Hi there,
No probs about the reply. I sort of guessed you were in the UK from having the Phillips book. I have that book and I find that it is a good general purpose fungi book. The thing with it though is unless you know roughly the genus, then you have to look through most of the book. I have about a dozen fungi books ranging from specialised ones with microscopic detail to little pocket guides.

If you're interested in edible fungi, the 'The Easy edible mushroom guide' by David Pegler is a good choice.

As a general field guide, one of the best to get is Mushrooms & Toadstools of Britain and Europe by Courtecuisse and Duhem. This one is quite difficult to get hold of but I bought it from Lakeland books.. the link follows....

http://www.lakelandbooks.com/shop/Product_Display.asp?mscssid=GW0TAEXSR9K89LJ9HE5D2AGU1AW11W76&SiteLanguage=ENG&ProductId=0002200252&productname=Collins+Field+Guide+%2DMushrooms+%26+Toadstools+of+Britain+%26+Europe&ParentName=Home

Mycology is difficult to start off with, but if you keep at it, you'll start learning.

Good Luck, Mark

I keep forgetting about the Macrolepiota genus.. I just call them all Lepoitas or parasols as do most books...

Careful about eating mushrooms that you are unsure about.. even a lot of the non-deadly ones can make you feel so sick that you would wish you were dead. One of my books discusses the various types of poisonings, listing the symptoms, duration of the poisoning, ect. It really makes me think twice before eating anything.

Even after I have identified an edible that I've never tried, I will start off with a small amout of about a teaspoon. In case I made an error in my identification or I am allergic, at least it wont be as severe as if I had eaten a bunch.

mark_h - the pegler book is on order thanks for the info. I am indeed from the UK - Somerset, currently, and the whole place seems knee-deep in mushrooms. It seems a terrible shame to waste them... And quite aside from eating them, I've come across some fascinating mushroom facts since I started looking (like the one said to be some 2000 acres big and several thousand years of age - www.infoplease.com/spot/fungus1.html). Who'd have thunk it...?


c - that's good advice, and I didn't mean to sound blase about experimentation; Phillips lists symptoms including explosive and bloody diarrhoea, which I'm obviously none-too-keen to try out first-hand. My plan is to dry the things, then try a little bit; if there are no ill-effects, I'l try a bit more, until I gradually gain confidence. I suppose drying won't help the flavour greatly, but leaving fresh mushrooms for a few days between trying slices is likely to end up with me consuming a small puddle of black mush. They seem not to keep for long...


Speaking of which, does anyone have any good ideas for drying? I'm currently stitching the slices onto a thread, and hanging them near my heater, but it's still taking two days or more to get the job done...


Again, thanks for the help. I'm keen to get to know the whole subject - aside from the fact that wild mushrooms are really quite tasty, I find something vaguely satisfying about the idea of picking stuff from the wild and eating it. I think it's my inner-archaeologist making its presence felt...

I have also heard about the honey mushrooms being the largest organisms on earth, its interesting to think about and I have picked several species of Armillarias this year. I have some photos of my finds here somewhere, I'll find them if you are interested..

I can relate to the satisfaction of picking and eating wild mushrooms. I also really enjoy taking pictures of them - any kinds... poisonous, inedibles, edibles, or whatever i find. I am interested in them for way more than just eating.

Well you can slice 'em up and put on a fine mesh above a radiator, or if you have some money to burn, buy a dehydrator:
http://www.mycologue.co.uk/xcart/customer/homek.php?cat=5

Have fun, Mark

Re. Mushroom books for Random_archaeologist

There is a tabletop book created in the UK called 'THE ULTIMATE MUSHROOM BOOK' , written by Peter Jordan and Steven Wheeler first published by Lorenz Books in 1995. It is a good book, it has very good pictures and descriptions. But if you cannot find that mushroom in at least four books---and undeniably that mushroom---do not even think of eating it. The "Mushroom Book " is good and simple and has some very good recipes in the back. It even has a section on drying and reconstituting your wild mushrooms. Whistle