It was one of those rare times when I ventured out looking for something in particular and actually found it! Summer isn’t a great season for mushroom hunting but it does have some interesting and choice variety (albeit small) of edible fungi. At the edge of a long woodland path in a Leicestershire wood, fortune […]
I hope people don’t mind me featuring an overdue fungus to the Mushroom Diary. Yes, it’s a common, dull and inedible bracket fungus that appears in many numbers throughout the year. But just in case you’re not sure what this familiar sight is, it will be a pleasure for me to explain for you… Extremely […]
Sometimes some species of fungi grow nearby others. For example, Ceps (Boletus edulis) have an association with the Miller mushroom (Clitopilus prunulus), and it’s always good to know while you’re out and about as it will help you find more of what you want. In this case I’m talking about two types of Cup fungus […]
It’s good to know some mushrooms can appear all year round, especially when they’re edible and good. It’s nearly always the right time to look out for these beauties… In this case it’s the common and most welcome Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). Usually growing in medium to large clusters on fallen logs, stumps or standing […]
I’m catching up on reporting my mushroom foraging finds, especially from autumn last year, when the abundance of fungi is at it’s peak. I felt the next mushroom was definitely worth a mention. I had run in to so many of these brown beauties more than ever before – but only around oak trees, naturally. […]
I’ve been off the mushroom reporting radar for a while. My sincere apologies, but December and January have been very hectic with the birth of daughter Elizabeth. So she’s to blame – bless her! I’ve included an early scan picture at the end of this post. Even though it has nothing to do with mushrooms […]
It’s always good to venture further afield when hunting for new mushrooms, especially when you get a break or are on a holiday. I had the chance to escape way down south to Poole in Dorset at a holiday park set within mixed woodland which was brilliantly rich in fungi… It was here I discovered […]
It’s been a great October so far for Shaggy Inkcaps (Coprinus comatus). People have sent me loads of pictures and I’ve picked a couple dozen young ones for my pan too. I recently had a picture sent to me showing someones great collection of Shaggy Inkcaps along with an equally impressive collection of something else. […]
It was two years ago at the end of October 2010 that I first featured a post on the Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) – or Witches Egg as it appears when in it’s young ‘egg form’… Since then I have seen (and involuntarily smelled) many in mixed woodland and even gardens. They are pretty much revered […]
The mushroom season is well under way in the UK. Since September there have been many species popping up here and there, but there’s still more to come. October and November often produce the goods in abundance… One of my latest and tastiest finds has been the Saffron Milkcap (Lactarius deliciosus) – one the most […]
It only seems logical that my next post is of yet another Earthball, just as a good comparison to my previous post on the Common Earthball. The Scaly Earthball (Scleroderma verrucosum) is similar to Common Earthball (see post here), but more often confused with the Leopard Earthball (post and pics to come soon I hope). […]
It was only a couple of weeks ago whilst looking for the first signs of all the different Russulas that my attention was drawn away every two minutes only to find these little blighters. They were everywhere… With a well deserved name, the Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum) is very numerous during the summer and autumn […]
There is quite a few of these babies popping up around now. It can be a confusing species to identify because of the similarities with the Panther Cap and Grey Spotted Amanita. The Blusher (Amanita rubescens) is one of the more common Amanita mushrooms. Summer to autumn is the best time to find them, usually […]
I’m not much of a TV fan, although I do love my movies. Yesterday I was in for a treat with a great BBC4 documentary, which I think anyone interested in the cycle of life (of which mushrooms and fungi are a great part) will love… If you have time, pop over to the BBC […]
Luck was on my side this Saturday as I walked in one of my favourite woods. Stepping aside to give a couple some more room on the path, I just caught a glimpse of something white hiding beneath the undergrowth. Was it litter or was it a mushroom? You’ve always got to take a look… […]
The False Chanterelle is a True Chanterelle look a like… and I recommend to be avoided.
This mushroom has a long fruiting season and depending on what time it is discovered, it can appear to be a different fungus altogether… I have come across the Hare’s Foot Inkcap (Coprinopsis lagopus / Coprinus lagopus) as early as May right through to the late autumn months. It gets its common English name from […]
It’s early June and with the recent inclement weather (or great weather for mushroom hunters!) there are plenty of different species popping up here and there. But after a local visit to a local (mixed woodland) wood, I was quite disappointed with the results. But then again, summer is usually a good mix of grassland […]
Just about all of us live in a typical urban environment with pavements, roads and adjacent grassy verges. Because of this, from late spring to autumn, we may have the occasional chance of coming across one of these fellas… As the name suggests, the Pavement Mushroom (Agaricus bitorquis) chooses to flourish mainly in roadside situations […]
This small and attractive fungus is one of the ‘Discos’ (Disc fungi), an English description for one the groups in the genus of Pyronema (Pyronemataceae family) – but let’s not get too technical, we could be here forever! Although widespread and common throughout the UK, I very rarely see the Common Eyelash (Scutellinia scutellata) on […]
Wood Blewits (Lepista nuda) found in Spring. Strangely out of season.
