With an expected species number of more than 1.000.000 distributed on more than 2.000 genera The Fungi is a most impalpable and confused kingdom, only surpassed in complexity by The Animalia. MycoKey -- a synoptical key for identification of fungal genera -- will make The Fungi manageable. MycoKey is developed by Jens H. Petersen (University of Aarhus, Denmark) and Thomas Læssøe (University of Copenhagen, Denmark). It works from CD-ROM and via the Internet, where it is available free of charge for any user with modest equipment.

Present state
MycoKey phase 1 is released on CD-ROM in Marts 2002. This includes the Basidiomycota of Northern Europe, about 500 genera and more thsan 1.500 illustrated species examples. A preview of this edition can be seen on The Internet in two versions, an illustrated Easy version and a text based Full version.

Phase 2
The next phase of MycoKey is the inclusion of the other big fungal group: The Ascomycota (excluding the lichenized fungi). This will be done during 2002 and 2003 with the release of a CD-ROM and an upgraded website in winter 2003. We are currently raising funds for this work.

Phase 3
From 2003 and 5 years ahead we will start the work to include the known fungal genera from other parts of the world, including the mitosporic fungi. This will result in MycoKey 3, targeted towards the Internet. The MycoKey website will be updated along the way so part of the data will be available early. The resulting information system will let a user in the third world identify a specimen to the genus level and supply all relevant information including generic descriptions,usefull references, etc.

A more detailed description of MycoKey can be found HERE and on »www.mycokey.com«