Keys are one way to find the name of a fungus. There are other ways and there are various kinds of keys. This is a simple explanation designed to accompany some field keys that I have developed to try to help myself and others identify New Zealand fungi. Such keys are far from perfect and you need to read what follows to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various keys.
Limitations on all keys
The distribution and abundance of New Zealand species of Russula and Lactarius is poorly known. Eight species are currently listed as ‘Nationally Critical’ under the current conservation threat classification. Many more are listed as ‘Data Deficient’ due to poor historical recording. Russula and Lactarius species occur throughout the world and are relatively easy to recognise at the generic level, but it is often difficult to identify collections to known species due to variation in key characters such as colour.
