How to enagage in Mission: Urban Mushrooms?

How to get started?

What to do?

  • Make sure the photographs are in focus and well lit, but avoid using flash.
  • Think about making the mushroom relatively large in the photograph so that the details can be seen clearly.
  • Use an object for scale, for example a dark coin.
  • Capture all relevant morphological features of the mushroom, such as the cap and its underside (surface of the pores/gills), and the stem, including the base.
  • Document any color changes or exudation after cutting.
  • Show the mushroom in situ and include its host or substrate (for example, if it grows under a specific tree, show the leaf or needles of that tree next to the mushroom, or take a separate photograph).
  • Photograph the spores if you come across a deposit on leaves or other mushrooms.
  • Add details that cannot be captured in the photographs to the notes section, such as any distinctive odor, taste or texture.

Want to go the extra mile?

  • Join the conversation on urban mushrooms with other mushroom fans across Europe using the comments on iNaturalist.
  • Quick hot air dry your find and store it in a small hermetic plastig bag. We might ask you to send it for DNA sequencing!