A reminder about fungi

Whilst out on my botanical jaunt, I also came across a few mushrooms. They were on a rough patch of grass which had somehow escaped being mown to oblivion. They had also escaped the Mushroom Kickers, probably because they were small and relatively invisible. Yes, the world can be divided into two groups of people, the Mushroom Pickers and the Mushroom Kickers. I don't really understand the mentality of the latter. Perhaps they go round kicking kittens as well.

These were the ones I found:

To be honest they are not the easiest to identify. In fact they are often collectively known as LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms) and sometimes you have to admit defeat. But this belies their niceness. In fact you can see that they're actually all quite different. It's all about looking carefully at their shape and colour - the shape of the cap, the shape of the gills, the wavyness or sturdiness of the stipe (the mushroom 'stem'). This still doesn't make them Easy. But it might enable you to get to the right family.

Their habitat is also a useful clue. These were all amongst shortish grass - that in itself discounts many of the similar species you see in the identification books. In fact I think there's a definite gap in the market for a beginners' book with common species arranged by habitat. I have one that's almost there, but it's obsessed with edible mushrooms and gives delicate inedibles short shrift.

The most important thing I want to impart is that it's important to try and identify them as soon as possible. So you don't need to take home too many at a time - just a few is good. Then when you've had a go at identifying them (including writing all their features down in your field notebook so you remember them if you give up in desperation) - please bring them in to me and put them in the freezer in the field centre. Then I will freeze dry them for you and they will be reasonably beautifully preserved. If you can't get into college straight away then the fridge will do temporarily (in a plastic box, preferably, but don't get them mixed up with your lunch. That would be a shame as some of them are poisonous).

Fungi season is upon us so get out there into the woods and meadows and have a search.

The lovely Amanita muscaria. We found lots of these at Colehayes a few weeks ago. CC image by taras-fedora-syn

I've found a good website about UK fungi = First Nature.
It's not so easy flicking through a website as it is a book. But there's so much effort been put into writing about each species here, and there are good photos (of the whole fungus / gills or pores, and spores). It won't have everything but it's definitely somewhere to look when you've a hunch about your specimen's identity. It's made me wonder whether I've got Conocybe tenera amongst my finds.

Remember that with fungi, where you find them and how they're growing are important clues to identification. You can note their 'habit of growth' (that is, are they growing singly or in troops - (troops, excellent description), in tufts or overlapping, or in fairy rings) and whether they have any 'relationship with higher plants' (mycorrhizal species can only develop in conjunction with one or a few species of trees). All grist for your field notebook.