Mushrooms!

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661-Pete
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Mushrooms!

Post by 661-Pete »

Picked these in Ashdown Forest this morning...
Ceps 29Sep13.jpg

Best haul we've had for some years. Looking forward to a delectable cèpes au gratin tomorrow...
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Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
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yakdiver
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by yakdiver »

Very nice I had a few parasol mushroom the other day
byegad
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by byegad »

Sadly I developed an intolerance to mushrooms in my twenties and am sick as a very sick dog if I eat more than a single mouthful of them. I used to love them too!
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al_yrpal
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by al_yrpal »

I have seen loads recently but am frightened to pick them in case they are poisonous. Any tips on identifying edible ones?

Al
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661-Pete
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by 661-Pete »

al_yrpal wrote:I have seen loads recently but am frightened to pick them in case they are poisonous. Any tips on identifying edible ones?

Al

Best way by far is to go out with someone who knows. No 'buts', do it on your own and you may make mistakes. There are several good books: the best I know of are Roger Phillips Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe, and Michael Jordan's Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe. But all books carry a disclaimer: don't rely on the book alone for a positive ID, and "if in doubt, throw it out!"

I should explain that I've been a mushroomer since I was a child, I learnt from my parents and other family friends who were European expats.

Another thing to say is that 99% of the mushrooms you see in the wild are in the 'harmless but worthless' category. Won't kill you, but you wouldn't want to eat them, any more than you'd want to eat grass. And a lot of them taste vile (I should know)!
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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Mick F
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by Mick F »

We have these every late summer near an old tree stump.
Fungus.jpg
Fungus.jpg (45.53 KiB) Viewed 14282 times

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=58205
Mick F. Cornwall
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661-Pete
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by 661-Pete »

Those look a bit like Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) to me, but never never rely on someone's ID from a photo! Aha - looking at your link, I see you found these 2 years ago. Ah well, they'll be a bit past it now, whatever they were... :lol:
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
geocycle
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by geocycle »

In France you can take them to a Pharmacie to check them out. They should have basic training and tell you if they are poisonous or not. Unfortunately, a French friend of mine terrified an assistant in Boots by dumping a bag of wild mushrooms on his till.....!
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661-Pete
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by 661-Pete »

geocycle wrote:In France you can take them to a Pharmacie to check them out. They should have basic training and tell you if they are poisonous or not. Unfortunately, a French friend of mine terrified an assistant in Boots by dumping a bag of wild mushrooms on his till.....!

I've heard of that practice, and I think it's deplorable! I believe it's dying out on the continent, and I hope it never catches on in the UK! The last thing we want is hordes of walkers (and cyclists maybe) indiscriminately emptying the countryside of huge bagfuls of unidentified fungi, in the faint hope that one or two amongst them might be edible. One sure way of depleting the environment and spoiling it for others.

Our rule is, pick it only if we recognise it, and only if we want to eat it. And don't pick more than our needs. If we do by mistake pick an inedible species, or one too far gone for the table, we stick it back in the soil - hopefully it'll survive long enough to drop its spores. A general guideline suggested by various authorities, seems to be 1.5Kg per visit - well we did have 1.5Kg of ceps between the two of us, and there were plenty left for others.
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
andrewk
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by andrewk »

661-Pete wrote:Picked these in Ashdown Forest this morning...
Ceps 29Sep13.jpg

Best haul we've had for some years. Looking forward to a delectable cèpes au gratin tomorrow...


Nice haul, (btw these are fungi not mushrooms).
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Graham
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by Graham »

I decided not to eat this one !!

Triffid.jpg
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Audax67
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by Audax67 »

Whereas these are edible when they're young:

Image

This one isn't any more.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
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661-Pete
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by 661-Pete »

Graham wrote:I decided not to eat this one !!

Triffid.jpg

Blimey! Never seen one of those, up till now incredibly rare in UK but - what with global warming and consequent invasion by warm-climate species, who knows? It's called Clathrus archeri aka "Octopus stinkhorn" (I think "Starfish stinkhorn" would be a better name). I have seen a close relative of it, the "Lattice stinkhorn" Clathrus ruber, many years ago in France (sorry this is rather a poor photo):
Image
Also one listed as 'rare' in UK (never seen one here), but who knows? Perhaps you've got them in your garden. They will smell, somewhat.... :twisted:
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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Graham
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by Graham »

661-Pete wrote: It's called Clathrus archeri aka "Octopus stinkhorn" (I think "Starfish stinkhorn" would be a better name). . . . . They will smell, somewhat.... :twisted:

Pete, thanks for the ID info.

Yes, it was a stinker !!

At first I thought it was a hoax or perhaps that some nutter had been discarding bits of squid as they walked across the heathland.

A memorable surprise. I'm glad I had my camera.
Geriatrix
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Re: Mushrooms!

Post by Geriatrix »

Audax67 wrote:Whereas these are edible when they're young:

Image

This one isn't any more.

Shaggy ink cap. Cousin to the common ink cap which is also edible, but only if not consumed with alcohol. It induces alcohol intolerance (Go directly to hangover, do not pass go...)
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