General Questions
fungexpo – It’s a bit like explaining a joke, but we’ll reveal it anyway—though Hungarians might find it obvious—that the name of the Budapest Fair Center, Hungexpo, was our starting point. We played around with it when thinking about what to name our fungus archive. A parallel can certainly be drawn: on this site, we don’t exhibit products but fungi (fungus, fungi, funga). In both senses of the word „exposition”—we present them and also capture our finds in photographs.
Fungexpo was created by the two of us: Gábor Benkő and Krisztina Fábrics. We live in Vas County, in the West Transdanubian region of Hungary. We started foraging more consciously together in 2017 (the „alpha” in the website header marks the date of our first completed fungus photo from that year). Soon after, we completed a mushroom inspector course (MHGE). Since then, as time allows, we’ve been expanding our knowledge through self-education, following the requirements for mushroom inspection. We are members of several thematic Facebook groups related to fungi, keep up with new research findings as best we can, and, of course, spend a lot of time in the woods. Additionally, whenever possible, we participate in the Hungarian Mycological Society’s specialized professional workshops, which have always been valuable and enriching experiences for us.
In some cases, readers may find photos taken by others alongside our own (these are always credited in the captions). This happens when a friend or friends join us on a foray and capture better images of a particular species. However, we consider it essential that every fungus featured on this site is one we have personally observed in the field—handled, smelled, and examined firsthand.
Fungexpo is, at its core, a personal blog. Fortunately, both the international and Hungarian internet offer increasingly good resources, with several useful websites available (we’ve gathered what we consider the most important ones in the footer links below) for those interested in learning about macrofungi. fungexpo is not intended as an educational platform or a science communication website—it is simply a structured photo archive of the fungal finds we have documented since the beginning of our „mycological journey.”
When taking our photos, our main goal is to highlight the distinguishing features of each species. If the result happens to be aesthetically pleasing, that’s a bonus—but we’re well aware of the limitations of our equipment and photography skills, and we have no ambition to pursue photographic artistry. However, since this archive may hold informational value for others, we decided to make its main functions publicly accessible. One key point to emphasize again: fungexpo exclusively features species that we ourselves have found, and in most cases, also examined and identified.
Fungexpo features the species of fungi that we have found and (at least at the genus level) identified, primarily macrofungi, for which we have a usable photograph. Despite frequently foraging the forests of Hungary (mainly in the West Transdanubian region), we inevitably pass by many species, miss others, and some fungi simply don’t grow in this area. Therefore, fungexpo should be viewed more as a compiled species list of our forays rather than a nationwide, comprehensive collection of species.
We have separately marked those species for which we had the opportunity to conduct definitive, conclusive genetic testing (we’d like to thank our friend, Dr. Bálint Dima, for his immense help in this regard). These identifications can be considered 100% reliable. For all other species, microscopy and the available literature were the limit, supported by a series of subjective judgments. While we have always strived for thoroughness in our identifications, errors can occasionally occur in this field, so it’s important to keep that in mind. If you are an expert in this field and browsing our archive, and you have any corrections or critical remarks regarding our identifications, we would be happy to receive them via email at szerzok@fungexpo.eu or through the contact form at the bottom of individual species pages.
On many species pages, we include notes related to certain identifications, especially when it’s important to document how and why we made specific decisions in the identification process (this is useful for us as well). We also indicate if there is taxonomic uncertainty, meaning when a species’ taxonomic status is known to be under revision, and phylogenetic-based changes are likely to affect it. In such cases, it may happen that the name of a species will change in the near future, one species (or group) will be split into several, or conversely, several will be merged—this, of course, will align with phylogenetic findings.
Additionally, we’d like to address the issue of „fungi as food.” fungexpo was created with the purpose described above, and we do not deal with the edibility of fungal species. We cannot take any responsibility in this regard.
Firstly, not every fungal species has an officially accepted Hungarian name, and among our finds, many do not. Secondly, taxonomy records fungi by their scientific names, which is how they are found in reference books and cited in the latest scientific articles—regardless of the author’s nationality.
Just as people have both first and last names, fungal species names are based on a similar dual nomenclature. So, when we look at a species’ scientific name, we can also see the genus it belongs to. This is a helpful guide for identification. Some Hungarian names may serve this function, but often they are not consistent—tracking taxonomic changes by altering the Hungarian name each time a species shifts between taxonomic groups would be unmanageable. For this reason, we exclusively use scientific names for listing purposes. However, on the species pages, we always include the Hungarian name (where available) alongside the scientific name.
