Any mushroom hunters on here?

kaizer_soze

I've recently bought a wild mushroom book and have started to forage for some tasty wild mushrooms. I've found some which I'm certain of the identity but I've found loads that I'm not 100% sure about so haven't picked them. I've found one species which I was sure about when I picked it but now, I'm not 100% and they'll be thrown out if I can't confirm their identification. Are there any experienced mushroom hunters on this forum or is there another forum anyone could suggest which would be better to get info?

Thanks

Kev

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Although I don't like the taste of Mushrooms I do like to identify any I come across (as with trees, wildflowers etc). I must admit it's often easier said than done but gets better with practice.

Can I suggest not picking those you can't identify, or at most picking just one for identification purposes, rather than pick a load and then just throwing them away? Picking and disgarding is such a waste to Nature after the effort made to produce the fruiting body.

Have a look here:-

http://www.fungus.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1

You might also have a look at their Code of Conduct.

kaizer_soze

Thanks for the information. Let me clarify. I don't go trampling around the countryside picking loads of fungi just on the off-chance that they're edible. I had my mushroom foraging book with me. I identified two varieties and took 6-8 of each home. Now that I'm home, my certainty on one variety is 100% but my confidence on the other is slightly doubted.

It would be helpful if someone who does know about mushrooms has any knowledge of value to add to my post.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

kaizer_soze wrote: »

Thanks for the information. Let me clarify. I don't go trampling around the countryside picking loads of fungi just on the off-chance that they're edible. I had my mushroom foraging book with me. I identified two varieties and took 6-8 of each home. Now that I'm home, my certainty on one variety is 100% but my confidence on the other is slightly doubted.

It would be helpful if someone who does know about mushrooms has any knowledge of value to add to my post.

I do know about mushrooms and directed you to possibly one of the best sites for Irish mushrooms.
You should not pick 8 mushrooms not knowing what they are. Besides the loss, there is a risk of them being poisonous and accidentally ingested. I did not say you were tramping around but you mentioned throwing out mushrooms.

It's difficult, on a messageboard, to advise on a particular, unseen, fungus. You really need to take a good fieldguide with you when picking. Identify on site and then decide if the mushroom is for picking. (Check at home again if in any doubt by reference to another guide). There are many good guides but very few specific to Ireland. The best way to learn mushrooms is to have a local expert teach you. Most of us don't have that option, however, so the next-best option is purchase one or more field guides (avoid those aimed only at edible mushrooms or foraging, as they sometimes neglect to mention similarities with some inedible species and are not usually as detailed).
There are often course available (the site suggested will have details) and are highly recommended as often once shown a species, and it's differences with others, we will always remember it.

kaizer_soze

Thanks Srameen, I already have a mushroom fieldbook but realize I could probably do with another to help back up any identification. The fungus.ie is an interesting site but gives no help in identifying mushrooms unless I'm overlooking a section of it. I agree that a local expert is indeed the best possible source of information and that is who I was hoping to come into contact with regarding this post. I've inquired about some courses and mushroom-hunting events coming up which I hope to be involved in. Having someone who knows their mushrooms showing you the differences between the edible and the inedible is a valuable way of learning. But, a course or event 2 or 3 weeks away is a little late for identifying the fungi I have gathered. I have pictures of the mushrooms on my laptop but unfortunately you need to already have them online before you can post a link to them on here.

If you feel you may be able to help identify them, I can send the pictures to you?

Kev

Velvet shank

I'll be happy to give my opinion on any photos you may have, although, as suggested above, for eating purposes, identifications based only on photos should generally be considered unreliable

onlyrocknroll

I think that Ballymaloe Cookery School used to/do run a course on identifying and picking wild mushrooms. OP, maybe if you Google it you might find something similar near you.

I'd love to do this actually because I love the taste of wild mushrooms and they're quite expensive. But I'd be afraid people in my locality would think I'm doing for narcotic rather than gastronomic reasons. :eek:

kaizer_soze

Thanks Velvet. I'll PM you for your address. I understand that any ID based on pictures are unreliable but it would be a help.

Onlyrocknroll, would you really care what people think? As long as you're not picking the trippy mushrooms, there's nothing for anyone to bother you with, except maybe curiosity.

Velvet shank

kaizer_soze wrote: »

Thanks Velvet. I'll PM you for your address. I understand that any ID based on pictures are unreliable but it would be a help.

