MUSHROOM WEBSITES

Contributed by Mitchell Milgram, 2024

https://www.mycomatch.com/ This is an excellent site mostly organized by Ian Gison of the Vancouver Island Mycological Society, with contributions by prominent West Coast mycologists such as Danny Miller and Michael Beug. The site gathers and consolidates mushroom information from many sources and presents it to you in a clear and detailed manner. The site contains all kinds of information such as pictorial keys, methods to trace name changes, an identification program, and more. This is a great resource for the Pacific Northwest mushrooms. Michael Beug’s book “Mushrooms of Cascadia” was written as an extensive key, to be used alongside Mycomatch.

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/ This website by Michael Kuo is a go to site for descriptive mushroom information, laid out in a concise and consistent format. Additionally, the site has keys and information on the use and application of chemical testing and microscopes. Though Michael is based in the American Midwest, his descriptions extend both east and west to include our area.

https://mushroomobserver.org/ This is a long-established site but one that I’ve not used.

http://www.svims.ca/council/keys.htm This is the web site for the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society, a good site with links to Mycomatch (listed above), free identification keys, and more.

https://www.inaturalist.org/ Using inaturalist gives you access to thousands of mushroom images for reference and an identification feature which while at this stage is hit and miss (the AI is continually improving), it can be very helpful in helping to narrow down your identification quest. It’s much better for identification of vascular plants, insects, etc., but still worth investigating.

https://ibis.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/eflora/ This link leads you to e-flora, with good photos and information on vascular plants, mushrooms, lichens, ferns, and more.

https://www.alpental.com/psms/ddd/ This is Danny Miller’s excellent website. He’s a west coast mycologist based in Washington State. Danny does extensive research, particularly in the area of DNA sequencing, and he reports on the many latest changes in mushroom taxonomy. The site has extensive pictorial keys and lots of information particularly relevant to our area. This site is perhaps better suited for those with some understanding of mushroom taxonomy, as for a novice it can be overwhelming at first.