To aficionados, fungi are freaky, mystical and overlooked. They're helping scientists learn more

ANGWIN, Calif. (AP) — Jessica Allen crunched through fallen leaves among Manzanita trees hunting for something few have spotted before: the Manzanita **** er clump — a rare and little-known yellow mushroom found, so far, only along North America's Western coastlines.
It was last seen here in California's Napa County two years ago, and Allen, a fungi scientist, was keen to find it. But within minutes, something caught her attention. She knelt, pulled a hand lens to her eye, and peered nose-close