The Mushroom Hunter

On Sunday was the annual fungal Foray organised by the Friends of Chopwell Wood. The chap who acts as our guide is extremely knowledgeable as well as being entertaining.

Personally I learnt a lot, for example that all fungi are edible, but some only once!

While that is a humorist quote, it does emphasise just how careful we all need to be when harvesting wild foods. There are some that I can recognise and know are safe to eat. Further, I have come back from many a walk with a few for a meal in my pocket. But I will only eat what I am sure of and only harvest a little. Unfortunately there are some people who will totally strip a site. In the summer I found a place that was full of chanterelles, but the following day they were gone. That has the effect of not allowing any new spores to be released and while there is lightly to be another flourish there will be less and less if that type of unsustainable harvesting were to continue.

This year there are far fewer fungi around, the wet summer and the warm dry autumn has made this year a poor year for fungi but as we have around one hundred and sixty species of them in Chopwell Wood we are not in any danger of loosing them just yet.


The Top picture is of Gordon, the mushroom hunter.

Russula nigricans Blackening Russula, it is edible but not worth eating.



Russula fellea Geranium-scented russula, edible when cooked but best avoided (Unless you like eating rubber that is)



Piptoporus betulinus Birch Polypore, Not poisonous or Edible and is better used to strop a knife than for anything culinary

Mycena vitilis

Cavatia excipuliformis Edible when young and firm