Visitors to national parks are encouraged to take only photos and leave only footprints but in the case of fungi hunters, they're also advised to tread carefully.

Tasmania is home to a multitude of colourful tiny fungi and hunting for the sometimes delicate forest favourites is growing more popular.

It's been a bumper year at Mount Field in the Derwent Valley during which keen fungi spotters have not been disappointed.

If you want to join them, here's a quick guide.

What do I take?

The fungi favour conditions on shaded areas of a log. ( Supplied: Greg Power )

In short, a torch, a mirror and a keen eye.

A mirror will help you look underneath at the gills so you can identify them. They are often in dark places so a pen torch is recommended.

"A really good little tool is a light so if you want to take a photo, using the pen torch helps you get a better photo with a light underneath to expose the gills," said tourist operator Rachel Power.

If you want to know what you are looking at, a flip guide has been produced which is laminated for the damp conditions.

Where do I look?

This year has seen more purple fungi on the forest floor. ( Supplied: Greg Power )

The less light the better, so seek out the dark corners.

"You will always find them on a dark side of a log, you'll always find more on the dark side," Ms Power said.

"At Mount Field there are many down near the creek down from Lady Barron Falls."

But they are not always on the ground, so don't forget to look up.

"Sometimes they are up in the trees," she said.

"Your eyes tend to train as you go along and then tend to pick up any changes in colour, but sometimes that you can miss things like the green fungi which very easily hide in among the ferns and leaf litter."

"I always say to people just stop and just stand there and just look. When you do that you'll see within just one metre around you 20-30 varieties.

"For those who don't like leeches you don't even have to go off track."

Where do I find the colourful ones?

The russula persanguinea has a bit more of a traditional fungi shape. ( Supplied: Greg Power )

Ms Power said another good place to look was on the logs that do not have moss.

"The fungi is helping decompose the dead wood and the dead leaf litter, so I often find more colour without moss," she said.

"On the logs with the moss, you will find the lovely whites and bright colour that look great against the green moss, so they make a good photo.

"Or looking down in the leaf litter, often there you will see the bright reds ones, and they are like a fungi hunter's dream.

"They are just so bright and not what you expect to see - something bright red in the middle of a forest."

What do I look out for?

A delicate white fungus grows from a tree at Mount Field National Park. ( Supplied: Greg Power )

Some are so small they can be very easily missed.

They range from less than a centimetre high, but others up in the trees can be up to 30 centimetres.

"We have found dinner-plate sized ones that have fallen down from the trees, but there are also minute ones that are just millimetres," Ms Power said.

"Then there are tiny littles ones that grow on top of other ones that often you can't see until you take a photo and you zoom in and you can see some much more detail.

"So we encourage taking photos. A lot of the cameras on mobile phones are pretty good these days but a good macro lens is always helpful."

What are the best conditions?

The botanical name for these brown capped fungi is mycena subgalericulata. ( Supplied: Greg Power )

"Generally they come out when it's wet. Last year we noticed that it was a much later season," she said.

"Some years you just have to go to a new place. What we've found is that this year it's just right next to the [Russell Falls] track.

"This year many are just along just the track; beautiful blue pixie parasols that everybody is just dying to find, along with red ones.

"The parasols are my favourite, [you] just get that drop of water on them and they just gleam.

"And there have been a lot more of the purple this year."

What not to do?

This delicate coral-like fungus could look more at home on a reef. ( Supplied: Greg Power )

Pick them. Permits are issued to people who are guides, or are researching fungi.

Several varieties have spores that can be poisonous so don't be tempted to touch them.

As the motto goes - take only photos and leave only footprints.