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GLOSSARY · MUSHROOMS AND NAMES

Index Fungorum

Also called: Species Fungorum

A global database of fungal names, kept at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and mirrored by Species Fungorum. It records where each name was published and which name an authority currently accepts.

Index Fungorum is a database of scientific names of fungi. Each record gives a name’s author, publication and year, and links to its current name. Its sister view, Species Fungorum, adds the current name and synonyms; the journal reads Index Fungorum through it. For example, the Psilocybe record reads “Nom. cons. et typ. cons.”, meaning the genus name and its type are conserved (Index Fungorum).

It has a formal role. The naming code lists Index Fungorum, MycoBank and Fungal Names as recognized repositories that issue the identifiers new fungal names must cite (Madrid Code, Art. F.5.1 and F.5.2).

Its view of current names is one authority’s view. Index Fungorum treats Psilocybe quebecensis, named from Quebec material, as a synonym of Psilocybe aztecorum (Index Fungorum), and its records show changes such as the 2024 move of Pholiotina cyanopus to Conocybula cyanopus (Species Fungorum). Citing the record and the date checked is safer than citing a name alone.

Sources

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