Grand job...

btw the Northern Ireland Fungus Group has a tremendous website, although again, probably of limited value for identification purposes

http://www.nifg.org.uk/home.htm

kaizer_soze

Thanks Velvet. PM sent to you.

K

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Kaizer, I'm actually a bit concerned for you. Walk before you can run. Take your time learning your craft. You don't learn things like this overnight from a book or website. All fieldcrafts take time and patience. Walk this year and run next year when you genuinely know more. Please!

Photo ID is not a great way to proceed.

Guill

i have done the same, after years of just gathering field mushrooms i got the field book and off i went, i gathered loads of different stuff, when i sat down to identify them it was very hard, some types look very close, i ended up trying to google but with no success. eventually i bit the bullet and ate all as i was nearly sure they were ok. I wouldn't advise doin that though, i sweated a bit before i realsed i was gonna be okay, now i know some types..

Guill

Rayne Calm Roadrunner wrote: »

Kaizer, I'm actually a bit concerned for you. Walk before you can run. Take your time learning your craft. You don't learn things like this overnight from a book or website. All fieldcrafts take time and patience. Walk this year and run next year when you genuinely know more. Please!

Photo ID is not a great way to proceed.

iof not photo id? what? bear in mind not all people have access to field experts etc..

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Guill wrote: »

iof not photo id? what? bear in mind not all people have access to field experts etc..

You answered this yourself by the post immediately before this one.

Mothman

Guill wrote: »

iof not photo id? what? bear in mind not all people have access to field experts etc..

I know from identifying moths from photos that it is very easy to get tripped up. Photos are 2 dimensional, the angle from which photo is taken can distort apparant appearance. It's hard to get a perspective of size....then if the white balance setting is off the colour we see on our monitors may not be the actual colour...and having mentioned monitors, how many of us have had them calibrated so that colour is accurate.

Now onto websites, not all moths are correctly identified.

With all of the above in mind I can understand Srameen advising caution. A wrong moth identity will rarely affect ones health.

Guill

So....just sit and eat them if you think you are right about id?

kaizer_soze

I hear what you're saying but Velvet Shank identified the mushroom from the pics quickly. I wasn't sure if it was the Tawny Funnel Cap or not. The specimen I have are a little different from the picture in my book. I googled some pics and Velvet is definitely correct. I'd never eat a mushroom unless I was 100% of a correct ID. Hence I've only eaten various puffballs and shaggy inkcaps, hedgehog mushrooms and oysters so far. I've found loads of fungi that I've not been certain of so I've just left them. A few others, I've collected and rechecked but unless I've been 100% certain of them when rechecking, I've thrown them out in nearby wooded areas.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

kaizer_soze wrote: »

I've thrown them out in nearby wooded areas.

Too late. They are not going to spore now! Damage done.:(

kaizer_soze

:rolleyes:
They already have spored Srameen. That's why you use a wicker basket and not a plastic bag when collecting mushrooms. The action of picking and walking with a basket allows the spores to be breath and spread around which is the fungi's intention. Fungi live happily in the ground till they want to move. They push up the mushroom containing the spores in the hope that the wind or something else will carry them and they can set up camp in a new location. Once the spores have been spread, the mushroom has served it's purpose for the fungi but still makes a delicious meal for us.
Are you a Park Keeper Srameen??

magicbastarder

a cautionary tale.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4660269.ece

Durnish

I only eat two species of wild mushrom, field and horse.

I think it is best to consider the habitat where you find the things, be they flora or fauna. Find out what is likely/unlikely to be there. This cuts down the possible IDs.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

kaizer_soze wrote: »

:rolleyes:
They already have spored Srameen. That's why you use a wicker basket and not a plastic bag when collecting mushrooms. The action of picking and walking with a basket allows the spores to be breath and spread around which is the fungi's intention. Fungi live happily in the ground till they want to move. They push up the mushroom containing the spores in the hope that the wind or something else will carry them and they can set up camp in a new location. Once the spores have been spread, the mushroom has served it's purpose for the fungi but still makes a delicious meal for us.
Are you a Park Keeper Srameen??

Straight out of the book!

It depends on the Universal Veil, or the Partial Veil covering the gills that bear spores. As the cap expands, the veil breaks releasing spores. So it depends on the stage of development that you pick the mushroom at. Picking too early - no spore. Picking too late - unpleasant mushroom.

