The Herbarium of Michael Kuo at MushroomExpert.Com (original) (raw)

Collection 08281401, from Illinois, 2014: Inocybe unicolor

Contributing to the herbarium

Thank you for considering contributing to the herbarium! Contributed collections often provide data and material cited for species pages at MushroomExpert.Com. Examples include Amanita virosiformis, Boletus subalpinus, Clathrus baumii, Gymnopilus palmicola, Lactarius rubriviridis, Podaxis longii, Pholiotina rugosa, Urnula padeniana, and many others. Many other contributed collections have been studied and cited in scientific publications.

Potential contributions should be discussed through e-mail (herbarium@mushroomexpert.com) before being sent. Please do not hesitate to contact me!

To enable study of the DNA, morphology, and ecology of your mushrooms, collections will need to be illustrated, preserved by drying, and mailed to the herbarium, together with information regarding the collection as detailed on the contribution form. By sending collections to the herbarium, you grant permission for the non-profit publication of data regarding your collection, along with your photos (credited to you, of course). Below, please find suggestions for making a successful contribution.

* Collecting the Mushrooms

I recommend using a pocket knife to dig the mushrooms out of the ground carefully. Store them in something that will not damage them—a small paper bag, for example. If there are several stages of development available, it would be very useful to collect them so that I can study the mushroom's development. Further collecting tips can be found here.

* Photographing the Mushrooms

Since I will be studying your mushrooms in the dried state, I will need to see what they looked like when they were fresh. Photos from a digital camera are preferable, but mushrooms can also be scanned in a scanner, or photographed with a cell phone. Blurry, out-of-focus photos, however, will not help me see what the mushroom looked like—and photos taken with standard indoor lighting (which is especially yellow) usually make precise colors difficult to assess. It would be nice to include photos of the mushrooms in their natural setting—even to include photos of the setting itself . . . but if this is not possible, photos of your mushrooms from several angles, after you have picked them, will still be very useful.