Every observation shows whether its identification has been verified. This helps everyone know which records they can rely on.
Unconfirmed
New observations start as Unconfirmed. The ID hasn’t been verified yet, but the observation is still visible to everyone and still useful. Members can agree with it, suggest a different ID or comment.
Confirmed
Confirmed observations show a green tick. An observation is confirmed in one of two ways:
- By community agreement: an ID is clearly ahead of every other ID. Currently that means a lead of three votes, or two when an Identifier is among the members backing it. Identifiers agree in the same way as everyone else. See How the ID System Works.
- By iNaturalist: an exported observation reaches Research Grade on iNaturalist as the same species. See Exporting Observations to iNaturalist.
Everyone sees the same green tick, however an observation was confirmed. Some observations also carry a verdict from a designated verifier. See Understanding User Roles.
How the Status Can Change
- A confirmed ID stays confirmed while it’s still ahead of every other ID. It goes back to Unconfirmed if another ID catches up with it, or if an Identifier backs a different ID and the confirmed one no longer has a clear enough lead. The observer is emailed when that happens.
- If the observer changes the species (by editing it, accepting a suggestion or agreeing with one), their vote moves to the new species. Other members’ votes stay where they are, so the observation can stay confirmed as the original ID if it’s still clearly ahead. Otherwise it becomes Unconfirmed until one ID is. The original ID stays visible, crossed through once it’s no longer the observer’s ID or the confirmed one.
- Genus-level IDs are never confirmed. The observation is confirmed once someone suggests a species and that species is clearly ahead. See Understanding Genus-Level ID.
Where You’ll See the Status
- Photo grids and maps: a green tick on confirmed observations. On maps, confirmed and unconfirmed observations have different colours.
- The observation page: the ID status is shown under the species name.
- Your Observations: filter by Confirmed Only or Pending Confirmation.
- The app: a tick on confirmed observations, and a Confirmed or Unconfirmed filter in Browse.
Tip: Don’t worry if your observation isn’t confirmed quickly. Some fungi are hard to identify from photos, and it can take time for the right person to see it. Good photos of the cap, underside and stem base help a lot.
Status and the NBN Atlas
Field Mycologist UK is an NBN Atlas data partner. How an observation was confirmed is shared with the NBN, so taking part in identification directly improves the quality of the UK’s national fungi records. See NBN Atlas Data Sharing.