And yes - sort of.

kaizer_soze

I kinda thought that. What is a "Sort of" Park Keeper?
They're own words from memory actually, but yes I do read books on the subject.
I'm not an expert, merely an enthusiastic amateur.
It doesn't change the truth though.

kaizer_soze

God, yes magicbastarder, the consequences of a mistaken ID can be extremely serious. That's why I really only stick to mushrooms that I'm sure of. It's not worth taking the chance. And believe it or not Durnish, I've not come across any decent specimen of horse or field mushrooms in a long time. I love them. They're delicious. Any that I've found lately have been passed their best or squished!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

kaizer_soze wrote: »

I kinda thought that. What is a "Sort of" Park Keeper? One who takes it upon themselves to "keep" parks the way they think they should be?
They're own words from memory actually, but yes I do read books on the subject.
I'm not an expert, merely an enthusiastic amateur.
It doesn't change the truth though.

You have totally lost me! Park Keeper should read more like Wildlife Officer or Ranger. ANyway I haven't the foggiest what you are suggesting.
You statrted by saying you picked mushrooms and didn't know what they were. I gave honest experience advise and now you seem to take offence, are becoming almost offensive. And then you say

I really only stick to mushrooms that I'm sure of

. You are so full of contradiction.

I'm out of this thread before it turns nasty.

Durnish

I only find them, field and horse mushrooms, in July and August, unploughed land in Donegal.

Sramean is awful strict, I know, but maybe that's what ROI needs more of, to protect its wild and semi-wild places, green corridors and so on.

kaizer_soze

That's true actually. But even a few months ago when they would have been in season, I never came across any good edible specimens. Fair play to you for enjoying them Durnish. Wild food is a great resource and it makes a really tasty change to the supermarket stuff. I picked a load of blackberries at the weekend too. They're so much tastier than the shop-bought varieties.

I just couldn't be bothered with Srameen's tone to be honest. I'm sure his/her heart is in the right place and I'll happily be a student to anyone but being lectured to negatively about something not directly related to my post when I've asked for some help isn't something I can abide by. On the other hand, I've received some positive help from a mycology biologist (hope that's the correct term) which was of great use.

tricky D

Durnish wrote: »

I only find them, field and horse mushrooms, in July and August, unploughed land in Donegal.

Found some in Howth at the weekend, among many other ones, including Fly Agaric and other dangerous ones. Nyom.

kaizer_soze

Was there a little gnome sitting on the Fly Agaric?..

Amalgam

Title: Forest fungi in Ireland
Authors: Paul Dowding and Louis Smith
Year published: 2008

COFORD

ISBN: 1 902696 62 X

Pages: 248
Format: B5 hardcover with wirobinding
Cost: 30 euros (plus 6 euros postage in the Republic of Ireland)

http://www.coford.ie/iopen24/forest-fungi-ireland-p-966639.html

---

Buy the above for yourself or someone you love. Great book. It is ring bound, I've linked a few pictures to give a better idea.







---

Family have french mixed in and it was a regular habit to go for a walk with my grandparents and parents, picking. My mother was out picking last week.

Our Eastern European and Russian colleagues are masters at getting worth from the various mushrooms available here.

You can't go wrong with the likes of the 'Cep' (Boletus edulis). The mistakes come usually with new hobbyists picking mushrooms that are similar to the supermarket mushroom, white or off white, sadly, there are one or two varieties, coloured white or off white, that will make you very ill, or kill you in a particularly unpleasant way.

Other mushrooms groups have only one edible type, among a group that will make you very very ill. The likes of Amanita fulva (Tawny grisette), can be visually confused with Amanita pantherina (Panther cap).

If you don't know or recognise what you see, don't pick. Go picking with a mushroom buddy that has a history and understanding of picking\preparing and eating mushrooms.

EDIT: Coford, the suppliers of the book, do not provide any instant payment methods, as far as I remember, you send them a cheque to pay for the book. Wait a few days for it to clear, wait a few days for the book.

Guill

met a guy who said he used to have a book that just showed you the poisomous mushrooms, he said it was great, if it was not in the book it was good. ounds like a good book to me...

Alun

Guill wrote: »

met a guy who said he used to have a book that just showed you the poisomous mushrooms, he said it was great, if it was not in the book it was good. ounds like a good book to me...

"Not poisonous" is not the same as "edible" though. There are thousands of different fungi, but by far the biggest number are classed as non-poisonous and either inedible or just plain uninteresting.

I have a book that concentrates on the more common edible varieties (along with their common inedible/poisonous lookalikes that are easily mistaken by beginners) and also has a section on the poisonous ones. It's in the River Cottage series, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mushrooms-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-1/dp/0747589321.

