FungiOz

FungiOz is the store dedicated to all things Fungi. It is a companion to Fungi Oz App, the Australian Fungi app coming soon to Apple, Google and Amazon play stores. Australia is estimated to have 200,000 fungi species compared with only 6,000 European. However, only about 12,000 Australian species have been identified and only about 6,000 have been named and described. Fungi Oz is an interactive app, designed to help users identify their finds and contribute to knowledge about Australian species. * Fungi Oz initially showcases 300 Australian mushroom species with more than 850 excellent photos. It is interactive and due to being internet based, has the capacity to include many more user and developer submitted species. • IDENTIFYING A FIND IS EASY AND INTUITIVE: It works through 3 simple steps that teach about identifying features and guide your observations. 1. First, you select the collection icon that best matches a find’s most obvious features. The five collection icons are: “Gills”, “Pores”, “Corals”, “Clubs and Spikes”, “Globes and Cups” and “Spines/Jellies and Others”. 2a. Now you can enter a single key word that describes a main feature of your find. "For instance, "Red" will produce all red species in the collection and "Waxy "will produce photo icons and names of all with a waxy surface. No technical language needed. 2b. An even better approach is to match your find to a category icon within any large collection. Opening the Gills icon for example, displays twenty one categories with photo examples of each. 14 of these are “characteristic feature categories”, such as “Ear-shaped”, “Tall stem“, “Brittle, no ring“, “Waxy Cap” and “Web vs Gills“. Another 7 gills categories specify where the specimen was growing, such as “On Trees”, “On Grass”, “On dead wood”, “With Moss”. 3. Selecting a category icon opens excellent photographic thumbnails of all corresponding species. EACH SPECIES ENTRY INCLUDES: -2-3 quality in-the-field photos -Descriptions in common language -Any informative www link •A VISUAL GLOSSARY contains 113 entries grouped in 12 categories such as “Cap Shapes”, “Gill types”, “Stem Shapes“ and "Textures". The glossary helps users identify and describe their finds. FUNGI OZ PROVIDES 7 ways to add to knowledge about Australian species. You can easily: -Report target species sightings -Add fungi photos,descriptions & knowledge, recipes & Event details 5 Fungi Oz pages link users to "BEST ON THE WEB RESOURCES" for: -GROWERS, FUNGI & HEALTH -FUNGI TOURS & EDUCATION - Fungi Tourists -GOURMETS OTWAY VISITOR links you with Australia's Otway National Park, where most of the initial 300 Fungi Oz species were photographed. This region includes the Mountain biking mecca of Forrest on its northern edge and The Great Ocean Road to the south.