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This autumn I've seen some whooping examples of mushrooms, toadstools and fungi. Some species popping up in gardens near us that I've never seen before. It must be the correct conditions for them.
Despite the hotter temperatures and the several weeks dry spells, we do seem to be warmer and wetter, so I'd hazard a guess that we'll see more of this kind of thing happening - stuff not commonly seen being more visible as the climate changes.
i wouldnt say that. A lot Ive seen have appeared stunted,(apart from chicken of the woods which have a really good turnout) due to the dry conditions. Thats in northants .
Although i was in gwydir forest a month ago and saw more biggerer mushrooms than i have before, specially chanterelles and boletus, though ive never been there before
The season seems late this year
We had quite a sprouting of something (no idea what they were) in the lawn and a border a couple of weeks ago, but I suspect theyre emerging from the roots and stump of a small tree we took down a couple of years ago.
My wife wanted to "Dig them all out, they're ugly". I wished her the best of luck with that idea, and by the next morning theyd pretty much all died off, so the problem has resolved itself for the next 51 weeks.
Rescued two Polish girls last year who had driven their brand new Golf down a green lane in the lakes who were here on a mushroom picking pilgrimage, we must have a good climate for it compared to Europe? Or they were after a specific type... either way was a bit upset they didn't offer me any of their pickings as a thank you.
so the problem has resolved itself for the next 51 weeks.
You've not suggested a patio? 🙂
Already got one of those, and she keeps wanting to jetwash it cos it goes green all the time 🙄. Anyway, there's already plenty of threads about that sort of thing
Not seen many in the woods yet this year. Might have a mooch with the camera later.
Got this a couple of weeks ago...
Yup,a lot up here just now,and they do look bigger than last Autumn.
- Devil’s fingers, fly agaric and turkeytail here in the New Forest
Always exciting as you say @bunnyhop that each year with differing amounts of rainfall, sunshine and temperature means different fungi thrive each season and put on a unique show
@charlie.farley
Nice collection.
Is the Devils Fingers specific to the New Forest/doon Sooth,I have never seen them in the woods up here.
Devil’s fingers are also rare for this area, although they are now reliably emerging in certain spots year on year
Had hedgehog mushroom sanners yesterday for breakfast. Bloody lovely.
My pickled chanterelles are delicious with pineapple weed in the liquor.
Jars and jars of dried ceps.
I'm very much in the don't take more than you need and never more than 1/3.
Fungi need warm conditions, things are getting warmer
I'm not looking to pick/eat but am enjoying just spotting, there not been a lot lately. I think my cycling friends are getting used to me stopping randomly to peer into the undergrowth (Pretty sure yesterdays was a Death Cap). That said there have been some huge Parasols appearing, and now the highly identifiable Fly agaric's are coming through but pretty tame compared to last year, locally at least.
I love a bit of fungi spotting. No idea what any are but I'm fascinated by how many different varieties there are.
https://Twitter.com/darwendashers/status/1712879504052338789?s=46&t=We7m9sBVLviPIp_wY7u5lQ
https://Twitter.com/darwendashers/status/1711017529697509441?s=46&t=We7m9sBVLviPIp_wY7u5lQ
https://Twitter.com/darwendashers/status/1711017723646390772?s=46&t=We7m9sBVLviPIp_wY7u5lQ
https://Twitter.com/darwendashers/status/1711017944233226463?s=46&t=We7m9sBVLviPIp_wY7u5lQ
https://Twitter.com/darwendashers/status/1711018043717894270s=46&t=We7m9sBVLviPIp_wY7u5lQ
There have been a lot more berries too this season. Holly seems to have twice as many berries per twig than usual.
Riding past fields with Hawthorn looking bright red in the distance.
What's the best app for identifying stuff? Anything better than Google lens? According to that, we've got a bunch of Sulphur Tuft on the edge of the lawn.
Hello everyone. I have a phobia of mushrooms so I'm being VERY BRAVE by opening this thread.
I have a subscription to the Awesome Socks Co and this months autumn themed pair are not to my taste:
They are free to a good home* for the first person to message me with their address.
*Any home in which I'm unlikely to ever see their terrifying pattern again
What’s the best app for identifying stuff?
I just installed Mushroom Identify and Picture Mushroom as theyre the most rated on Play, but the ones Ive seen others use work pretty well, although there is often some confusion with similar looking ones that may be deadly, and they may use american names etc.
Just because a mushroom is edible in uk, doesnt mean that the same ones you see in other parts of the world wont kill you
Also enjoy spotting fungi while out biking (and eating when we are sure).
These were some from our recent ride down the Annandale Way...
Last year there was one of these right next to one of the main trails in Swinley. We took a couple of portions from it but I don't think anyone else did, not even the regular fungus foragers that you see out there this time of year. Not seen one yet this year but if I do it'll be home in time for dinner.
There have been a lot more berries too this season.
