Alabama Mushroom Society |
Collection Committee
Our approach supports and encourages collectors with an interest in fungi, regardless of their experience level. Committee leadership act as mentors, as well as parataxonomists, to provide quality control of specimens by screening for correct identification, documentation and effective drying, before specimens are sent to researchers or herbaria. We also try to keep up on current research and what species are in need of further study and who is working on different groups.
Through partnering with Mycolab and the Ohio Mushroom DNA lab, we are able to send nearly all our collections for DNA sequencing.
If you are researcher needing collections of specific fungi, please reach out and let us know what to keep an eye out for! We collect and send fungi to researchers around the world.
You can reach the Committee Chair, Alisha Millican directly at mycologymaven@gmail.com
Information For Established Collectors
In addition to the information and instructions on the Citizen Science page, regular collectors have a few additional steps to help streamline the processing of hundreds of collections. This is a compilation of the additional steps, as well as answers to frequently asked questions:
>Our collection project on iNaturalist is "AMS Alabama Fungal Diversity Project- Collection"
>Fungi should be dried in a dehydrator at 100°F or less until cracker dry. This might be 24 hours for a small mushroom during dry weather, to 3-4 days for large mushrooms after rain. The longer a mushroom sits before being dried, the sequencing success drops. Due to failure rates from air dried fungi from the Southeast being extremely high, I do not accept mushrooms that were dried any other way, unless you have a very rare specimen. Ovens are too hot for drying, unless you have a 'proofing' setting, which may work in a pinch. Cheap food dehydrators can often be found at second hand stores and yard sales very affordably.
>You can cut large or very wet mushrooms in half, top to bottom, before drying to speed drying and to better fit inside your dehydrator. Leave mushrooms in one piece whenever feasible, and do not cut more than once.
>If your mushroom is very dirty, DO NOT RINSE or cut off the base with the dirt. Dry it first and gently brush off the dirt once dry. Using a small paintbrush or old toothbrush is sometimes helpful. A little dirt wont hurt anything if left attached.
>Cut out and use the "temporary # for dryer" tab to label and keep track of the mushrooms inside dehydrator. Mixing up specimens is easy to do without labels.
>Filling out the field datasheet:
iNat #: Write your iNat observation number at the top of the field datasheet. DOUBLE CHECK ITS CORRECT!
Date: Write the date out in this format: 6 Aug 2024
Location: Write out the state and county without abbreviations.
Collector/ID Verified: Your name goes in the "coll. by" If you got the ID from an expert, put their name on the "ID by" space.
Species: If you don't know what your mushroom is leave the "species" line empty. Do not fill in anything unless you can ID it to at least genus.
Check Boxes: Please fill in as much of the check boxes with details as possible. Just putting a check mark on "bruise/staining" with no written details doesn't help with ID.
Nearby Trees: Please fill in as much of the check boxes with details as possible. Just putting a check mark on "bruise/staining" with no written details doesn't help with ID. If there are not any trees "nearby', please note the closest trees. Mycorrhizal fungi can be associated with trees up to 50 yards away.
Ooze/Milk: For Lactarius and Lactifluus ("milkcaps") It is helpful to know the inital color of the "milk", color at 5 minutes, and dried color. Touch the latex to your tongue and wait 5-10 minutes to report the taste. Touching the latex to the back of the field datasheet (with a note/label) can be helpful.
Odor: Crush a bit of the mushroom to determine odor. Immediately below odor, please write in the taste of the mushroom. You should chew a small bite for 5 seconds or so and then spit it out entirely. Please do not taste Amanita mushrooms, the data is not necessary.
On Back:
Please write the address and trail (if applicable) of where you are collecting on the back of the sheet. If you collect the same address frequently, you can just let me know the address which I can keep on file, and you can write a shorthand on the back to let me know where. For example: Linda frequently collects at Green Top Mountain and can just write "Green Top Mtn" on the back with the name of the trail she is on/near. This is required information for the herbarium.
