Around here T. Mesenterica is quite common- the was one place in the New Forest where it was abundant on burnt gorse. Also growing on the burnt gorse was Flamulina Velutipes(Velvet shank).

Fairly close to the site was where I photographed Clathrus Archeri. I do have a piccy of T. Mesenterica somewhere, when i get time, I'll post a link.

Mark

Mark: Re. Tremella messenterica (witches Butter)

These are very common fungi all over the world, they are very nice to look at, and there is nothing that looks vaguely like them which is harmful. And they honestly do add a "mushroom pickers" touch to a simple soup like a Won Ton, or chicken broth soup.

Eastern Europeans are (seemingly) born with this knowledge. I do not know what is wrong with the rest of us.. I live in British Columbia, I am fifty-five years old, I did not know that Cantharellus grew here ( I thought they all came from Europe) until I was in my forties. But , you know what Mark, I know very much better now. I am living in a place that, in one of its many environments, is going to grow almost any edible mushroom known to man.

For me it is much easier to get to know the mushrooms one at a time, the ones that I pick cannot be mistaken for anything else. That gives me a list of ten or twelve, plus Boletes. It has taken me awhile, maybe two or three species a year, but I have never had so much as a gut ache.

Finding them is one thing, using them is another.

Mark

Sorry that was misdirected , it was for C

Here's a quote from David Arora's "All That the Rain Promises and More....": "Despite the many benefits and uses of mushrooms, most North Americans are markedly fungophobic ..." "It is only in the last few years that large numbers of North Americans have begun to discover what the mushroom-loving people of Japan, China, Russia and Europe have known for centuries: that these 'forbidden fruit' are delicious and nutricious, vital and valuable, potent and beautiful, and that mushroom hunting is a challenging, enlightening, and uplifting activity."

Many times when I mention I am going mushroom foraging, people just look at me like I've just informed them I am going to Mars for a visit. The "fear" of going into the forest and finding something that is edible is completely incomprehensible. And they have NO desire to even want to try it. Very sad commentary on our "sophisticated" way of life.

shroomgal:

That is so true. I am a chef so people tend to think that if it is food I may know what I am doing. But the only people who are receptive when I bring bags of Mushrooms to give away are from Asia, Eastern Europe, or for some types, boletes and Chanterelle, Western Europeans without English in the bloodline (except for my English manager, who has married a Czeck, Everytime I bring him a bag of shrooms he gets... well never mind we will just say tha he welcomes the gift and enjoys it to the fullest).

I haven't decided yet whether the fear is some Freudian sexual thing about mushrooms springing up from nothing, or perhaps some primal fear that all of our mothers wisely instill in us not to eat odd growths, or fear of the forest and the wild. You pays your money youse takes your choice.

What I do know is that it is going to take a change of attitude that we must bring about to take this North American Culture forward to relly create a market for those "forbidden fruits" of the forest. And that may be the only way to preserve the forest.

Whistle

i always had teh fear due to teh fact that tehre are so many poisnonous look alikes of many mushrooms (moreso for the psychoactive).

i think that because when someone hears the word, mushroom, that tehy automatically get it in their head "magic mushroom". even if the discussion is aimed at cooking or whatever, its my opinion that the tripping species at least come to mind, even if jsut for a second. that said tehre are lots of poisonous lookalikes. and it is then my opinion that it is just considered that all mushrooms have to be id'd very carefulyl by a profesional. which is good but probabyl too paranoid. also mushrooms that are edible make people sick...tehn tehres teh other group where i fall into that jsut dotn like the taste/texture.

or we could jsut say we north americans are ignorant and stuborn.