Mushrooms!

[Moonraker]

Thanx (especially for the pictures!) Mine look much like the paler ones you hsowed me -same colour. I have a spore print in the process so it should be violet(ish?). I know what you mean, Tantalus, about having a friend who can tell you - i have five books - FIVE books woth pictures of Oyster mushrooms and all of them are lacking some important information about identification - some dont tell me what the spore print is, some dont tell me what they smell like etc - and only ONE tells me that there is a slightly dangerous lookalike or relative that has strong antibiotic chemicals in it which harms the intestines, and that doesn't give me any information on the spores or the smell of the dangerous one! Typical! It's a sketch but my mushroom doesn't really resemble it enough, but yes, i will call a friend of mine - he's a GP and a friend of my parents and he's been in the business long enough to know exactly what he's doing. Anyone recomend anybooks that i could invest in? These ones are good in varying degrees and tend to cover what each other lack, but it would be easier having all the information compiled - they are 'The Mushroom Book' from DK, Collins identification guide to Edible fungi, Wild Food by Roger Phillips, Food for Free and 'A Passion for Mushrooms' by an Italian chef. I also have Bushcraft by Ray Mears somewhere.

I know in Scotland, Chanterelles are often found with pine, but i had forgotten about that when i posted this - around here they're only really found with deciduous trees. I would be wary of them if i did find them with pine because of the Jack O'Lantern and the False Chanterelles. Does anyone know if the Jack O'Lantern really DOES glow in the dark or whether that's just some wonderful myth that the people writing the identification guides are perpetuating for their entertainment at the thought of hundreds of people picking them and sitting in a dark room for hours in attempts to see it too?

Jack O'Lantern (Omphalotus olearius) does phosphoresce when the spores are mature, although usually only weakly in real darkness.

According to Roger Phillips, in Britain it is found "on the roots or at the base of trunks of certain trees; oak and chestnut in Britain, frequently on olive in Europe" rather than pine. Same in France and also around olive trees in the South.

One thing to identify them is they have an unpleasant smell and if you see a 'clump' of chanterelles, then they are Jack O'Lantern! as chanterelle do not grow together as a clump but individually (often as a group of individual fungi but not connected together like Jack O'Lantern). It is important to understand the difference as they are one of the most common causes of poisoning in France.

But it is a very rare fungi in Britain. Check the British Mycological Society Omphalotus olearius distribution map and you will see it has only been recorded in Hampshire, and only since 1946. The species Record Details state:

Omphalotus olearius, --/09/1982, England, South Hampshire (VC:11), Stubbs Wood, SU3603, col.: anon, id: anon,

As with most mushrooms, once you have actually seen the two then you would not confuse them easily.

Incidently it is a different species in Europe to that referred to as 'Jack O'Lantern' in North America although they are similar.

I did find a scary amount of Jew's Ears but havent plucked up the courage to eat them yet, as i'm not sure how they are best to be cooked - i did read that if you try to fry them whole they are liable to explode like popcorn!

If you read the Roger Phillips 'Wild Food' book you have, he gives a recipe ( 'Jew's Ears Roll) and advice on cooking on page 39. If you visit a Chinese food shop you pay good money for dried ones They are mostly dried in the Far East and then re-hydrated in water before cooking in stir fries and with rice. Most Chinese recipes using mushrooms will do. I like them this way.

Incidentally the British Mycological Society recommended English name is now 'Jelly Ear'

going to stop writing now before i get too carried away

It's called having passion for a subject

One thing I would recommend is getting along to a local fungus foray type event, often arranged by local wildlife trusts, so for you the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Also I understand there is a new 'Cornwall Fungus Group' so maybe worth trying to find out if they do similar events. Sometimes they can be rather 'scientific' and can look down on foragers But most understand the interest and as long as you show a genuine interest in all fungi then they often are happy to help.

Happy foraging

 

[Shepherd]

I wonder if anyone knows the name of a mushroom i used to eat in the mountains of Switzerland.

It was a large flat headed shroom and when cut it the inside would turn blue before your eyes.

The guy that was teaching me to shepherd fried it up in thick slices and it had the consistency of meat..

 

[steve a]

Not much to go on, but was it this
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5606~gid~.asp

 

[Shepherd]

YES!..
Nice one Steve.
That's the one. i think you can eat in situ but you get in big trouble if you are caught taking it down off the mountain.
Cheers.