Fungi Art for Sale by Artist 09

Fungi Art for Sale by Artist 09

While not the case for mushroom art prints, for the purpose of mushroom identification and mycology studies, it is perfectly acceptable and in many circumstances absolutely essential to pick the mushroom. If the mushroom is growing so that the gills are not visible, or if one needs to take a spore print, or if one needs to examine the base of the mushroom stem to determine if it is tapered or bulbous, one often can't do any of that satisfactorily without picking the mushroom. For a mushroom photograph to adequately present a subject for safe mushroom identification (which you certainly want if you are out mushroom picking), it should show clearly every feature of the mushroom. How does a mushroom photograph show the top and the bottom of a mushroom, from cap to base of stem, if the there wasn't at least a little mushroom picking in the photographic process! 

© C Ribet 2013