The Fungarium at Kew Gardens

The Fungarium at Kew is not a room full of spectacular caps but an archive of evidence. The Royal Botanic Gardens states that the collection comprises about 1.25 million dried fungal specimens. Each packet links biological material to a label: the name, the place, the date, the host and the collector. Nomenclatural types — the specimens to which a name was attached at the moment a taxon was described — carry particular value.

The collection makes it possible to return to earlier identifications. When DNA analysis or new characters change the boundaries of species, a researcher can set fresh material against a specimen collected decades ago. Part of the collection is being digitised; Kew reports about forty per cent as available digitally. A scan of a label and a photograph reduce unnecessary shipping of fragile material, but they do not replace it where microscopy or safe sampling is needed.

Access is organised as research infrastructure. A visit requires at least fourteen days' notice, a statement of purpose and the team's agreement. The Fungarium also carries out loans between institutions, and the movement of material is subject to rules on the protection of biological diversity and to regulations such as CITES. For an ordinary visitor it is not a standing part of the Kew Gardens display; public entries appear during separately announced events.

That distinction protects both the user and the collection. A tourist should not buy a ticket expecting free entry to the store, and a researcher should check the availability of particular specimens before travelling. The best first step is to search the records online and contact a curator. The value of the place lies not in the number of drawers but in continuity: a properly stored specimen can, a hundred years later, answer a question its finder could not yet have asked. Publishing a catalogue number in a paper lets every subsequent team point to exactly the same piece of evidence.

From Berkeley's collection to 1.1 million online records

The fungarium traces a defining step to the 1879 purchase of about 30,000 Miles Joseph Berkeley specimens, including nearly 6,000 nomenclatural types. Kew now reports more than 1.25 million dried specimens; roughly 1.1 million have an online record, while the British collections account for about 380,000 items. Those figures are not species counts: a taxon may be represented by many vouchers, and a type is the material reference for a name. This is research infrastructure rather than an ordinary exhibition room. Scientific visits require an advance request—normally at least 14 days—and a clear account of the project and material needed.