Finding Fungi

Can you help us find some fascinating fungi at RHS Wisley? This autumn we are calling on visitors to become community scientists and help us record fungi

Project team

Heidi Wheatley, Summer Intern Student (studentship funded by the British Mycological Society)
Gemma Golding, Senior Ecologist
Ruth Chitty, Plant Pathologist

Dates

Survey open from 2 September 2024 to 2 December 2024

Why do we need your help to find fungi?

Fungi play a key role in garden ecosystems, helping to decompose dead and waste material and increasing the nutrition available to plants.

Most fungi grow in the soil, forming long networks of white fungal thread known as mycelium. We normally only see the mushrooms (fruiting bodies), which fungi use to disperse their spores and spread to new locations.

This lack of visibility means fungi populations could be removed or suffer damage when garden projects dig up or remove soil and disturb the threads.

Mushrooms of orange fly agaric fungus

Magpie inkcaps and stubble rosegill mushrooms are fungi species we used to find growing in the Orchard and old Glasshouse Borders (now the Oudolf Landscape). We would like to see if they reappear after recent disruption to the soil they were growing through, or if new species of fungi appear instead.

Magpie inkcap fungus

What are we doing?

We know the soil the fungi were living in has been disturbed, but will the mushrooms reappear? To help us spot these beautiful mushrooms, we are inviting visitors to RHS Garden Wisley to go on a fungi hunt. Spotting what species appear in newly changed landscapes helps us to understand what level of disturbance fungal species can tolerate.

We have set up a project on the popular wildlife recording tool, iNaturalist, to capture the fungal sightings in these areas of the gardens. Although we are particularly interested in the magpie inkcap and stubble rosegill, we would like to spot any fungi growing in these areas.

iNaturalist can be downloaded as an app onto a smartphone and used to capture records of any fungi you spot when you are visiting the Oudolf Landscape and the Orchard at RHS Wisley. Records can then be submitted to our ‘RHS Finding Fungi’ project within iNaturalist (see below for instructions).

As an alternative to using the app, you can also add photos to the Finding Fungi project via the iNaturalistUK website.

What difference will this research make?

Information collected from this project will enable us to see if the disturbance in this area of the garden recently has resulted in a reduction of magpie inkcap and stubble rosegill mushrooms, and identifying whether new species have taken up residence there. This will help us improve the way redevelopment projects and changes to borders at RHS Wisley are carried out in the future, to ensure the conservation of fungi communities are taken into consideration.

How do I take part?

1.Check what you need
The easiest way to submit your records is with a smartphone.
2.Download the iNaturalist* app to your phone
Follow the registration (sign-up) instructions within the app.
3.Join our ‘RHS Wisley Finding Fungi’ project in iNaturalist
Visit our iNaturalist project and click ‘Join’ Alternatively, open the iNaturalist app and click ‘Projects’ (a briefcase icon). Using the search (a magnifying glass) type in ‘RHS Wisley Finding Fungi’ and select the project of that name. Click ‘Join’. Joining our project will give you notifications when we make journal entries, keeping you up to date with any finding fungi news.
4.Visit RHS Wisley
Fungi love wet weather, so this is a great activity to do on a drizzly day.
5.Head to the Oudolf Landscape and the Orchard
These areas can be found in the south of RHS Wisley.
6.Photograph any fungi you find in these two areas
Follow our tips on how to take a photo of fungi to support the best identification. Photos from different angles, including under the mushroom cap and a zoomed-out area of the surroundings where you found the mushroom, are really helpful. Please make sure to stay on the paths and grass rides when taking your fungi photography.
7.Start a new record
With the iNaturalist app on your phone open, click ‘Observe’ (camera icon). Choose either your camera (for spontaneous photos of fungi) or photo library (if you’ve already taken the photos), and select the photos for the record you want to submit.

