Computer identification of gilled mushroom genera occurring in Canada

With the advent of powerful personal computers, it is now possible to compi le and organize available taxonomic information in a readily accessible for m. A computerized approach has been developed to identification of 136 gene ra of gilled mushrooms (Agaricales), and 5 genera of Aphyllophorales with m ushroom-like members, known to occur in Canada. The database compiled for t his purpose uses the DOS version of askSam, a user-friendly database manage ment program that can be run on any IBM-compatible PC. The database file, A GARICS.ASK, can be probed in many ways, using Boolean searches, and so can be used as a computerized synoptic key in a tiered, menu-driven manner. Thi s computerized key incorporates records of 1,981 distinct character states from all 141 genera, distributed among 78 menus. A glossary of mushroom ter minology is also included. Since the database contains all available inform ation (i.e. at the time of writing), and can be accessed at any point, (i.e ., in a synoptic manner) it permits faster, more efficient, and more accura te identification to the generic level than any previous key.