone handed me this leaf during a UV night hike above Boulder, Colorado the other night and I was blown away by its beauty. The bright yellow fluorescence is due to the presence of quercetin and kaempferol glycosides.

I learned a lot from insect photographer Dara Ojo, who joined our recent trip to Costa Rica and helped me take this picture of Copaxa decrescens. OM System OM-1 / 90mm macro / iso 200. #macrophotography #moths #costarica #explorewithdara #omsystem

I learned a lot from insect photographer Dara Ojo, who joined our recent trip to Costa Rica and helped me take this picture of Copaxa decrescens. OM System OM-1 / 90mm macro / iso 200. #macrophotography #moths #costarica #explorewithdara #omsystem

A few of his tips I found most useful: shoot the face of an insect from below, looking up at it. The back is what you need for ID, but the face is where the personality is. Pick moths up off the moth sheet with a leaf - they look much nicer on a leaf than on the sheet.

Mycena chloroxantha photographed recently in Oxapampa, Peru. The round cells are cherocytes which make up the universal veil - whitish, spiny acanthocytes are also visible. Described in 1983 from Brazil by Rolf Singer. Mushroom Observer # 628987 / iNat 341877230 #fungifriends #mycology #mycena

A cool little Mycena that I photographed in Oxapampa, Perú. Never seen one with this cool stem texture before, no idea which species it could be. Olympus OM-1 / 90 mm macro lens / 180 images stacked, ISO 200, f/5. #mushrooms #mycena #fungifriends #olympus

Ceratiomyxa sphaerosperma from Mera, Pastaza, Ecuador. This tiny slime mold makes its spores on little stalks, giving it a distinctive appearance. My favorite feature of these are the glass-like stems. Olympus OM-1 / 90mm macro lens / MC20 2x teleconverter

One of my favorite flowers, Lopezia racemosa. Second photo in 365 nanometer ultraviolet. The native range of this plant is Mexico through Central America. Extremely rare in cultivation - grown in California by Alan Rockefeller and @crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt - seed collected in Michoacán. #plants

The interior of the peridioles of Nidula niveotomentosa (a birds nest fungus) have surprising green fluorescence in 365 nanometer UV light. Photographed yesterday in Mendocino County, California. Sliced in half with a sharp razor blade. #fungi #mycology #mushrooms #fungifriends #uvphotography

In 2025 I made 3000 iNaturalist observations and found 1582 species, 682 of them I had never seen before. I made 46,000 identifications for other people. I did a 5 month road trip to the southwest and east coast, went to Ecuador twice and Costa Rica once. Also wrote lots of Python (Github)

This is the second time I have photographed one of my favorite Mycena species - this one is found on leaves and has regular water droplets along the stem for a reason which remains a mystery to me. From the Chocó Andino region of Ecuador. #mycology #fungi #mycena #fungifriends

Mycena tenerrima from Pacific County, Washington. This tiny and widespread Mycena is in Mycena sect. Sacchariferae due to the powdery cap texture, stem with long setae and disc at the stem base. #fungi #mycology #mycena #fungifriends

An undescribed Mycena from the M. amicta group photographed yesterday in Aberdeen, Washington. This group of species is recognizable due to the blue colors, especially on the stem base and the conspicuous setae on the stem. #fungi #mycology #fungifriends #photography

Mycena "sp-AZ03" that Scott Ostuni spotted near Fox Mountain, Colorado last year. I just got a sequence of it back from Mycota Lab. This probably undescribed species currently only known from Colorado and Arizona. iNat 235426392 / MO 556415 #fungi #mycena #mushrooms #fungifriends

The first known photo of Trichoderma sp. ‘TX01’ - a rare and probably undescribed species of Trichoderma I collected on a vine in Texas in November, 2022. The only match in Genbank is an unnamed collection from Florida. iNat 140831069 / MO 581563 #fungi #trichoderma #dnabarcoding #fungifriends

Cirsium vinaceum is an extremely rare species of thistle that only grows in Otero County, New Mexico in high elevation wet areas. Quite a few plants were growing near a mountain spring that I explored today with the New Mexico Mycological Society.

An undescribed bioluminescent Mycena from Mycena sect. Sacchariferae, closely related to Mycena asterina found a few days ago in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Like Mycena asterina, only the cap glows. #bioluminescence #mycena #mycology #fungifriends #fungi

Most cup fungi don't fluoresce a lot, but ultraviolet light reveals unusual chemistry in this unknown Helotiales from Monteverde, Costa Rica. #FluorescentFungi #Monteverde #CostaRica #Mycology #UVPhotography #Fluorescence #FieldMycology #fungifriends

Inocybe "citrifolia", an undescribed Inocybe from California, Oregon and Idaho. This species is easy to identify due to its orange color scheme. Collected in Santa Cruz County in April, 2022, sequenced by @mycota.lab. iNat # 110466630 #inocybe #dnabarcoding #fungifriends #mycology #mushrooms

Mycena sp. 'amicta-HRL01' - A species in the Mycena amicta group with only two observations on iNaturalist, both in the east bay area, California, USA. Sequenced recently by @mycota.lab. Mushroom Observer # 439854 / iNaturalist # 84403145 #mycena #mycology #dnabarcoding #fungifriends #mushrooms

Beauveria sp. found last night in Monteverde, Costa Rica on a Saturniidae caterpillar. In white light and 365 nanometer UV light. Mushroom Observer # 579083 / iNaturalist # 299745988 #mushrooms #mycology #beauveria #cordyceps #fungifriends #costarica

A tiny Favolaschia found yesterday in Monteverde, Costa Rica. These are basically in Mycena and will probably be moved into Mycena soon - the alternative is to split Mycena up into a whole bunch of similar looking genera. #mycology #fungi #fungifriends #favolaschia