Kew's Fungarium: The World's Largest Collection of Fungi

Over one million specimens of fungi share a space known as the Fungarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is the largest collection of dried fungi in the world with specimens as old as the 1700s.

Today we welcome lead mycologist Tuula Niskanen, and Fungarium curator Lee Davies to spotlight this important collection. We discuss when, where, why, and how fungi from all over the world are collected, studied and preserved. 

Topics Covered:

• How the Kew Fungarium is curated and maintained 
• The value and importance of saving physical specimens
• Shelf life and preservation methods of fungi in the form of spores, mycelium and fruiting bodies
• Specimen highlights
• The Kew Gardens State of the World’s Fungi Report
• How citizen science can help and benefit from Kew   

Show notes:

Access the Fungarium: https://herbtrack.science.kew.org/search

IMI database: http://www.herbimi.info/herbimi/home.htm

Beyond the Gardens short virtual tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9HitGBVlIY

State of The World’s Fungi: https://stateoftheworldsfungi.org/

Ophiocordyceps taylorii photo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tBG__EwAt-vH1kjI2qAbxckRJovJPBAv/view?usp=sharing

Hongos de Patagonia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yya-bvYTSas 

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