ALABAMA FUNGAL DIVERSITY PROJECT Collection CommitteeFrom a mushroom in the woods to a documented, dried, sequenced, and vouchered research specimen. WHO WE ARE Collect. Document. Preserve. Share.The AMS Collection Committee is a team of collectors who collect, dry, document, and voucher fungi using a standardized protocol. Collections are prepared for partner herbaria and for mycological researchers who need physical specimens for study. Committee leadership also serves as mentors and parataxonomists: screening specimens for identification, documentation quality, and effective drying before material is sent to researchers or deposited in herbaria. The committee also tracks active research needs—what fungi are under study, what groups need additional collections, and which researchers are looking for particular material. Through sequencing partnerships, AMS is able to send a large portion of its collections for DNA sequencing. GET INVOLVED There is a place to start at every level.
NEW COLLECTOR
Learn the basic workflow.Learn how to photograph, document, collect, dry, and submit a scientifically useful specimen. Citizen Science How-To → REGULAR COLLECTORUse the established protocol.Regular contributors have several additional procedures that allow hundreds of collections to be processed reliably. Go to collector protocol → RESEARCHERTell us what you need.AMS collects and sends fungal specimens directly to researchers. Let the committee know which taxa or material would support your work. Contact the committee →COLLECTION COMMITTEE CHAIR Alisha MillicanQuestions about documentation, drying, permits, specimen submission, researcher requests, or collection processing can be directed to Alisha.
EMAIL
mycologymaven@gmail.com
Collectors are encouraged to ask questions before sending unusual, rare, or difficult-to-process material. INFORMATION FOR ESTABLISHED COLLECTORS The details matter when you are processing hundreds of collections.The following procedures supplement the basic Citizen Science How-To. They are intended for regular AMS collectors and are designed to keep specimens, photographs, data, sequence splits, and herbarium records connected.
iNATURALIST COLLECTION PROJECT
AMS Alabama Fungal Diversity Project- Collection
Open collection project →
02 — FIELD DATA Fill out the slip completely.The slip is what keeps the specimen connected to the collection record. For regular collectors, consistency here saves substantial processing time later. 
Write the iNaturalist observation number at the top.
Double-check that the number is correct.
Write the date in this format:
6 Aug 2024
Write out the state and county.
Do not abbreviate them.
Put your name under “coll. by.”
If an expert verified the identification, place that person’s name in the “ID by” field.
Leave it blank if you do not know.
Do not enter an identification unless you can identify the collection to at least genus.
Add details, not just check marks.
For example, checking “bruise/staining” without describing the reaction does not provide enough information for identification. Record the closest trees even when they do not seem close.Mycorrhizal fungi may be associated with trees as much as approximately 50 yards away. If no trees are immediately nearby, document the closest ones you can identify. Milkcap latex changes with time.For Lactarius and Lactifluus, record the initial latex color, its color after about five minutes, and the dried color. Alisha's established-collector protocol also asks collectors to record the taste of the latex after touching it to the tongue and waiting 5–10 minutes. Latex can also be touched to the back of the field datasheet and labeled so the dried reaction remains associated with the collection. Record fresh sensory characters.Crush a small portion of the mushroom to determine odor and document it on the field slip. The established AMS collection protocol asks trained collectors to record taste immediately below odor: chew a small piece for approximately five seconds and spit it out completely. Do not taste Amanita specimens; the data are not necessary. This is a specimen-documentation protocol for experienced collectors, not an edibility test or recommendation to consume unidentified mushrooms. Record the collection site precisely.Write the address and trail, when applicable, on the back of the field slip. This information is required for the herbarium. If you collect repeatedly at the same location, Alisha can keep the full address on file and you may use an agreed shorthand plus the trail name. Her example: a collector who frequently collects at Green Top Mountain can write “Green Top Mtn” along with the relevant trail. DOCUMENTATION GRAPHICS Different groups need different details.These are the original documentation guides used by the Collection Committee. Keep them available to regular collectors—the group-specific details are important. 03 — BAGGING Make the data visible without opening the bag.The dried specimen and its field slip stay together. Use a sandwich-size zip-top bag, generally 6 × 6 inches or 8 × 8 inches. Slider-top bags are preferred because they reduce processing time. Pinch-top bags are still acceptable. Slide the field datasheet into the bag unfolded. Place the mushroom behind the sheet so the field data can be read from outside the bag without removing the specimen. COLLECT LEGALLY A voucher cannot fix a permission problem.AMS cannot deposit collections from locations where collecting is prohibited, or where scientific collection requires a permit that the collector did not have. If a scientific collection permit may be appropriate, contact Alisha. She can assist where possible with the process, which may involve substantial administrative requirements. 04 — GETTING COLLECTIONS TO ALISHA Keep the entire batch organized.Before shipping or arranging a handoff, make sure every specimen is fully dried, individually bagged, paired with its correct field slip, and linked to the correct iNaturalist observation. If you are uncertain whether material is ready, contact Alisha before sending it. mycologymaven@gmail.com
CURRENT COLLECTION MAILING ADDRESS
Alisha Millican 2101 Millard rd Soddy Daisy, TN, 37379] COLLECTION PROCESSING What happens when the specimens come in.This is the operational processing protocol used to screen collections, create sequencing splits, route researcher material, and prepare the principal specimen for herbarium deposition. Inspect the specimen.Specimens that do not include an iNaturalist observation number, or that were not dried properly, should be discarded. Open the iNaturalist observation.Confirm that the observation number is correct and that the field datasheet has been filled out properly. Prepare the sequencing split bag.Write the iNaturalist observation number on the snack-size baggie used for the split. Double-check the number. Take the sequencing split.When a split is taken, add the iNaturalist observation to the project “AMS Sequenced Specimens.” If the observation is already in that project, it has already been sent for sequencing and should not be sent again. Route researcher and sequencing material.If the specimen is a target species for a researcher, make a duplicate field datasheet, take the required split, and bag the split with the duplicate sheet. Place it on the processing board beneath the corresponding researcher. If the split is going to Mycota Lab, complete their field datasheet. On the iNaturalist observation, add the observation field “voucher number(s)” and enter the complete voucher number on the Mycota field sheet—for example: CM25-45545. Fold that sheet in half and place it in the bag with the split. These splits should be bagged in chronological order by CM25 number. Place all other sequencing splits into their corresponding processing box. Prepare the main specimen for the herbarium.Confirm that the principal specimen is bagged with its field datasheet visible from outside the bag, without the mushroom blocking the data. Place the completed collection in the box destined for the herbarium. Whenever possible, bagging and grouping collections from the same locality together is extremely helpful. WHY ALL THE DETAILS? Because the mushroom is only one part of the specimen.
PRESERVE
HerbariumMaintain the physical collection as a lasting voucher that can be reexamined in the future. AMS Herbarium → DOCUMENTAFDPBuild a better record of which fungi occur in Alabama and preserve evidence of those occurrences. Explore the project → SHAREResearchersPut well-documented Alabama material directly into the hands of people actively studying those fungi. Request collections → MAPDistribution recordsTie specimens to documented Alabama localities and improve our picture of fungal distribution. Explore the maps →A GOOD COLLECTION The details are the science.A specimen becomes substantially more useful when morphology, field observations, locality, photographs, sequence data, and the preserved collection all remain connected. |
