While I find fungi to be quite interesting, I don’t observe them very often. Fungal species only make up around 5% of the species on my life list, so there is clear untapped potential for personal growth in that regard. It’s dawning on me that there is a far easier way to do this than simply hoping that I happen upon a mushroom: mold.
But that of course comes with some questions. Is there a way I could actively encourage mold growth? Would uploading large numbers of mold observations attract negative attention from disgusted fellow naturalists? And most importantly, how does one navigate such endeavors safely?
I think happening upon a mushroom may be much easier than you make it out to be. I highly encourage you to explore local parks and trails, especially during fall and spring. With the right eyes, and a strong intent to find them, you may be surprised to see just how many beautiful fungi are hiding in plain sight! Even in your backyard, I can assure you that there is always a good chance of finding something. Yes, when it comes to mushrooms, they can be elusive at times. But they are never impossible to find.
It depends where you are, but here in Washington state we get mushrooms Spring through Fall. Even in the depths of summer and winter, I still find mushrooms I’ve never found before!
I suppose for mold you can leave different foods out in a closed environment over long periods of time. For molds especially, I think a microscope would be handy to have, since many mold species are indistinguishable from each other macroscopically. I’m not a mold expert though, but those are some tips I’d assume to be true. As for people being repulsed by your observations - that’s a them problem. That’d be like me getting disgusted by a glow worm observation; if there’s a place for those types of organisms, it’s iNat. Everyone has their own interests and niches when it comes to nature and the way they want to experience it, and iNat is the perfect place for all of that. For me, it’s macrofungi. For you, it may be something else. And that is what this platform is for! I can assure you there are plenty of people on iNat willing to nerd out about molds :)
I would suggest another, more ‘natural’ approach: document mildew and rust fungi on plants. They are often IDable by the host plant (don’t forget to document well) and so far you only have one mildew and no rust. So a lot potential there and many more species than documenting mold (one doesn’t exclude the other, of course)
For encouraging mould growth there are a few options.
The most obvious one is to leave out food (especially stuff rich in starch or fruits, but NOT cucumbers, pumpkins, and squashes, they make a huge mess, don’t ask me how I know). Here is an observation of a mould from half a mango that I forgot about.
The second option is making agar plates, and after the agar has congealed exposing it to air for a few minutes. Then just leave them for a few days (upside down so water doesn’t drip onto the agar). That way you should get moulds, yeasts, and bacteria. Not all people agree that these organisms qualify as wild, though.
Both these methods are generally quite safe and no special safety precautions other than common sense are needed (for healthy humans at least).
What I would not recommend, even though that also gives you colonies of stuff, is testing surfaces for microbiota. There is a much higher risk of accidentally cultivating something dangerous. (In my microbio lab class, I accidentally got a few cultures of Clostridium botulinum on my plate that way)
Overall, I agree with carnifex and shroomysean. It is much easier to find actual mushrooms than you may think, and trusts and mildew are also quite easy to find. Hunting for moulds is way more difficult and if you go the agar-way requires special equipment (petri dish) and frequent sterilisation. Additionally, moulds are not easy to identify, even with microscopy, and there aren’t all that many IDers, so you will probably just end up with a bunch of observations stuck at Class at best.
I love this - I think it’s wonderful finding new areas of interest to broaden your knowledge, experience, and iNat observation list! I like what the previous responders have said, and wanted to add that you can even find molds on fungi:
Another source for mold observations can be if you compost kitchen scraps and have a collection container you put things in, and maybe sometimes you take too long to go out and dump that in the compost pile…cough…
I too wrestle with perception concerns when I post food mold observations (one was observed 9/11/23, but uploaded 11/5/24!), but I think it’s a leap worth taking. I have yet to take the next step and observe some microscopically, although I have the microscope, I still have a lot of learning to do.
Good luck, and I hope you share your finds with us. (-:
Just be aware that mold is likely to stay at “Needs ID” for a l-o-o-o-n-g time.
Even mushrooms have trouble finding identifiers, unless there happens to be an identifier who regularly IDs in your region, or unless you have knowledgeable followers, or you find some of the “easy” ones.
Well, I’ve found that untreated citrus fruits will turn into a ball of green mold seemingly overnight without any encouragement… But I agree that getting a specific ID is likely to be difficult without microscopy.
I’m not very good at finding mushrooms – perhaps a consequence of having spent most of my life in places ranging from “very dry” to “rather dry”. But there are some local iNatters who post all sorts of interesting fungi, suggesting that the problem is not an absolute lack of mushrooms in the larger vicinity, but rather a personal lack of skill at noticing/looking for them. So perhaps you might find it useful to meet up with a mushroom club in your town or county or get in touch with mushroom-focused iNatters in your area who would be willing to go out with you and give you some tips on how to spot mushrooms.