Well, this UK drought we’re having this April has got to be the wettest on record! But the morels are enjoying it and they’re still out there. The pictures of the following were kindly submitted by Thalia Kenton when she was asking about them earlier this April – thanks again for the pics Thalia. As […]
As you may know or not I recently got lucky finding some Black Morels this April 2012, and as luck would have it I actually stumbled across another species of Morel a couple of days afterwards! Marvellous… I had a foray at Cloud wood (NW Leicestershire. Note: Cloud Wood is access by permit only and […]
They always say ‘ keep your favourite edible mushroom sites a big secret’, but it’s even better to prize this information out of other people! Hoo ha ha! (my best evil laugh) A Gardener/ landscaper, while in the area, overheard my mushroom ravings while at my local watering hole. He wanted me to identify a […]
After a pretty unsuccessful local walk looking for the more favourable spring mushrooms I happened to stumble across these ugly little beauties! Any ‘find’ is a bonus anyway, and I was also glad to get some good shots of them too… It’s common English name is Witches’ Butter (Exidia glandulosa) and is a widespread, common […]
As winter seems to drag on and on, all mushroom foragers seems to be stuck in some kind of ‘no mans land’ of woe and sorrow… Hey ho! But many fungi are perennial and more noticeable through the winter months. They’re easier to spot since many trees are bare and no dense foliage can get […]
I’ve been off the scene for a while these last two months and feel deservedly ashamed of myself. But Christmas and New Year was a busy time for all, so I can blame it on that – and the fact it’s pretty baron out in the world of mushrooms. Roll on Spring… This post is […]
Sorry for the awful title, but it had to be done! I can’t believe I haven’t made a post on this mushroom before either. Next to the Brown Roll Rim, this has had to have been the most common mushroom I’ve found in great number during autumn/early winter last year (2011). Often found in woodland […]
The Bolete genus (and those closely related) are some of the largest and most exciting mushrooms to be found out there. From a culinary point of view there are several that are more than worth the their place in the kitchen, but there is one in particular that stands out as ‘best of the rest’. […]
This mushroom is one of, if not ‘the‘ most common of all the Waxcaps (known as the Hygrocybes) which I recently discovered on the 30th October. By posting on the first day of November I realise I’ve missed the Halloween deadline (excuse the pun) and I’m sorry. But Halloween ‘is’ the eve of ‘All Saints […]
Although present mainly from June through to December this fungus is much more noticeable throughout the winter months, which unfortunately for the mushroom hunter, is well on it’s way! And to note, we have especially had a dry summer/autumn which has robbed us of many wonderful woodland finds, but that’s the way it goes sometimes… […]
The words ‘Mushroom’ and ‘Toadstool’ are not truly scientific names, but general common usage describes these as edible or inedible (and poisonous) fungi respectively. But there is a grey area, (internationally speaking) regarding this mushroom or should I say toadstool?. It is still sold in eastern Europe markets, where-as here at home in the UK, […]
Walking along a woodland path, the adjacent foliage was heavily overgrown. But something still caught the corner of my eye at the base of a large oak tree. At first, I thought people had left some rubbish, considering the size, but as I removed the overgrowth (receiving many lovely nettle stings!) the picture became clearer. […]
Here we have a fairly common and sought after tasty mushroom for this time of the year. It likes to grow in dense clusters on stray stumps and logs of broad-leaved trees – Just like many other brown toadstools too! Hmm!? The Sheathed Woodtuft (Kuehneromyces mutabilis) has also adopted other common names, such as Velvet […]
It’s always a joy to find great big clumps of mushrooms while out foraging, especially when you’re not having much luck elsewhere. When you can’t find one mushroom – a bunch of them come along at the same time. Typical! Always found at the base of living trees, the Shaggy Scalycap (Pholiota squarossa) is usually […]
This is one of my favourite mushrooms, not really for eating but mainly because of it’s attractive colours and fantastic commonly used name! Simply called Plums and Custard (Tricholomopsis rutilans) this very common mushroom almost looks good enough to eat, and even sounds good enough to eat, but before you get too excited, the general […]
There’s a small stretch of coniferous woodland close to where I live, and over the years I have never seen such a variation of mushrooms, toadstools and fungi in such a relatively small place. Great stuff! And today was no disappointment either. Poking out of above the leaves in a small clearing were the caps […]
I have a good gauge for the start of the mushroom season in the UK* – and that is my birthday! Well, the birth month anyway. Mushrooms grow all year round, but they are never so much in abundance and variety until the beginning of September. It’s technically still summer, but I can sense the […]
Although this is a very common species of mushroom, I don’t come across them that often. Even though mainly white in colour they always seem to be hiding under bracken or disguise themselves in similar woodland undergrowth. But once seen, never forgotten, the Spotted Toughshank (Collybia maculata / Rhodocollybia maculata*) is a nice looking, creamy […]
Medium to large bracket fungus growing on birch trees.