Guidelines for collecting fungi to the fungarium

• Take a few, but informative, photographs
• Show different stages of development
• Photograph the upper and lower surfaces of the fungus, as well as a cross-section
• Photograph the specimen together with your unique collection number
• Photograph the habitat and surrounding environment

If the photographs are uploaded to Artsobservasjoner, we recommend using an open image licence (Creative Commons BY 4.0). To change the licence:
Your profile — Customize settings — select the licence “CC 4.0 BY” — save. Also click the link next to it (“change image licences”) — select “CC 4.0 BY” — save.

• Collect only as many fruiting bodies as needed for identification and specimen deposition
• Include different stages of development, with the majority being mature specimens
• Make sure that all specimens belong to the same mycelium or occurrence
• Keep each collection separate, e.g. in paper bags or boxes
• Include the collection number

Good collection data should include the following information:

• Provisional species name
• Collection number – very important for correctly linking the specimen, collection data, and photographs. 
  • Tip: A lottery ticket (e.g. F28), together with the collector’s initials and date, provides a unique ID and is convenient to to place alongside the specimen
• Date
• Collection locality with coordinates
• Biotope or description of the surroundings, including other species present at the site
• Nearest tree species
• Substrate
• Distinctive characteristics such as smell, colour, and colour changes
• Any co-observers
• Collections intended for deposition in a public collection should be marked as such in Artsobservasjoner

We have created a template for notes to accompany the specimen. You can download these “field notes” here.

• Identify the fungus while it is fresh
• Record which literature was used for the identification
  • Online resources, various Facebook groups, members of local mycological societies, etc. can also be helpful in arriving at a reasonable species hypothesis
  • Threads that have been helpful in the identification should be added under “Open comment” when registering the find in Artsobservasjoner
• State whether the specimen has been examined microscopically, and if so, by whom
• Provide any information about DNA sequencing
  • Where and when was the sequencing carried out?
  • Who interpreted the sequence?
  • GenBank/BOLD number

• Dry the fungus as soon as possible after photographing, identifying, and recording the collection data
• Dry the fungus at a maximum temperature of 35 °C to avoid damaging the DNA
• If you do not have a mushroom dehydrator, air-dry at room temperature on a rack or in open paper bags, preferably in a warm place
• It can be useful to place something on top of the fungus while drying so that the specimen is slightly pressed
  • Arrange them so that the gills and gill attachment are clearly visible
  • Pressed fungi take up less space and are less likely to be crushed or damaged
• Cut large fungi in cross-section
• Fungi should not be dried or stored in direct sunlight
• Drying time depends on many factors (size, thickness, drying temperature, humidity, and drying method), but can take anywhere from a few hours to several days

Dried fungi are vulnerable to insect infestation. Here at NHM, fungi are placed in a freezer for at least one week at -25 °C before the material is brought into the collection facilities.

• Place the material in a zip-lock bag together with the collection number
• Small or fragile fungi should be placed in a glassine bag or a small padded box, while small fungi on pieces of substrate should be attached to acid-free card before being placed in the box (see image)
• Preferably use acid-free materials

• Log in to Artsobservasjoner.
• Click “Search sightings”.
• Select “Fungi” as the “Species group”.
• Under “Uncertain identification”, select “Show all”.
• Select the period during which the specimens you are submitting were collected, e.g. 2025 under “Year”.
• Under “My sightings”, select “Only show my reported sightings (including protected sightings)”.
• Under “Sighting properties”, click “More parameters” and select “Public collection”.
• Under “Public collection”, select “UiO Naturhistorisk museum”.
• NOTE: This requires that the specimens in question have been marked accordingly in Artsobservasjoner. If, for example, you use a similar system with a private collection, you can filter by this instead.
• By clicking “Present sightings”, you can now both print labels and export the data to an Excel file.