====== Forumites' guide to fungi spotting ====== =====Understanding Fungi===== Fungi are fascinating and fun! Despite being largely ignored and seldom studied, fungi play a vital role in nature. Fungi are the main recycling agents for most of the earth's dead plant material. Without fungi, fallen timber and dead plant litter would not become humus and return to the soil, and without this composting action, soil would quickly become devoid of nutrients. Fungi are neither plants nor animals. Plants produce chlorophyll to make their own food from energy provided by the sun. Animals must search out and eat food that is then digested internally. A fungus, however, digests its food externally by injecting enzymes into the substrate, then absorbing its food. A fungus growth that sprouts from timber, leaf litter or soil is the **fruiting body**, or reproductive receptacle, releasing vast quantities of microscopic spores which are dispersed by air currents, insects, invertebrates or larger animals. Underground thread-like filaments called **hyphae** form a web-like mass called the **mycelium** which spreads through the substrate releasing enzymes and absorbing nutrients. =====Finding and Identifying Fungi===== The main fungal fruiting season is late august and early winter, with a secondary flush in spring. Fungus identification is primarily a job for **mycologists**, experts in the field of fungus study. However, amateur fungus enthusiasts and casual observers can have some success at identifying their finds. A good field guide is essential. These are two of the best: **A Field Guide to Australian Fungi** by Bruce Fuhrer (ISBN 1 876473 51 7 Blooming Books). **Fungi Down Under - the Fungimap Guide to Australian Fungi** (ISBN 0 646 44674 6 Fungimap, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne). Familarise yourself with the structure and parts of a fungus. Making field notes is essential for fungus identification. Record date of find, location, habitat, substrate, size, colour and texture, along with details of cap, gills and stem. A **spore print** is also helpful for identification. To obtain a spore print, cut off stem and place cap with gills (or spines, pores etc) facing downwards onto a piece of white cardboard, cover with a glass and leave overnight. Placing a piece of clear plastic over the cardboard before placing your specimen will allow the spore print to be placed on a dark surface if a white spore print is not visable. =====Edible or Poisonous?===== There is no known test by which to tell if a fungus is edible or not. Positive identification is the only solution, and positive identification is extremely difficult, even for some experts. If in doubt, do not eat. Wash hands after handling fungi before eating or smoking to avoid injesting toxins. =====Photographing Fungi===== This is my favoured method of photographing fungi, but is certainly not the only method. An SLR camera is more versatile than a compact camera, but I have successfully photographed many fungi in adequate light with a point-and-shoot digital camera. I use the AV setting on my Canon 300D SLR with aperture set to 16 or 22 to obtain as much depth of field as possible, and the camera then chooses a suitable exposure time. If the exposure time is slower than 1/60, the camera will need to be secured on a tripod or wheat bag. A remote cable enables the shutter to be pressed without risking camera movement. I do not use a flash (but many photographers do), preferring to direct natural light onto the subject with white cardboard. Silver wine cask bags also make an effective reflector. Photographing fungi can be time-consuming and frustrating, but ultimately rewarding. =====