A leading expert will discuss truffles and fungi at the first Explorations Series public lecture for 2017 at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Thursday 9 March.Ecologist and environmental photographer Ms Alison Pouliot will speak on the significance of fungi in an address titled 'Between sex and death – Unearthing Australia's charismatic fungi'.Head of Campus at CSU in Orange Dr Heather Robinson said Ms Pouliot lives and works in Australia and Europe, and her special interest are lesser known lifeforms, particularly fungi and 'the spineless'."The lecture title derives from one truffle forager's description of the smell of the prized Périgord truffle from Europe," Dr Robinson said. "Ms Pouliot will explain that while this particular fungus is highly prized for culinary use, it doesn't occur naturally in Australia. It requires environmental modifications to flourish here despite Australia having a vast number of native truffles, and far more than Europe."Ms Pouliot says it's little known and underappreciated that nearly every eucalypt tree lives in association with native truffles.Her lecture will examine why biodiversity protocols rarely consider fungi as worthy of conservation despite their nutritional and potential economic value.The free public lecture starts at 6pm Thursday 9 March in room 120, building 1004 at CSU, Leeds Parade, Orange.