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Francois le Danque

Noob mushroom guide...

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Well seems i'm a mycology noob (and there are probably several like me), i think we should start a guide on where to find active species of fungi in Australia.

It should be listed: Species, location, images (and/or other info., how to identify, poisonous lookalikes etc.).

i think this would be a valuable resource. not just for me of course.

anyway just a thought. anyone else think this is a good idea?

edit: i know there are probably other ways that this could be done, but i would appreciate input from you guys, who probably know best :wink:.

Edited by frank

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i dont think so - but it might be an idea. Dutchie from MMA was going to do one, and i sorta tried on the bluemeanie site - but i wanted to do further hunts for rarer species before i made something - if anyone else feels like organising it that would be c00l

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I meant like a simple one just here on the forums. for example:

"i found a group of psilocybe azurescens in Inverloch, Victoria" then a picture of the specimen and an annotated map.

it's just good to know what's in your area, you know?

attached is example of map and picture.

location.bmp

location.bmp

location.bmp

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I think it's a potentially dangerous idea.

To my thinking, mycology should be like fishing. Good spots are kept quiet by the few that know of them and use them to collect specimens.

If you're a newbie (like myself), research and getting out there in the wilds is your primary way of accessing wild specimens. Alternatively, you may get to know someone that is willing to share their knowledge once a suitable basis of trust is established (just like fisherman).

The danger with widespread dissemination of locality information for species is primarily over-use of the species and land in that locality. Say someone finds a source of species X on the grounds of public school Y. Now everyone with access to the list we've published online and with an interest in collecting the species for their own studies heads down there and collects. At the end of the day, we've decimated the local population and the landholders and neighbours are getting very stroppy with the traffic from enthusiastic mycologists. And lets face it, there are some who are far less responsible about the environment than those of us who actually participate in this forum.

But in support of your idea, I suppose if there were no more specific locality information than the example map you provided and the name of a suburb then this scenario would be unlikely.

I've just acquired a microscope and will be going out this autumn/winter in the hope of finding a few target species for study. If I find any I will be disclosing the locality to only those in whom I can have faith that the environment and the species dwelling in it will remain safe.

Wish me luck!

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All very good points MORG. Obviously telling people the exact location of a specimen of interest is a very bad idea. But the idea behind it is that you just state the general area of a species, so others know what kinds may be found in their area.

I don;t know what else to say....good luck i suppose!

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I think it's a potentially dangerous idea.

Damn straight.

I have seen too many areas almost depleted of certain types of mushroom. All this because some people thought that everyone should know where they grow.

Fair enough, some people want really, really, want to know where they are and i have shown a select few. This did not however stop them telling everyone they knew. Ten years later and you are lucky to get fifty or sixty.

I understand that the patch still may produce alot of mushrooms, even if it does there is alot more people going there to harvest, that leaves alot less(sometimes none.) for you.

IMO you are better off keeping your favorite spots to yourself.

and for anyone that wants to know more about any species of mushroom, there is a plethora of information out there waiting for you to digest.

they arent that hard to find.

Edited by phleb

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I think in this case, practice makes perfect.

Once you know the conditions required for fruiting, and get a feel for your area, you'll just know when they are there! You'll wake up one morning look out the window, see the fog settled in the valleys and a nice cold dew and you'll know ^_^

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There are some interesting fungi that grow around here. I have taught a handful of friends how to ID them and what type of environment to look in, and even when to look. I have taught them how to print for ID and how to know the inactive look alikes.

I don't teach them where the patches I find worth paying attention to are, but I hear that they have had successes on their own with what they have learned.

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