Under ‘What did you see’, either type the name of the fungus, or your phone will try to identify this for you. Your phone will also automatically populate the date and location, but make sure your ‘Geoprivacy’ is set to ‘Open’ and the ‘Captive/Cultivated’ is set to ‘No’.
8.Submit your record (via iNaturalist)
Make sure to submit your record. All records made in the Oudolf Landscape and Orchard will be automatically added to our Finding Fungi project.

* Please note iNaturalist is the Data Controller of the data added to iNaturalist. Please see iNaturalist’s privacy policy for information on how your data is stored and handled by iNaturalist. Where permitted under the iNaturalist licence terms, RHS will use data in connection within the RHS ‘Finding Fungi’ project to inform how projects are undertaken at RHS Wisley.

How to identify fungi

The magpie inkcaps were previously spotted in the Oudolf Landscape under and around trees surrounded by bark chips. The stubble rosegill has been found for years growing along the grassy pathways in the Orchard. Although it can be difficult to identify some mushroom species, our two star species do have some key features to help tell them apart.

Magpie inkcap

  • Young mushrooms have an elongated egg-shaped cap, which becomes bell-shaped as it matures
  • Mature mushrooms have a dark brown, almost black background to the cap, with white shaggy-looking scales. Younger mushrooms may be whiter, with a less noticeable brown/black background
  • If you’re lucky enough to spot a young magpie inkcap, the gills are white, but they quickly turn to black as the mushroom ages
  • These mushrooms are short-lived and last less than 24 hours before decomposing (‘melting’) to support the dispersal of their spores
  • The stem is white, with some textured scales

Stubble rosegill

  • The cap starts white and slowly turns pinker over time, with a light brown centre
  • The cap is initially oval-shaped and transforms into a convex shape (curving outwards). This cap can feel sticky to the touch when wet, but smooth when dry
  • White gills become pink over time. The gills are also very close together and free, meaning they are not attached to the stem
  • The stem is around 10-15cm tall and 1-1.5cm wide
  • There is a noticeable volva (bulge) at the base of the stem, and sometimes you may notice a fleshy ‘bag’ at the base

Guidelines for photos

Taking an additional photo from further away to show where the mushrooms are living is also very helpful. This helps to show us what kind of material the fungi are living near or on, which can be useful in understanding important factors in their conservation.

Taking an additional photo from further away to show where the mushrooms are living is also very helpful. This helps to show us what kind of material the fungi are living near or on, which can be useful in understanding important factors in their conservation.

This is one of the star fungi we are hoping to find in the Oudolf Landscape, the magpie inkcap – congratulations if you manage to photograph one of these.

This is one of the star fungi we are hoping to find in the Oudolf Landscape, the magpie inkcap – congratulations if you manage to photograph one of these.

Make sure that when you are taking pictures of fungi, the photo is clear and in focus – this will help with making sure iNaturalist gets a correct identification.

Make sure that when you are taking pictures of fungi, the photo is clear and in focus – this will help with making sure iNaturalist gets a correct identification.

Taking an additional photo from further away to show where the mushrooms are living is also very helpful. This helps to show us what kind of material the fungi are living near or on, which can be useful in understanding important factors in their conservation.

Taking an additional photo from further away to show where the mushrooms are living is also very helpful. This helps to show us what kind of material the fungi are living near or on, which can be useful in understanding important factors in their conservation.

This is one of the star fungi we are hoping to find in the Oudolf Landscape, the magpie inkcap – congratulations if you manage to photograph one of these.

This is one of the star fungi we are hoping to find in the Oudolf Landscape, the magpie inkcap – congratulations if you manage to photograph one of these.

Make sure that when you are taking pictures of fungi, the photo is clear and in focus – this will help with making sure iNaturalist gets a correct identification.

Make sure that when you are taking pictures of fungi, the photo is clear and in focus – this will help with making sure iNaturalist gets a correct identification.

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Further useful resources for mushroom ID:

Thank you for taking part in our Finding Fungi project!

More on Science with the RHS

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