This course is divided into two parts. Part one will take place in Lima, Peru, where students will engage with the students and faculty of UNALM and work within the wood xylarium learning to do hand lens and microscopi identification of many of the common Peruvian tree species. Students will be given their own xylotec of Peruvian wood species on which to practice, which may be brought back to the USA. Part two will take place at a field station near Puerto Maldonado, owned by the NGO InkaTerra. Here, students will cruise the Amazon rainforest, learning to identify downed trees via hand lens and collecting samples of fungi growing on said trees. Students will be able to culture the fungi, identify them, and learn about fungal/host interactions in rainforests. Throughout the course, students will develop a fundamental understanding of wood anatomy, fungal anatomy, wood identification, and fungal growth requirements. Class instruction will be entirely laboratory based, with all instruction at InkaTerra taking place within the Amazon rainforest.

Accommodation will be in a modest hotel in Lima, and then in a field research station in Madre de Dios.