As mentioned earlier in the „purpose/not purpose” section, this website is essentially a broader personal „blog.” We created it primarily with the „selfish” goal of organizing our own findings, which is why we do not accept or upload external photos to the site. For such purposes, various mushroom groups on Facebook are excellent, and other mycology websites will surely welcome well-defined photos of fungi identified with proper care (e.g., MIGE, Fortissima Fungus).
We made the website public because it’s intended for the public. If you like any of the images, feel free to save them! If you want to use them for nonprofit educational purposes (e.g., a school presentation, illustration for an article, etc.), we have no objections (though we’d appreciate a source credit). The only request we have is that you do not alter the images, keep the watermark intact, and use the species images with the identification as found on fungexpo.
If you wish to use any images for non-educational purposes (e.g., for advertising or other commercial purposes) and/or plan to use them without the watermark or in higher resolution in a printed publication, please contact us to discuss the details: szerzok@fungexpo.eu!
Operator: Gábor Benkő // bg@fungexpo.eu
Hosting Provider: Elin.hu Kft. // info@elin.hu // +36 30 2222 444
Fungal Photo Gallery Hosting: pcloud.com
The website is entirely nonprofit, does not engage in any commercial activities, and does not collect or store visitors’ data.
Database growth – by year
2017 Total registered occurrence data in 2017 226
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 1
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita vittadinii
Number of new species in 2017-ben: 115
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2017-ben: Amanita (13), Tricholoma (9), Flammulina (8)
2018 Total registered occurrence data in 2018 690
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 9
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Agaricus bohusii
- Amanita caesarea
- Amanita lepiotoides
- Amanita vittadinii
- Gyrodon lividus
- Hericium erinaceus
- Polyporus tuberaster
- Strobilomyces strobilaceus
- Volvariella bombycina
Number of new species in 2018-ben: 219
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2018-ben: Mycena (23), Amanita (22), Exidia (14)
2019 Total registered occurrence data in 2019 408
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 6
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita vittadinii
- Gomphidius roseus
- Hygrophorus marzuolus
- Pholiota squarrosoides
- Pogonoloma macrorhizum
- Strobilomyces strobilaceus
Number of new species in 2019-ben: 179
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2019-ben: Mycena (25), Tricholoma (8), Geastrum (8)
2020 Total registered occurrence data in 2020 401
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 7
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita caesarea
- Amanita lepiotoides
- Hericium cirrhatum
- Hygrophorus poetarum
- Pogonoloma macrorhizum
- Strobilomyces strobilaceus
- Volvariella bombycina
Number of new species in 2020-ben: 145
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2020-ben: Mycena (20), Cortinarius (19), Amanita (16)
2021 Total registered occurrence data in 2021 344
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 3
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita vittadinii
- Flammulina ononidis
- Tulostoma dunense
Number of new species in 2021-ben: 97
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2021-ben: Mycena (20), Hygrophorus (10), Inocybe (7)
2022 Total registered occurrence data in 2022 426
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 10
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita lepiotoides
- Disciotis venosa
- Entoloma porphyrophaeum
- Ganoderma pfeifferi
- Gomphidius roseus
- Grifola frondosa
- Lactarius helvus
- Phylloporus pelletieri
- Pseudoboletus parasiticus
- Strobilomyces strobilaceus
Number of new species in 2022-ben: 127
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2022-ben: Amanita (14), Lactarius (10), Morchella (9)
2023 Total registered occurrence data in 2023 414
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 6
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Albatrellus pes-caprae
- Amanita lepiotoides
- Amanita vittadinii
- Disciotis venosa
- Pseudoboletus parasiticus
- Strobilomyces strobilaceus
Number of new species in 2023-ben: 93
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2023-ben: Mycena (16), Amanita (15), Russula (12)
2024 Total registered occurrence data in 2024 630
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 7
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita vittadinii
- Disciotis venosa
- Ganoderma pfeifferi
- Hygrophorus marzuolus
- Phylloporus pelletieri
- Polyporus tuberaster
- Volvariella bombycina
Number of new species in 2024-ben: 79
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2024-ben: Amanita (26), Mycena (19), Russula (19)
2025 Total registered occurrence data in 2025 733
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 7
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Amanita caesarea
- Amanita vittadinii
- Disciotis venosa
- Ganoderma pfeifferi
- Polyporus tuberaster
- Strobilomyces strobilaceus
- Volvariella bombycina
Number of new species in 2025-ben: 91
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2025-ben: Russula (38), Amanita (31), Mycena (16)
2026 Total registered occurrence data in 2026 128
Of which protected (in Hungary) species: 1
List of protected (in Hungary) species:
- Hygrophorus marzuolus
Number of new species in 2026-ben: 10
Top 3 most frequently registered genera in 2026-ben: Lentinus (6), Exidia (6), Verpa (5)
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