Should fungi observations be separated by fruiting body in close proximity?

[cooper-conservation]

So to elaborate on the title, if I find multiple mushrooms of the same species in a very close proximity to each other, or fairly close, say within less than 1-2ft of each other, should I take multiple photos of the species and then upload all photos as one observation, or should I/can I separate each by the single fruiting body?

[cooperj]

An iNat obeservation is supposed to include ‘an individual’. Pragmatic definitions of a ‘functional individual’ for fungi were introduced for fungal conservation status evaluation doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2010.11.001
They say, “For terrestrial fungi, one may conservatively assume that sporocarps separated by 10m or more represent a functional individual or separate genotype.”
For lignicolous fungi the pragmatic unit is different.

[fffffffff]

Check previous threads, if there’s a couple of metres between each fruiting body, it’s one organism, if, say, 50 metres, it can be or can be not the same organism, you can’t prove it, so post separately.

[tiwane]

@user82793’s advice seems sound. Use your best judgement - fungi like to break just about every “standard” biological concept out there.

[knotwoood]

Agree with @user82793. Can’t be too careful, especially if the observer isn’t an expert and isn’t 100% that the two species are different. I generally lump multiple fruiting bodies into one obv if they’re, say, within 6 feet of one another and I am certain they are the same species.

[cooper-conservation]

Thanks for your reply and everyone’s above. All make perfect sense and good points.