FUNGARIUM MICOCL
Sowerbyella rhenana (Fuckel) J. Moravec
MICOCL-486
Fungario for scientific research
One of the pillars of NGO Micófilos is research and conservation around the fungi, lichens and mycorrhizae in Chile. For this reason, at fungarium was created and registered in the New York Herbariorum Index with the code "MICOCL", which is the acronym for "Micófilos Chile ". A Fungarium consists of a collection of samples of dehydrated macrofungi mushrooms (fructifications), as well as dried lichens for preservation purposes.
Thanks to our fungarium it will be possible to make a record of the collections in each field, and to be able to give continuity to the investigations that are being carried out in different national and private reserves and biological stations throughout Chile. In addition, the replicas will be sent to the Cryptogam Collection of the National Museum of Natural History (SGO).
Currently, the Fungarium MICOCL has around 2,000 samples that are constantly being cataloged according to taxonomic criteria.
Importance of biological collections
Biological Collections are repositories of specimens or parts them, with which information from a place is stored at a certain time. Thanks to them, it is possible to know the composition of species in an ecosystem or changes in populations through time and space, as well as, to compare the characteristics for an adequate taxonomic determination (morphological, genetic, chemical characteristics, among others).
By studying the biodiversity of macrofungi, better conservation protocols can be established, in addition to knowing the evolutionary history of the fungal lineages present in our country.
Cyttaria berteroi Berkeley
MICOCL-772
How to contribute?
Everyone can help advance science, learn about our biodiversity and promote the conservation of Chilean mushrooms!
It is important to know the protocol for collecting specimens in the field, and subsequent treatment to be sent to the specialist, who will be in charge of taxonomic determination and entry to the fungarium.
In the link on the left you can download the protocol for scientific collection and processing of samples, to enter them into the Fungarium MICOCL.
How to collect samples?
In this video, show you step by step how to collect mushrooms and the materials you need to do so.
It is important that you know that for a scientific collection several specimens are collected in different stages of maturation, this allows a better taxonomic description of their macromorphological characters that allow describing the species found.
¡More information in YouTube!