Beginner Fungi Identification, 2024
By Victoria McKinney
Bursary funding from BRISC enabled me to attend a weekend beginner fungi identification course, held at the stunning Falkland Estate in Fife and tutored by mycologist Chris Knowles. Prior to this experience my ability to identify fungi even to family level was extremely limited, but thanks to our tutors’ extensive field knowledge we were all able to make use of a variety of keys to identify fungi, often down to species, by the end of the course.
The morning of day one covered theory in the classroom, covering classifications of fungi, their role in ecosystems and ethics surrounding collecting samples. We absorbed a great deal of fascinating information in that time and perused a variety of identification literature featuring various keys and diagrams. For the afternoon session we headed out into the field and meandered around the estate in search of specimens to identify. Chris detailed the necessary information required to effectively record our findings and advised on locations and habitats that may prove fruitful and worth investigating. We discussed symbiotic relationships, substrates, careful observation of our surroundings, and most surprisingly smelling fungi to aid in identification.
© Victoria McKinney
Day two kicked off with an early morning walk to obtain a variety of fungi which would later be used for classroom identification. Covering a completely different area of the estate we collected several species, with Chris taking his time to discuss each one in turn as we carefully collected and recorded them. We diligently returned them to the classroom where we discussed the various methods of identification more in depth, and carried out spore sampling using water, cups and glass slides to create a spore print. While waiting patiently for our spores to drop, we sat in a circle passing round various specimens, noting key features and following keys to identifying each one, having more success with some than with others! However practical application of the theory covered in day one effectively bolstered everything we had learned that weekend and was a thoroughly enjoyable exercise to undertake.
Since attending this course, I have made the most of any opportunity that arises to exercise my identification skills, striding into local woodlands with my identification pocketbook and hand lens tucked confidently into my pocket in the hopes of spotting species I have not seen before. Over time I hope to become more adept at identification and one day put this new skill to practical use in my career, and it will all be with thanks to BRISC for providing me with the funding opportunity to attend a course I might otherwise never have ventured on to.