Samantha (Sri Lanka): Why am I obsessed with Yunnan?

Samantha Chandranath Karunarathna (Photo provided to Gateway)

The remarkable diversity of wild mushrooms in Yunnan has captivated the interest of many people, including Samantha Chandranath Karunarathna, a fungal expert from Sri Lanka. Samantha's fascination with Yunnan goes beyond simply enjoying eating wild mushrooms; he actively conducts professional academic research on them.

Bioluminiscent mushrooms (Photo taken by Steve Axford)

Samantha started his postdoctoral research at the Kunming Institute of Botany in 2016. He now serves as a professor at the Center for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization in Qujing, eastern Yunnan, where he has settled down. Notably, Samantha was honored with the prestigious Yunnan Friendship Award in 2022, also referred to as the "Caiyun Award." This accolade is the highest recognition bestowed by the provincial government to foreigners who have made remarkable contributions to the advancement of Yunnan.

Samantha shows a mushroom. (Photo provided to Gateway)

Since his arrival in Yunnan, Samantha has dedicated himself to the study of taxonomy, systematics, and domestication of macrofungi. He has published over 200 papers on fungi, including numerous discoveries of new fungal species. Notably, nine of his papers have been published in prestigious international mycology journals such as Fungal Diversity and Studies in Mycology. In recent years (from 2020 to 2022), Samantha has made significant discoveries of three luminous mushrooms, one each in Meghalaya (India), Lijiang, and Xishuangbanna (China). Recently, his research project, focusing on the taxonomy and phylogenetics of luminous mushrooms in Yunnan, received support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Luminescent fungi promise vast potential for applications in medical research, agriculture, environmental biosensors, biochemistry, and photochemistry. Out of the reported 148,000 fungal species worldwide, only 114 exhibit luminescence. While China is home to 24 luminescent fungi, Yunnan Province has only a few, with the majority (15) found in Taiwan Province. Samantha is currently conducting comprehensive investigations in the main forest regions of Yunnan, collecting luminous mushrooms, and employing state-of-the-art morphological and phylogenetic methods for research purposes. This project aims to enhance our understanding of the bioluminescent mechanisms in fungi, benefiting biochemists, ecologists, microbiologists, and molecular biologists alike.

Samantha highlighted the global significance of Yunnan's diverse fungal resources. With over 3,000 known fungal species worldwide, Yunnan alone is home to more than 900 of the 1,000 plus fungi species found in China. China has played a leading role in biodiversity conservation on a global scale. Yunnan hosted the first phase of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), garnering international attention for its local biodiversity protection efforts. Yunnan actively welcomes and supports high-end talent engaged in biodiversity research, implementing favorable policies for foreign professionals. It is this conducive environment that led Samantha to choose Yunnan as a place to establish long-term roots.

"This year commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, which has greatly enhanced the bond between Sri Lanka and China. The people of both nations are like a close-knit family. Yunnan holds a special place in my heart and feels like a second hometown to me. During my spare time, I enjoy playing cricket, a beloved sport in South Asia, with my students and friends at Qujing Normal University. Exploring the flavors of local wild edible mushrooms in Yunnan adds to my sense of belonging, and the overall experience of living and working here truly feels like home," Samantha said.

Reporting and translating by Mo Yingyi