I was out for a walk on Saturday and thinking exactly that. The hedges were bursting with berries. I've also spotted plenty of exotic looking mushrooms on my travels.
Scary stuff fungi, you just don't know what they're thinking.
@stevious those socks are quite something. I find some fungi a bit trypophobic, but can’t say it’s the actual fungi I’m scared of. Mycophobia… interesting! Wonder what caused it!
I do love an interesting fungi, particularly the old ones used by shaman, with psilocybin, muscimol and ibotenic acid all giving a jolly old "comune with the ancestors" with a careful dose.
As my old mycology lecturer used to say, "you can eat all fungi, but some only once"
The fear of mushrooms was instilled into my nephew as a tot. He was told never to touch any fungi because it was poisonous (by his mother), from then on he had 'the fear'. I used to feed him tiny chopped up pieces in bolognese sauce, soups and stews so he wouldn't notice.
Puffball and sausage. Our firewood supplier reckons lots of berries is nature’s way of signalling a hard winter. We’ll see
Mushrooms come from the shop.
And they can go straight in the bin.
Heaps of fungi here, popping up all over. In my neighbouring woods there are long lines of them spreading out from trees. Never seen it before, I think they are on top of the roots by the look of the pattern that starts at the trunk and then heads out like a spoke.
Apples were also great, elder berry a bit poor. Blackberrys not great but grapes have gone ballistic!
Second one down on @vmgscot's post is a hedgehog mushroom very tasty, meaty with firm texture. If you zoom into the under side you can see there are no gills but "spines". Can't get it confused with anything inedible in the uk
Mushrooms come from the shop.
Free food (though I'm still scared), and though there are some very poisonous ones, they are in the minority (& none are poisonous to touch, only consume) & many are just inedible. It not hard to only pick ones you know how to identify (at least 3 different ways), you can they happily ignore all the others...
Watching the like of this, I wonder how I survived though my childhood in the sticks.
@vmgscot Is that last one a truffle? Never seen any myself - they need chalky soil, don't they?
god i remember sitting on the bog at work feeling like death after eating chanterelles or so i was told. I honestly thought i was done for, I had to tell a couple of work mats what was happening in case I fell in to a coma! I laugh about it now but never again
@finephilly that last one is a young puffball, it has been known (apparently) for some unscrupulous people to cut away the white outer and soak the middle in truffle oil and pass the result off as an actual truffle.
A few from today, top left Charcoal burners, top right Cep, bottom left Hedgehog mushrooms and bottom right some Bollettes and a single Chanterelle.
Definitely fewer around than usual for this time of the year here in the south, hoping the proper autumn weather will increase yields.
OK- on the back of a bumper crop here I feel I need to go foraging in future seasons. I was on a survival course many (many) year ago and at the time felt relatively confident picking the right ones. All that knowledge seems to have leaked out of my head. I think I'll look out for a foraging course in the future.
Our firewood supplier reckons lots of berries is nature’s way of signalling a hard winter. We’ll see
Ah yes this was the thinking, but there is no scientific evidence.
@finephilly and @Baz - we thought they were Earthballs - the inside was charcoal black.
@vmgscot that could very well be another name for them, a lot of fungi have multiple local names, ive always known them as common puffballs. The dark black in the centre is the spores that eventually mature to a dry dust consistency before eventually exploding out, towards the end of the season you see loads on the forest floor that look as though they have had something burst out from the inside.
Possibly @Bazz but...
"Common Earthball which appears to be responsible for the second most mushroom poisonings each year in the UK. This is possibly due to confusion with Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) or even Truffles (Tuber spp.)"
https://www.wildfooduk.com/mushroom-guide/common-earth-ball/
As kids, stamping on ripe puffballs was a great game. Especially as we were convinced the spores were deadly poisonous and we had to run away fast!
I stand corrected 😀 vmgscot
earthballs- look like small puffballs, btu often more brown and/or scaly.
Break them open and theya re black inside. Real puffballs are white all the way through, turning brown when they get too old.
A good place to start is to know all the poisonous ones before you pick any,and leave them if youre not sure.
Some people react differently so just eat a little the first time,,and others may make you sick if youre drinking
Yea I thought the outside was too smooth for a truffle and AFAIK they will only sprout in chalky/stony ground.
It'd be great to find some but realistically I think you need a trained dog as they're impossible to spot.
Seen a few earthballs around so thanks for identifying those...
Are common puffballs edible? I though it was only the giant ones.
Yes. according to my book. the spiky ones are edible...
Our firewood supplier reckons lots of berries is nature’s way of signalling a hard winter. We’ll see
Because plants can tell the future? As opposed to fruit to the conditions of the summer.
Where a particular weather pattern follows another.
And a couple of shots of a wee mushroom at Hawthorne dene woods when I was away with work.
At the cemetery, Annan. The fungi have gone mad again.
I found a Fly agaric in our garden, the first one ever.