Ectomycorrhizae Descriptions Database

The Catalogue

This page has a list of all the ectomycorrhizae (EM) descriptions in the EDD database. Each record has a unique collection name, which links to a description of that EM type, and a unique collection number. If Photoprofiles of Ectomycorrhizae or Concise Descriptions of Ectomycorrhizae has an image of a certain record, or if that record has an entry in another database, then a link to the image or database entry will appear in the same row of the catalogue.

Clicking the magnifying glass in the rightmost column of a row will search for EM types with similar descriptions, and will bring you to a search results page.

If you like, you can filter the EM descriptions listed in the catalogue by typing text that appears in one of the rows. For example, if you only want to see EM types or species that are part of the CDNAE collection, type CDE. If you wanted to see all of the entries that have sporocarp descriptions in Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, type "MMPNW".

The Search Form

To conduct a synoptic search for an EM character(s) or feature(s), go to the search page by clicking on Search Database on the menu at the top of any page, or from the home page. Now fill in values for characters that you are interested in, and click the Search button at the top or bottom of the page. This will bring you to the search results page.

The fields in the search form are organized according to the CDNAE checklist of ectomycorrhizal characters (PDF; 277KB). That means that characters which can be observed at low magnification (i.e. with the naked eye or a dissection microscope) are listed under the Morphology tab and characters which can be observed at high magnification (i.e. with a compound microscope) are listed under the Anatomy tab. DNA and autofluorescence are listed under the Other tab along with descriptions of Hartig Nets.

Some form fields are greyed out and can't be interacted with. These are features that could be used to describe ectomycorrhizae but haven't been specified for any of the 559 records in the database.

The Search Results Page

The search results page shows a list of potential matches based on the terms you entered in the search form. The best matches are at the top.

Each record has a unique collection name, which links to a description of that EM type, and a unique collection number. If Photoprofiles of Ectomycorrhizae or Concise Descriptions of Ectomycorrhizae has an image of a certain record, or if that record has an entry in another database, then a link to the image or database entry will appear in the same row of the catalogue.

The numbers in the rightmost column show how many search terms were matched by the record and can be clicked to show which search terms they were.

The collection number is a unique record for each EM description in the database. Clicking the collection number will bring you to a description of that species on the description display page.

Comparing EM Descriptions

To compare two existing descriptions, go to Compare Descriptions from the home page. Choose records from the drop down boxes based on their species name or collection number, then click Show Description to display the record (it may take a few seconds). If you would like to compare more than two records, you can one or two more selections from the dropdown box and click Show Description again.

If you would like to start over and clear the table, click the Clear button.

The EM Description Display Page

This page shows all data in an ectomycorrhiza description. If you would like to find species that are similar to the one you are looking at, click the Search For Similar button.