Fungus for sale!

[jamie18thmo]

I know you can get pretty much anything for sale on ebay, but this takes the mushroom!

Shortcut to: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FIRELIGHTING-...8QQihZ014QQcategoryZ19296QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I think this is probably the same person that was selling king alfreds cakes on there the other week.

Should people really be selling this kind of stuff? I thought the point would be to find and use only what you need at the time, not make a living from collecting it, or maybe I'm wrong! Next time I'm out I might gather a small bundle of dry twigs "as seen on Ray Mears" or a dry cowpat, and put them on ebay.

Surely the people bidding would be better off buying a firesteel or something. Each to their own I suppose.

J

 

[xylaria]

I so totally agree. It is the as seen on TV thing, there is other tinder fungi, which nobody mentions because Ray Mears doesn't use it. But then if some git is going to make a quick buck out of pilaging the local environment I would just like say that Phellinus igniarius has earned it latin name through been totally fire retardant and no use what so ever .

In fact for anybody else wishing to go into comercial foraging the following also have reputation for having no firecraft properties, thats why Ray Mears doesn't touch them. :
Phellinus pini
Phellinus ferrus
Ganoderma adsperum
Ganoderma applanatum
Ganoderma resinaceum
Ganoderma lucidum
Trametes hirsutus
Daedalea quercina
Daedaleopsis confragosa
Fomitopsis pinicola
Fomitopsis cytisina
Thelophora terrestris

All of the above should sold to highest bidder, in dried state as it makes the processing so much easier.

This cow pat you are thinking of selling, I am not sure I have seen Ray Mears use cow pats for anything does this reduce the asking price? I advise that you write Ray Mears TM on item to whip up more interest.

 

[Toddy]

Maybe it's time to give more prominence to making known those fungi that ought not be picked at all.

I'm careful in my own area not to take those I know are threatened, or rare ,or picking out of place those where the growth cycle needs decay....that kind of detail, but fomes fomentarius is so common here it's unusual *not* to be able to find it. I have no worries about taking it. Ten, twenty growths to the infected tree is normal and, if needed, we gather them by the carrier bag load.
Before anyone jumps down my throat for that comment, I've been gathering them for over forty years and there are more now than there were then, more trees too though

I think we have to start to be more aware of area specific resources.
That which grows freely here doesn't elsewhere, and vice versa, but that's no reason not to use what is available, but being aware is important too.

Selling fomes? Not interested, (if you want some, let me know) but I'm not so hard up that the couple of pounds they'll sell for will make a huge difference to my income, not everyone is in the same position.
Maybe that's what the seller is doing.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Mikey P]

Maybe it's time to give more prominence to making known those fungi that ought not be picked at all.

I'm careful in my own area not to take those I know are threatened, or rare ,or picking out of place those where the growth cycle needs decay....that kind of detail, but fomes fomentarius is so common here it's unusual *not* to be able to find it. I have no worries about taking it. Ten, twenty growths to the infected tree is normal and, if needed, we gather them by the carrier bag load.
Before anyone jumps down my throat for that comment, I've been gathering them for over forty years and there are more now than there were then, more trees too though

I think we have to start to be more aware of area specific resources.
That which grows freely here doesn't elsewhere, and vice versa, but that's no reason not to use what is available, but being aware is important too.

Selling fomes? Not interested, (if you want some, let me know) but I'm not so hard up that the couple of pounds they'll sell for will make a huge difference to my income, not everyone is in the same position.
Maybe that's what the seller is doing.

cheers,
Toddy

I thought it was illegal to collect more than a certain weight of any fungi from public land for commercial gain? Wasn't there a woman taken to court in the New Forest for just that?

 

[Shibari.surfer]

i notice that the seller ( not the same one that was selling Cramp Balls) is just 2 miles down the road from me! Toddy makes a good point that its the "seen on TV" phenomena - but then its watching RM on tv thats rekindled(excuse the pun) my interest in Bushcraft. Maybe thats the message we have to get across -its not just about skills but respect for our environment too.
My son and i recently made our first embers with a bow drill. We could have bought one on Evil Bay but we didnt. We read up on it (great tutorial on this site) we went out and got the woods, we made one and spent ages messing around with it together untill we got it to work. In the process learnt a hell of a lot. Tree recognition in the winter, using a knife etc.... As many of you will know the satisfaction obtained from getting that dust to glow was enormous. And it was something we did together (and cheap too )

Hopefully instant bushcraft products will be short lived and the people who buy them will swiftly move on to the next tv fueled craze.

 

[Toddy]

I know that different countries within the UK have their own appropriate legislations for plant protections, but this thread seems like a good place ot re-post the on-line links and information about this.
If anyone else comes across relevant links, will they please add them to the thread?



http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/wildlife/plants/index.htm

http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1816

http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/wildlife/law/plants.asp

http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/protected.htm



atb,
Toddy

 

[andyn]

I think you guys are being a tad too judgemental to be honest.

