Sporacle: Mushroom Identifier

Sporacle identifies mushrooms from your photos and helps you learn about the fungi around you. Take up to three photos and the app shows the most likely species, how confident the AI is, and clear warnings when a dangerous or deadly species is among the matches.

A LEARNING TOOL, NOT A FORAGING TOOL
AI identifications are often wrong, sometimes with high confidence. Never eat a wild mushroom based on this app, or on any app. Deadly species grow in Ireland and across Europe, and some look like common field or supermarket mushrooms. Every result carries a do-not-eat warning, and Sporacle never presents a mushroom as safe to eat.

WHAT IT DOES
• Identify from one photo, or use guided capture for three views: the cap, the gills or pores underneath, and the base of the stem
• Top five candidates with scientific and common names, family, and an AI-confidence bar
• Danger badges for deadly and toxic species, and a red warning banner whenever a dangerous species is among the matches
• "Often confused with" notes for dangerous lookalikes
• Species pages with Creative Commons photos from iNaturalist, notes, and links to learn more
• Season and habitat hints: tell the app where the mushroom was growing and the ranking takes it into account
• A "this doesn't look like a mushroom" check
• Ask an expert: share your photos and a cautious summary with someone who knows
• Poisoning help: emergency numbers one tap away from every result

WORKS OFFLINE
The identification model is bundled with the app, so you can identify mushrooms with no signal, deep in the woods. When you are online, the app uses the same model on its server.

YOUR JOURNAL
Every identification is kept on your phone with its photos, habitat and notes. Optionally record where you found each mushroom and see your finds on a map. Nothing leaves your phone unless you choose to share a result or send feedback.

PRIVACY
No account is needed. Photos are sent to the identification server only to identify them and are not stored. Location stays on your phone.

ABOUT THE MODEL
Sporacle uses the Danish Fungi 2020 classifiers by Picek et al., which recognise about 1,600 European species. A fungus outside that set will be matched to the closest known species, which is one more reason to treat every result as a suggestion, not a verdict. The model and data are used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 licence, so Sporacle is free and non-commercial.

If someone may have eaten a poisonous mushroom, get medical help immediately. In Ireland, call 112 or 999, or the National Poisons Information Centre on 01 809 2166 (8am to 10pm). Keep a sample for identification.