Know Your Mushrooms

[moggy]

I learned by going out with pickers. Unless it specificly states as such Im not bothered by cup or umbrella distinctions. 2 general rules are red=bad and if in doubt dont eat it. I tend to go for boletus, parasols, chantrille and Puff balls as im quite confident in what I am dealing with. Psylobin can be amusing as well but technically they contain toxins.

Where the pickers people you knew or you just searched for a group on the net?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

What's the difference between a mushroom & a toadstool?

You can eat mushrooms - preferably with eggs, bacon and sausages, but toadstools are seats for small amphibians

 

[perseus]

Difficult to tell.

On what substrate or habitat were each one discovered. Even knowing that they are tricky to ID from single samples and their condition is not very good for ID.

 

[1066familyman]

I learned by going out with pickers. Unless it specificly states as such Im not bothered by cup or umbrella distinctions. 2 general rules are red=bad and if in doubt dont eat it. I tend to go for boletus, parasols, chantrille and Puff balls as im quite confident in what I am dealing with. Psylobin can be amusing as well but technically they contain toxins.

Pretty much all of the above for me.

Another few certainties for me to add to that list are hedgehog fungus, blewits, horn of plenty, beefstake fungus, shaggy inkcaps, chicken of the woods.

Funnily enough, your common shop bought mushroom is from the Agaricus family. There's about 300 odd in the family and some of them can be buggers to tell apart (beware the yellow stainer or 'poison pie' as it's also known). The yellow stainer does just that when you run your thumb nail over the cap. The lovely big horse mushroom is also in this family and that's pretty unmistakable, as is The Prince, and both are good eaters.

As already mentioned, there really is only one golden rule for mushrooming and it should ALWAYS be obeyed - If you don't know exactly what it is, DON'T eat it!

Best mushroom book on the market? - Roger Phillips.

 

[brakespear]

edited to avoid misleading.

 

[1066familyman]

Oh, something else to add too.

Different people react differently to different mushrooms. Apparently true of the hallucinogens, especially as the age of the mushroom affects it's toxicity too. But I once picked a load of honey fungus with a mate and we cooked it up in a curry as it's said to be a good eater. Just like shaggy inkcaps, honey fungus can make you sick if taken with alcohol. We hadn't drunk anything. He was fine but I brought the whole lot back up again about half hour after eating. Not nice and I've never touched them since.

 

[perseus]

Pretty much all of the above for me.

Another few certainties for me to add to that list are hedgehog fungus, blewits, horn of plenty, beefstake fungus, shaggy inkcaps, chicken of the woods.

Funnily enough, your common shop bought mushroom is from the Agaricus family. There's about 300 odd in the family and some of them can be buggers to tell apart (beware the yellow stainer or 'poison pie' as it's also known). The yellow stainer does just that when you run your thumb nail over the cap. The lovely big horse mushroom is also in this family and that's pretty unmistakable, as is The Prince, and both are good eaters.

As already mentioned, there really is only one golden rule for mushrooming and it should ALWAYS be obeyed - If you don't know exactly what it is, DON'T eat it!

Best mushroom book on the market? - Roger Phillips.

I agree with this. The Agaricus have some that stain yellow and look edible but give people tummy aches.

The trouble with IDs in old specimens is the distinguishing bits can disappear.

 

[Notters]

There are no general rules about which mushrooms you can eat. Please ignore anyone who says there are.

 

[1066familyman]

This was a great series from back in the early days of Channel 4

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[Notters]

The third one looks like Boletus Satanus as the stem looks reddis.

It really doesnt.

 

[1066familyman]

It really doesnt.

Agree.

Devils Bolete has a big bulbous stem, nothing like the one in that pic. The red on devils bolete is really vivid too and the bitter smell alone would ward anyone off. I've no firm idea what the bolete in that pic is.

Often the stem size, shape and even the webbing that appears on some boletus stems are crucial for ID, as well as the cap of course.

Again, same advice as always. Never eat anything unless you know EXACTLY what it is.

 

[looney]

What's the difference between a mushroom & a toadstool?

The difference is between a cup and a cap. The former being flat or concave so a toad can sit on it, these are generally inedible were as caps are more likely to be the eaters.

 

[looney]

Pretty much all of the above for me.

shaggy inkcaps, chicken of the woods.

Dont shaggy inkcaps have another common name? its bugging me.

Where the pickers people you knew or you just searched for a group on the net?

People I know.

 

[1066familyman]

Yes, Lawyers wig.

 

[moggy]

It's generally accepted that you should avoid the poisonous ones.

The ones in the final picture look like they could be webcaps, which you should really avoid due to their unpredictable nature in that respect.

I thought the ones in the last pic were fairy ring champignons but its so hard to tell for sure

 

[looney]

meh

 

[looney]

Yes, Lawyers wig.

Ta, i just googled it. Theres another mushroom im thinking of but the name escapes me, kind of bulb shaped and inside goes fluid when it goes of.

 

[fat old seagull]

They're not Fly Agaric. The most feared mushroom in Britain because it includes the Death Cap. They look like a 'cracked egg' and have a skirt-like ring on the stem just beneath the cap. Eat one of those deadly f**kers and there's a 50% chance of dying. The first 24 hours and you'll be feeling ok but the mushroom inside will be destroying all your internal organs (liver, kidneys, pancreas etc) and sickness will be the first symptom. There's really no way back from there.

It's this time of year that they grow in woods under trees with the warm and wet weather.

Can I buy them anywhere ?

 

[moggy]

Ta, i just googled it. Theres another mushroom im thinking of but the name escapes me, kind of bulb shaped and inside goes fluid when it goes of.

False morel ?

 

[looney]

False morel ?

Yep thems the ones! Brains on stalks!