There are HUNDREDS of websites that sell natural resources. All of which can be gathered by yourself.

I don't see many threads slating supermarkets for selling blackberries!

If someone has spotted a sales opportunity (which they obviously have because someone has bid on it) then fair play.



P.S Toddy, you have PM

 

[jon r]

I think you guys are being a tad too judgemental to be honest.

There are HUNDREDS of websites that sell natural resources. All of which can be gathered by yourself.

I don't see many threads slating supermarkets for selling blackberries!

If someone has spotted a sales opportunity (which they obviously have because someone has bid on it) then fair play.



P.S Toddy, you have PM

I think i have to agree with you there Aslong as you are respecting the countryside and not taking threatened species then i would think thats ok

 

[dave k]

There are HUNDREDS of websites that sell natural resources. All of which can be gathered by yourself.

I don't see many threads slating supermarkets for selling blackberries!

If someone has spotted a sales opportunity (which they obviously have because someone has bid on it) then fair play.

The supermarkets are not collecting wild food -they are taking this from farmed produce.

It is illegal still in many parts to collect Fungi to sell on a commercial basis. There are natural resources you can collect from the land and then sell on, but Fungi are not one of them.

 

[andyn]

Well obviosuly. Perhaps that was a bad comparisum. But the point remains that there are sites out there that sell wild items.

However, i didnt realise what you say about "There are natural resources you can collect from the land and then sell on, but Fungi are not one of them."
Thats interesting to know. Have you got a confirmable source for this information? Especially as resturants often buy wild fungi, or collect it themselves, cook it and then sell it to the hungry consumer.

 

[firemaker]

I dont see much point in the Horse Hoof Fungus being harvested and sold as is. Maybe it is because there is so much around here. It may be harder to find were they are. Taking the time to turn it into Amadou might make it worth selling or offered with a hand drill kit or something of the like. On another hand, many natural materials are not available to me so I may be more willing to buy (rather trade in most cases) to have the opportunity to gain familiarity with it. Others are more rare such as Chaga goes for around $10.00USD an ounce.

It is illegal for the most part to transfer many types of fungus to and from different areas because of their potential to spread and threaten other plant species in other areas of the world. Not only that but because of the potential to obtain materials that could be easily used as or transfered into a deadly poison, it would be more a reason to regulate what is sold, where it is sold, what degree of knowledge does the person selling have, in what nature it is sold, how will it be marketed and who will typically be purchasing it for the correct intentions. There are so many dangers in accidently sending a poison fungus off that was mistaken as another. Breathing in certain spores can be dangerous as well. A box full of fungus may release spores during shipping to later be opened directly in the face of the reciever. Many fungus are on the "no pick for sell" list simply because they are so similar to other deadlier varieties.

In this particular case, I notice right away there is no size comparision. I would want to know exactly how much Im getting and maybe some more knowledge than "I saw it on tv" to reinforce that what I am getting is truly what they say it is, not that HHF is too hard for most of us to identify.

Becky

 

[xylaria]

Last time I try being sarcastic!!!!!

I was mearly making the point there are other tinder fungi out there, which are locally advailble in most envronments in the uk.

I am also of the opinion that wild products are gifted to whoever looks for them. Mother Nature chooses to give a product or not. I feel I have no right to sell what was given to me for free.

I respect that others dont have these opinions. Fungi can be over harvested, but it does require a large level of disrespect for Nature. Just as seas and rivers can be over fished, and forests over felled. I have eaten comerically gathered blewits bought from waitrose. I could taste the celophane. It just seems slightly fraudulent to sell something that tastes of packaging or is to dry to use (as in the case of horses hoof), to people who basically don't know any better.

 

[dave k]

Well obviosuly. Perhaps that was a bad comparisum. But the point remains that there are sites out there that sell wild items.

However, i didnt realise what you say about "There are natural resources you can collect from the land and then sell on, but Fungi are not one of them."
Thats interesting to know. Have you got a confirmable source for this information? Especially as resturants often buy wild fungi, or collect it themselves, cook it and then sell it to the hungry consumer.

Hi,

Perhaps I should clarify - in *some* places it is illegal to collect fungi for sale. I believe most of the wild fungi in the UK market come from France and Italy.

The below link clarify's a few points I believe.
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Science/botany/plant9.htm


For instance it is illegal to collect in the new forest for sale - apart from one lady I believe who was allowed?

Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with people making money from the wild larder - infact I believe that we can utilize wild produce and have more exciting and local produce. I only have a problem with groups of people stripping out fungi at 4:00AM to sell onto the market's as this leaves none for the rest of us!!