Dr Andy Taylor, a leading fungi expert at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, has been recognised for his role in the recent discovery and description of a new species, Xerocomus silwoodensis by the International Institute for Species Exploration.

This new mushroom species was discovered on Silwood Campus, a campus of Imperial College, London, as was named accordingly. The new species is a non-edible relative of the famous Penny Bun (or Cep, Boletus edulis) commonly used in French cuisine.

The mission of the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) is to inspire, encourage and enable the advancement of taxonomy and exploration of earth’s species and each year the IISE announces a list of the Top 10 New Species for the preceding calendar year.

The new finding was described in the journal Mycological Research by Andy Taylor and his colleagues, Alan Hills, Giampaolo Simonini, José Muňoz and Ursula Eberhardt who share the award. Other notable top ten winners are a 75-million year old giant duck-billed donosaur, a shocking pink millipede and a venomous snake. Read the full list for 2008.