New to mushroom collecting

Hello All,
What a great site! Just joined as I am very interested in learning about wild mushrooms and foraging, I know the common mushrooms but that's about all.
I am a lady airgunner in Essex going out most days and came across some big parasol mushrooms in the woods which I fried with butter (after identifying them as safe to eat lol), they were lovely! Very Happy

I also found these which are heavy for their size and smell wonderful, I took them home but need your help with ID as I am very new to this.

Stewy

Can't help with an ID I'm afraid but hello and welcome........ Very Happy

bubble

first lot are as you say parasols if second and third lot all have mauvy or bluey stems they could be field blewits ,lepista saeva.Only consume young specimens .what does LOL stand for????

Bubbletwinkler

Thanks Stewy and Bubble,
Yes they do have a purple tinge to the stems. Are older ones inedible?

bubble

all mushrooms even the normally good species which are old -have gone over -are inedible and potentially toxic!!!!what does lol mean???? Very Happy

Ian33568

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOL

dpack

hello
look like blewits ,should crop for ages
check the archives for lots of hints
be safe ,enjoy

cab

Spore print is most handy with blewits (field blewits, looks very likely). And its a crucial skill to learn.

dpack

my very local blewit patch gave one today Laughing

first
a couple of good books are handy
jordan encyclopedia of mushrooms is nice
collins pocket guide is convienient
be careful ,learn as you find and identify
if in dought dont eat it ,double check if you think it is edible ,big subject ,ive been at it for years and i still know only a fraction ,i found can eat /cant eat is a good way to start but learning the families /names helps lots

bubble

field blewits can go on cropping till March or longer

Bubbletwinkler

Thanks everyone, very helpful. Very Happy

I had no idea that older edible mushrooms were unsafe to eat, luckily those parasols I found were fine and were in lovely condition. I've always been amazed at the structure of fungi, some of them are really beautiful. I'm doing a spore print of the Blewit and I'll keep you posted, I've never done one before.

I found a book on Amazon called The Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe by Michael Jordan, is that the one you mean Dpack? It looks very good.

Here's some more I found.

dpack

good book

bubble

the first ones I have no idea from these pics ,second lot look like baby Shaggy parasols,Lepiota rhacodes and third lot look like grown up Shaggy parasols ,edible but poss. tummy upsets with some people.I eat about 80 kinds of wild mushrooms but not shaggy parasols!!! Fourth looks like Clitocybe ....As a starter book many incl. myself recommend Roger Phillips mushrooms and other fungi of Britain and Europe but M, Jordan is o.k.look at my earlier posts for a more comprehensive book list. Smile

Jamanda

Another recommendation for Phillips here.

cab

Phillips is by far the best I think, but if you can get the older edition of his book I think its better for a beginner than the newer one.

Stewy

And don't forget to have a look at his website:

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/

Another website I would highly recommend for all things fungi is the wild about Britain website, it is full of some seriously knowledgeable mushroom folk.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fungi

Bubbletwinkler

Stewy wrote:

Thanks Stewy, those are excellent! Very Happy

Bubbletwinkler

Spore print from that blewit is a pale yellowy-brown colour.

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