They had names like Galerina marginata, Helvella dryophila and Ramalina menziesii.

Such was the bounty collected by students from UC Davis and other Bay Area colleges during a weekend fungi hunt field trip along the California coast.

The trip is a beloved tradition and a sought-after adventure for students taking PLP 148: Introductory Mycology, which is the study of fungi like mushrooms, molds and yeasts.

A solution to world hunger might start with boba and caviar.

Using an innovative process, engineers at UC Davis are growing “myco-foods” — small balls of edible fungi that can be processed into products like boba and lab-grown caviar with a wide range of textures, colors and flavors. These myco-foods, grown from the nutrients of agricultural byproducts like coffee grounds and almond hulls, provide an important new source of protein to feed the world.