>The dried mushrooms get put in a sandwich size ziplock with the field datasheet slid in, unfolded. Put the mushroom behind the sheet so I can read it without having to remove the mushroom. The correct baggies can be 6"x6" or 8"x8" and I prefer the ones with a slider top. (I will take the pinch top bags too but the sliders cut down on my time slightly)
>Please make sure you are collecting legally. I can't deposit collections from areas that don't allow collecting, or that specify needing a permit if you do not have one. If you are interested in pursuing a permit for scientific collection, please reach out and I will assist you where I am able. There is a lot of red tape to do so.
>Fungi should be dried in a dehydrator at 100°F or less until cracker dry. This might be 24 hours for a small mushroom during dry weather, to 3-4 days for large mushrooms after rain. The longer a mushroom sits before being dried, the sequencing success drops. Due to failure rates from air dried fungi from the Southeast being extremely high, I do not accept mushrooms that were dried any other way, unless you have a very rare specimen. Ovens are too hot for drying, unless you have a 'proofing' setting, which may work in a pinch. Cheap food dehydrators can often be found at second hand stores and yard sales very affordably.
>You can cut large or very wet mushrooms in half, top to bottom, before drying to speed drying and to better fit inside your dehydrator. Leave mushrooms in one piece whenever feasible, and do not cut more than once.
>If your mushroom is very dirty, DO NOT RINSE or cut off the base with the dirt. Dry it first and gently brush off the dirt once dry. Using a small paintbrush or old toothbrush is sometimes helpful. A little dirt wont hurt anything if left attached.
>Cut out and use the "temporary # for dryer" tab to label and keep track of the mushrooms inside dehydrator. Mixing up specimens is easy to do without labels.
>Filling out the field datasheet:
iNat #: Write your iNat observation number at the top of the field datasheet. DOUBLE CHECK ITS CORRECT!
Date: Write the date out in this format: 6 Aug 2024
Location: Write out the state and county without abbreviations.
Collector/ID Verified: Your name goes in the "coll. by" If you got the ID from an expert, put their name on the "ID by" space.
Species: If you don't know what your mushroom is leave the "species" line empty. Do not fill in anything unless you can ID it to at least genus.
Check Boxes: Please fill in as much of the check boxes with details as possible. Just putting a check mark on "bruise/staining" with no written details doesn't help with ID.
Nearby Trees: Please fill in as much of the check boxes with details as possible. Just putting a check mark on "bruise/staining" with no written details doesn't help with ID. If there are not any trees "nearby', please note the closest trees. Mycorrhizal fungi can be associated with trees up to 50 yards away.
Ooze/Milk: For Lactarius and Lactifluus ("milkcaps") It is helpful to know the inital color of the "milk", color at 5 minutes, and dried color. Touch the latex to your tongue and wait 5-10 minutes to report the taste. Touching the latex to the back of the field datasheet (with a note/label) can be helpful.
Odor: Crush a bit of the mushroom to determine odor. Immediately below odor, please write in the taste of the mushroom. You should chew a small bite for 5 seconds or so and then spit it out entirely. Please do not taste Amanita mushrooms, the data is not necessary.
On Back:
Please write the address and trail (if applicable) of where you are collecting on the back of the sheet. If you collect the same address frequently, you can just let me know the address which I can keep on file, and you can write a shorthand on the back to let me know where. For example: Linda frequently collects at Green Top Mountain and can just write "Green Top Mtn" on the back with the name of the trail she is on/near. This is required information for the herbarium.
>The dried mushrooms get put in a sandwich size ziplock with the field datasheet slid in, unfolded. Put the mushroom behind the sheet so I can read it without having to remove the mushroom. The correct baggies can be 6"x6" or 8"x8" and I prefer the ones with a slider top. (I will take the pinch top bags too but the sliders cut down on my time slightly)
>Please make sure you are collecting legally. I can't deposit collections from areas that don't allow collecting, or that specify needing a permit if you do not have one. If you are interested in pursuing a permit for scientific collection, please reach out and I will assist you where I am able. There is a lot of red tape to do so.
Documentation Graphics for Different Fungi Groups
Milk Caps | Boletes |
Amanita |
