This is the best summary I could come up with:

Some have the familiar mushroom shape of a stalk and a cap, but others resemble fluorescent corals, wads of clear brown jelly, brilliant yellow buttons — bizarre forms visible to the naked eye for only a brief window while the organisms release their spores.

For some years now, professional mycologists and hobbyists alike have been using DNA sequencing on foraged fungi, said Mandie Quark, a mycologist and the communications lead for California’s Fungal Diversity Survey, which aims to add sequences from tens of thousands of fungi to scientific databases.

At the Sonoma County Mycological Association’s annual foraging camp this January, Ms. Quark and her partner, Alan Rockefeller, helped hundreds of campers identify fungi plucked from the soil in the forest near Occidental, Calif. Red-and-white paper takeout boxes, each containing a fungus rather than a corn dog or French fries, piled up on picnic tables.

Once collectors receive a match for their sequence, they can enter the information on iNaturalist, a website where hobbyists can share observations of the natural world.

This way, the information generated by dispersed networks of foragers can be funneled directly to scientists and conservation organizations.

Only then will it be possible to get a handle on the true diversity of fungal species in North America, and, as the climate changes, consider ways to conserve what lies beneath the surface.

The original article contains 531 words, the summary contains 223 words. Saved 58%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!