Fungexpo

Fungexpo is an independent, community-led citizen science initiative based in Hungary. It conducts mycological field research and develops and maintains a fully bilingual Hungarian-English, open-access fungal database for biodiversity documentation, species identification, education and conservation.

Its work combines repeated field observation, habitat documentation, macro photography, microscopy, specialist literature, georeferenced occurrence data and molecular validation. More than one hundred records included in the project have been validated through ITS sequencing.

Fungexpo is operated by citizen scientists and works with selected, trusted collaborators and professional specialists where additional expertise or validation is required. Data production is carefully curated rather than open to unrestricted public submission. This approach protects scientific reliability, ensures accountability for published records and allows sensitive biodiversity information to be handled responsibly.

The resulting species information, diagnostic photographs, microscopic data, distribution records, maps and research tools are made freely available in both Hungarian and English. In addition to documenting fungal biodiversity, Fungexpo provides a practical identification and learning resource for amateur and independent mycologists.

The initiative is maintained independently and is currently self-funded, without permanent institutional financing.