Checklist of Macrofungi for South Africa

Introduction

In our quest to make mycology more accessible, we aim to provide as much valuable information for South African fungi as possible. Field guides only comprise a fraction of the species that occur in the region and are not sufficient for the avid mycologist. The paper “A first checklist of Macrofungi for South Africa” by Kinge et al. (2020) does a great job of addressing this and is an invaluable tool for those wanting to delve a little deeper into the magical realm of mushrooms. Below is a brief overview and download link to the paper.

Overview

The fungi kingdom, incorporating molds, yeasts, and mushrooms (aka ‘macrofungi’) are one of the least studied kingdoms across the globe. This rings true for South Africa, and until recently there was no comprehensive checklist for macrofungi in South Africa.

“Macrofungi are considered as organisms that form large fruiting bodies above or below the ground that are visible without the aid of a microscope.”

Kinge et al. 2020

The relatively recent publication of “A first checklist of macrofungi for South Africa” by Kinge et al. (2020) provides the first comprehensive checklist for the region, excluding lichens. Although the list is far from complete, it is the best representation of current knowledge of macromycetes found in South Africa. It provides an excellent base for new names to be added in future, developing a list that will be as complete as possible and provide an excellent resource for scientists, authorities, and the public.

This comprehensive checklist is extremely useful for the avid mycologist as well as keen naturalists and mushroom foragers. It is particularly useful when used in conjunction with the most recently published field guide “A Field Guide to Mushrooms and other Fungi of South Africa” by Marieka Gryzenhout and Gary Goldman.

Download

This journal article was published open access by MycoKeys. You can download it directly using this link, otherwise, the pdf is attached below.