two good books

[leon-b]

hi guys
whilst on holiday in cornwall we went to lands end for a day it was great we saw a basking shark and also went for a walk along the cliffs. now whilst i was in a shop there i started looking at the books that were for sale and i came across these, collins nature guides - birds of britain & europe and colins nature guides - wild flowers of britain & europe together they cost me £8 and i think this was a bargain compaired to what i have seen them for sale for on the internet. They are both great books, very clear and have alot of good photos in them
leon

 

[Tony]

A good find Leon, having books is really useful. The other day I was sitting in a field with half a dozen book around me trying to identify a mushroom, I still had to wait till I was home before I worked out what it was. Book are well worth it

 

[leon-b]

i know, they are fairly small aswell and are intended to be used as field guides so they should be quite helpfull
leon

 

[spamel]

I have a whole range of these books, it's a shame you didn't find them all as they are good books. You can get them on wild animals, trees, herbs and healing plants, and mushrooms and toadstools, all of them are based on items found in britain and europe. So six that I know of, (pause) actually I've just looked in the back of one of the books and there are eight books available. Garden birds, and butterflies and moths are the other two.

I picked up the majority of mine in Canon Hall Farm just up the road from Sheffield, they cost 2.99, but two of them were 3.99 in a shop in the Buxton area last year. Still, the RRP is 7.99 on the back of the book, so it is a bargain all the same. Good find that.

 

[leon-b]

I have a whole range of these books, it's a shame you didn't find them all as they are good books. You can get them on wild animals, trees, herbs and healing plants, and mushrooms and toadstools, all of them are based on items found in britain and europe. So six that I know of, (pause) actually I've just looked in the back of one of the books and there are eight books available. Garden birds, and butterflies and moths are the other two.

I picked up the majority of mine in Canon Hall Farm just up the road from Sheffield, they cost 2.99, but two of them were 3.99 in a shop in the Buxton area last year. Still, the RRP is 7.99 on the back of the book, so it is a bargain all the same. Good find that.

yes i am looking to get wild animals and trees soon
leon

 

[spamel]

The Mushrooms and toadstools book is OK for in the back of the pocket on a day walk, but it doesn't have all of the fungi you would find. Obviously, that would be a massive book, but I thought that there would be more of the more common edible fingi in there. I can't think of a particular genus at the moment but I do know that someone on here posted about a certain fungi and it wasn't in my book, but then, I just went to a website that has all of the fungi in the known galaxy on it and probably one or two made up ones aswell!!

 

[leon-b]

The Mushrooms and toadstools book is OK for in the back of the pocket on a day walk, but it doesn't have all of the fungi you would find. Obviously, that would be a massive book, but I thought that there would be more of the more common edible fingi in there. I can't think of a particular genus at the moment but I do know that someone on here posted about a certain fungi and it wasn't in my book, but then, I just went to a website that has all of the fungi in the known galaxy on it and probably one or two made up ones aswell!!

can you remember what that website was as it sounds very helpful
thanks leon

 

[White Elf]

I've picked up some great books from second hand bookshops recently.
Some of the things you find in the Natural History section are quite unusual, and often for around £1

 

[spamel]

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/

This has everything you ever wanted to know about 'shrooms. It also has a really helpful ID facility to help you narrow down what you have found. If you want to try wild mushrooms, definitely start with the Boletus mushrooms. They are much easier to identify than other types and very few are harmful to people, so a good chance of making it to breakfast the next day!

Remember that a good field guide or hooking up for a field trip with a mycological society or group in your area is the safest way.

 

[leon-b]

thanks mate i have never tryed eating wild mushrooms or even id'ing them but i am looking to expand my knowledge of edible foods and fungi so this should be a great help
thanks leon

 

[spamel]

Well, a lot of fungi have gills underneath the cap, like you get on the mushrooms from the supermarket. Boletus mushroms are different, they look like a reallly fine sponge underneath, what it is is lots of little tubes all running alongside each other and the spores come out of these tubes to start the next lot of 'shrooms growing. Quite easy to identify as a result, there are other funny things such as some turn blue when cut or bruised!

You've got to inspect them though as some can be a bit worm eaten and maggoty. Cut the bad bits out and use the good stuff. I like to cut the tubey bits off if it has been raining a lot as they soak up the water like a sponge, I also dried some in the oven last week which I have put aside in an airtight jar with my dried chillies and some sea salt aswell. They may get a bit spicy, who knows!

My missus thinks I'm daft because I don't like mushrooms, but Boletes are different, I don't mind them at all. I like them on toast with a bit of butter and garlic, and also in scrambled egg with a bit of chilli and some worcestershire sauce! Mmmmmmmmmm!

 

[leon-b]

thanks mate sorry to go off the subject that the thread started on but could you name me a couple of common fungi that are easily identified and edible, just to get me started off
thanks leon

 

[spamel]

Boletus edulis and Boletus badius are god ones to start with. Check out the boletus mushrooms on Rogers Mushrooms, there are a few, but if you click on mushroom kitchen on the left, and then click on edible mushrooms on the main page, all of the edible mushrooms will come up. Click on the B at the top to narrow the field and check out how many Boletus mushroom types there are!!

 

[leon-b]

thanks mate, i will get reading
leon

 

[leon-b]

i am also going to compile a folder full of recipes my first will be sloe gin
leon

 

[Mooney]

hey leon-b ive just been 'down south' aswell and got a few books, from a place called hay on wye (theres about 30 book shops in the town )

anyway the best book i got was by far "A flower book for the pocket" by MacGregor Skene, first printed in 1935 and its excellent with full colour hand painted diagrams.

so if anyone is near the area its worth the effort to pop in to a book shop, everyone i went into had a nature type section of books.

John

 

[sharp88]

Two of the best books I'v ever had are some oldies aswel. 'Plants with a perpose' and 'The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe' by Richard & Alistair Fitter and Marjorie Blamey. Nice map pocket sized books, I always have them to hand when in the bush.