Equipment
 

Very little in the way of sophisticated equipment is needed to collect fleshy fungi.  Some equipment that you may want to consider includes:

a.    Rigid “container” – A wide mouth, shallow wicker basket works very nicely.  Buckets and cardboard boxes will also work well except when it is raining.  Do not use plastic bags.  Plastic bags do not allow mushrooms to “breath” and they trap moisture causing the mushrooms to “sweat” and decompose rapidly.  For small mushrooms, the plastic (Plano) tackle boxes used to hold individual lures are useful.  To prevent the mushrooms from sweating and decomposing to quickly a small piece of damp moss or organic debris should be placed in each individual compartment that contains a specimen. 

b.    Waxed paper – Useful when mushrooms are going to be identified after collecting.  The wax paper helps to support the mushrooms and keeps individual specimens separated.  Different species should never be wrapped in the same sheet of wax paper.  Place the heavier mushrooms on the bottom so as not to crush the smaller and / or more fragile ones.  In regards to tall species place the specimens upright in the basket to prevent bending.

c.    Knife or trowel – Used for digging up mushrooms or detaching them from trees.  Be sure to always dig up unknown mushrooms so as to not miss the volva, if present.  The volva is a key characteristic in certain deadly species of mushrooms such as Amanitas (Arora, 12).

d.    Photographic equipment – Practically any camera will do.  Obviously, what type of camera, film, lens, etc. you use will dictate to varying degrees the image quality that you obtain.  Digital cameras are nice for the simple reason that they allow you to see your image immediately after it is taken. 

e.    Pencil and Small Notebook – Useful for recording field notes and obtaining spore prints.

f.      Hand lens – Used to magnify various fungal structures.  Hand lenses come in a variety of magnifications with price varying with the quality of the product (Arora, 13).

 

Works Cited

 

Arora, David.  Mushrooms Demystified.  2nd ed.  Berkley, Ten Speed Press, 1986.