Christian Schwarz

Christian spends his time seeking, photographing, collecting, teaching about, and publishing research on the macrofungi of California and Arizona.

Research Associate Christian Schwarz, studied ecology and evolution at University of California, Santa Cruz, where his interest in the world of fungi became irrevocable — their seemingly endless forms (from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublime) feed his curiosity. He spends his time seeking, photographing, collecting, teaching about, and publishing research on the macrofungi of California and Arizona. His work with Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is currently focused on assembling a mycoflora for the California Channel Islands. At large, Christian works primarily on the taxonomy of macrofungi, as well as documenting patterns of phenology and biogeography through long-term monitoring efforts. He is passionate about biodiversity in general — and about community science (especially iNaturalist!). He has served on the IUCN Species Survival Commission; Mushroom, Bracket, and Puffball Specialist Group, is coauthor of “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast,” and is a research associate at the Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History at University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as at the Garden.