Professor Stefan Buczacki is a world-renowned botanist. He is one of the most experienced and prolific non-fiction authors in the country and as well as contributing to practically every major national newspaper and magazine, he has written around sixty books, including several standard works of reference. He also spent twelve unbroken years as panellist and Chairman on Radio 4's 'Gardeners' Question Time'. He was educated at the Universities of Southampton (First Class Honours in Botany) and Oxford (Doctorate in Forestry) and built up a distinguished academic research record before leaving to pursue a freelance career over thirty years ago. Stefan has special expertise in fungi and is double Past-President of the British Mycological Society, the largest learned society in the world devoted to their scientific study. He has received numerous academic awards and honorary degrees as well as the Veitch Memorial Medal in Gold of the Royal Horticultural Society and in 2013 the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Garden Media Guild.