Forensic mycology: current perspectives David L Hawksworth,1–4 Patricia EJ Wiltshire4,5 1Department of Plant Biology II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain; 2Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, 3Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, 4Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, 5Department of Geography and Environment, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK Mycology can contribute to a variety of forensic investigations, including the determination of postmortem intervals from mold growth on corpses, psychoactive substances and toxins, hazards from mold growth in buildings, and providing trace evidence linking people and objects with places. Studies are also starting to be undertaken to explore the use of molecular data on fungi in the characterization of soils. In addition, where there are health concerns, possibly associated with mold growth in buildings, guidance is presented with respect to the collection of samples, and some caveats are given which must be considered in interpretation of data. Attention is drawn to pertinent publications which either appeared, or came to the attention of the authors, since the review they prepared in 2010. This is supplemented by examples from their own recent casework. In order to avoid valuable information being overlooked, there is a need for investigating officers, and those involved in forensic medicine, especially pathologists and toxicologists, to be aware of the evidential value of fungi. In particular, they should not overlook opportunities to recover spores from human remains, to examine any mold colonies growing on corpses, and to analyze gut contents for fungal material and spores. Keywords: fungi, mold, pollen, postmortem interval, spores, toxicology