I also have Roger Phillip's excellent reference work http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mushrooms-Roger-Phillips/dp/0330442376/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285701016&sr=1-1, but that gets used less than I had thought.

kaizer_soze

They're great suggestions. I haven't seen the Irish fungi book before. That would be handy. I'm fairly sure most fungi in Ireland are also in the UK although there are a few from the UK that don't exist in Ireland so it would be more relevant than most. I have the River Cottage Book and have just bought the Roger Phillips book today.

Ideally, I'd love to hook up with someone who knows more about mushrooms and identifying them for a mushroom hunt. You can't beat first hand learning from someone who knows. Much safer too!

Roen

Check the bushcraft thread over in the Outdoor Pursuits forum. Those lads meet regularly enough.

Alun

For a brief introduction I'd suggest going on one of the Avondale mushroom hunts organised by Bill O'Dea that are coming up soon, although they may be full by now.. See www.mushroomstuff.com for details. I went on one a couple of years ago, and also went on a trip they organised to the Asturias region of Northern Spain, all great fun.

kaizer_soze

I'll maybe checkout the Outdoor Pursuits guys. They do plenty of living off the land stuff. What did you think of the Wild Bill's Mushroom Hunt Alun?
I'd been checking out Bill O'Dea's mushroom hunts but the site for booking is a little mixed up. The link isn't working. €85 for a day including booking is a little steep I think. I know you get lunch and can cook your mushrooms etc and it would be a good day out, but I'm more interested in identifying and learning about the mushrooms. It would be handy if they did half-day courses purely on the hunting and identifying rather than lunch/dinner.
You could do two half-days hunting and identifying for the same price as one day with dinner I reckon. Did you find it was good value and you learned a lot in the one half days hunting?

Alun

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&RecordID=1&Mode=0&w=1280&v=AwWA51b7jSw&gl=IE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mushroomstuff.com%2Fasp%2Findex.asp%3FObjectID%3D938 for a program on RTE a few years back that was filmed when I was there. You can spot me lurking in the crowd at the back at 6:00 BTW That should give you an idea of how the day pans out. There's not a lot of hands-on training if that's what you mean, but I found it an enjoyable day out, and it was only €65 back then IIRC. All I did was call Avondale House itself to book, but they may have changed the booking process by now.

Personally what I took away from the experience was that it's a far more complex field than I was initially aware of, and that rather than try and identify everything I found (a futile exercise for a complete beginner), a more productive and enjoyable way of going about it was to concentrate on a few common and easily identifiable edible species to start with (along with all their "false friends") and take it from there at a later stage when you feel a bit more confident.

kaizer_soze

Thanks Alun. It looks a great day out. I wasn't sure who was you in the film though.

I've just discovered that it's €80+€5 booking fee (although the booking system is down) if you book through mushroomstuff but it's only €65 if you book direct through Avondale House. I've just signed up for the event on the 9th Oct and really looking forward to it. Hopefully it'll be a nice dry day with plenty of tasty specimens found. It'll be great to have someone with expert knowledge to point out the edible shrooms and their poisonous look-alikes.

MB Lacey

kaizer_soze wrote: »

I haven't seen the Irish fungi book before. That would be handy.

Hey Kaizer, I have the COFORD mushroom book sitting on my shelf at home - you can have it for €20 if you want pm me if you're interested and I'll post it out to you.

I did the mushroom picking day at Avondale but have since gone off picking mushrooms from the wild due to all the id complications and fear of poisoning!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

For what it's worth, just to point out that the link posted in the first reply to this query contained information/recommendations on the Philips Mushroom Book, COFORD Irish Forest Fungi Book, a prominent link to Mushroomstuff.com and the day courses inherent to that site.:)

http://www.fungus.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2%3Anew-irish-fungi-book&catid=3%3Anewsflash&Itemid=1

http://www.fungus.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59&Itemid=76

http://www.fungus.ie/index.php?option=com_weblinks&view=category&id=19%3Amushroom-sites&Itemid=59

The Fungus.ie site also explained the Code of Conduct, Identification problems and Health risks, & advice to avail of local experts. What more needs to be said or has not yet been said on the subject?:)

I do think a new thread on specific Mushroom/Fungi issues would be a valuable addition here: identification questions (though dicey on a messsageboard and using photos), reports of findings, discussion about abundance/dearths of particular species or in particular areas etc.