Identifying Mushrooms (are they edible!)

kethry

I've got quite a few mushrooms growing in my garden, and i'm keen to see if they're edible or not. Obviously this is an area where great care has to be undertaken, so i need a *good* guide.

any body know of any reputable sites? I can google, but i'd rather go on recommendation too before i put anything in my mouth... I could post a pic if it'd help, i guess.

thanks!

keth
xx

mrs_baggins

I picked some from a field and asked a bit of a mushroom geek at work. they were really big field mushroom in the end. I did google as well and although i havent got details of the sites there were acouple which had pictures and details and it was quite good ,there was also another which detailed the ones NOT to eat as well

mirakl

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/

http://www.rivercottage.net/haveyoursay/index.jsp

The first is a great help if you're identifying picked mushrooms.

If you want to take pictures and post them on Hugh Fernley Whittingstall's forum there's lots of experts who'll enswer your questions.

martindow

If you're not certain it's best to be cautious, some things like puffballs and parasol mushrooms are so distinctive you would be hard pressed to confuse them with anything else.

mirakl

Actually even puffballs can be confused with earthballs which will make you very sick.

kethry

miraki,

i actually found the rogers mushroom site last night, and had a go, i think i identified it (and its inedible, if i'm right), but there're so many that its a hell of a risk.... although i might just take some photos and post them on the HFW forum, see if anyone there can help identify them.

thanks for the help!!

keth
xx

mirakl

I went on a mushroom forage with our local mycology society in the hope of learning lots more about edible mushrooms and identifying them. Unfortunately they were a bit too hardcore for me and were busy getting all enthuiastic about teeny tiny bits of fungus you needed a magnifying glass to see and they weren't really interested in identifying edible mushrooms for me

I think I may end up buying a good book of amazon, the HFW forum has lots of the best books recommended.

ellas9602

I just noticed that my neighbour has a HUGE amount of small black mushrooms on his front garden. They are very small and packed together very tightly. I know he would let me have them, how can I identify them? I've tried googling but I'm not having much luck...

thanks in advance!:beer:

belfastgirl23

See this website: http://www.answers.com/topic/mushroom-poisoning?cat=health

"The most important factor in preventing mushroom poisoning is to avoid eating wild or noncultivated mushrooms. For anyone not expert in mushroom identification, there are generally no easily recognizable differences between nonpoisonous and poisonous mushrooms."

Unless your neighbour got a job lot of compost formerly used to cultivate mushrooms I'd give them a wide berth...

Pink.

Hi ellas,

There's an older thread with some links on identifying mushrooms that might help so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the suggestions together.

As others have said before, please be careful....I'd love to pick wild mushrooms but don't have enough confidence in my own ability to know what's safe and what's not, so I don't do it.

Pink

CountryWife_2

Wharever you do dont eat them if they are at all yellow. We once had what looked like field mushrooms growing in our garden and when we cooked them they turned the oil yellow so we immediately knew they were no good. I do love wild mushrooms though, things like shaggy ink caps when they are in season and we have cooked and eaten puffballs and other edible mushrroms, you just have to be absolutly sure of your identification. if there is any doubt leave well alone.