The fungiprespae database is a pioneering initiative to document the fungal flora found in Prespa National Park and the surrounding area. The website is being developed as part of the project “The Natural Values of Prespa: Driving Forces for Sustainable Local Development,” funded by the Green Fund. The database will initially include approximately 150 mushroom species, some of which are national records, while others are the first global records.
The recording is carried out through field research by mycologist Nikos Tsilis throughout the year to include mushrooms from all seasons. The mushrooms are located, photographed with a professional high-resolution camera, sampled, dried, and cataloged in a herbarium*. If a specimen cannot be identified macroscopically, it is sent to the Agricultural University of Athens for further investigation.
Prespa National Park is home to a significant number of rare mushroom species. Among these are species of particular scientific importance, such as Pyrofomes demidoffii, which grows on Juniperus excelsa in one of the few forests of this species in Greece. Additionally, underground and terrestrial species of the genus Geastrum have been recorded, including the unique underground species Geastrum nadalii, which has so far been found in Greece (in the Prespa region) and Spain. Of particular interest are the subterranean mushrooms of the genus Tuber (truffles), with unique records both in Greece and worldwide. At the same time, species of the genus Gautieria have been identified, such as Gautieria morchelliformis var. fageticola and Gautieria fenestrata, which also constitute significant rare records on an international level.
The presence of so many rare mushrooms in the Prespa National Park area is a natural consequence of the region’s exceptionally rich biodiversity.
We hope that the creation of a dynamic online database will lead to the continuous addition and updating of information on the region’s mycoflora and will offer a valuable free access to scientists and mushroom enthusiasts around the world.
*Herbarium: in botany, a herbarium (plural: herbaria) – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in alcohol or other preservative. The same term is often used in mycology to describe an equivalent collection of preserved fungi, otherwise known as a fungarium.
