Geoffrey Kibby is one of Britain’s foremost experts on identifying mushrooms in the field and has published a range of excellent guides/handbooks to mushroom identification. Supply information to local and national databases and retain ‘voucher specimens’ for deposit in museum collections. Identification: Are cup-shaped and scarlet, however can also be bright orange. Stems attach to the leaf litter making them appear as hollow bowls lying on the woodland floors. Cups are roughly 4cm across. Whether we call them all mushrooms, as the Americans tend to do, or toadstools as we often do in Britain, they form a huge and amazing array of species. The terms mushroom and toadstool are of course very vague with no actual specific scientific meaning, encompassing both edible and poisonous species. With such a large number of species to choose from, identification can be both difficult and frustrating, and if edibility is a factor then obviously getting a correct identification is even more important; a mistake can be, and sadly has often been, fatal.

Collins Complete British Mushrooms and Toadstools: The Collins Complete British Mushrooms and Toadstools: The

Collect only specimens in good condition; old or rotten specimens will not make a good meal and can cause serious stomach upsets. A field guide can only take you so far and show you a representative sample of a particular species. Fungi vary much more than most organisms and you will need to learn them in all their many and varied forms before you can confidently say you know a species well. The best way to learn is to get a good guide and then take it along on an organised fungal walk (or foray as they are usually called). Here you will usually be led by an experienced expert who can show you first hand the important features of each species as well as their particular ecology. The latter can be vital in fungus identification. Many fungi grow in association with specific trees or other plants and knowing this can help you to identify or even predict the species you may find. Prepare Melzer’s reagent by adding 1.5 g iodine, 5 g potassium iodide and 100 g chloral hydrate to 100 ml of water. Warm carefully (do not boil) and stir thoroughly. When added to tissues or spores (especially white spores) en masse, a colour change to dark blue is called an amyloid response; a change to red-brown is dextrinoid; no change is non-amyloid and non-dextrinoid.The sixth title in the bestselling Collins Guide series, this book covers the fungi of the British Isles, with considerable relevance for Europe and the wider temperate world.

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Remove the specimens carefully from the substrate, noting especially if the stem base is rooting (inserted deeply into the ground, rather like a carrot root). Make a record of any features that are immediately obvious and striking (a hairy cap, a smell of almonds or a bright red colour for example) and also those characters that change on handling (such as a colour change similar to bruising where the tissues have been touched, or an aroma that becomes suddenly apparent). Whenever possible, try to take at least one immature fruit body but remember that without some fully mature individuals identification will usually be impossible. It is much better to place only one collection in each container for bringing home; many toadstools look remarkably similar, especially when seen apart from their habitat, and trying to relate a mixed collection to one species can cause endless frustration. The need not to mix collections is even more important when collecting fungi to eat because an inedible or poisonous species can so easily be tossed into the pan along with the edible ones. Be aware that some fungi are very poisonous and many others may make you unwell. Some people have allergic reactions after eating certain species. Make quite sure you can identify fungi by attending a field course or foray led by an expert before you start collecting. Living organisms are given names and are classified into groups; fungi are no exception. The scientific names used for organisms today are based on a binomial or two-name system based on Latin and other languages and using Latin grammar derived from one devised by the Swedish biologist Linnaeus (Carl von Linné, 1707–1778). The binomial of each organism does more than signify its uniqueness, however, as it also attempts to indicate its relationship to other similar forms. Whilst each group of basically identical individuals is called a species, designated by the second of the two names, the larger groups to which similar species are considered to belong are called genera (singular genus) and it is the genera that contribute the first name. So, the fungus genus Lepiota includes species like Lepiota lilacea, Lepiota magnispora and Lepiota obscura. The specific or trivial name often attempts to give some information about the organism, for example lilacea signifies a lilac-coloured fungus and magnispora one with large spores, although sometimes, as in obscura, it does no more than recognise some undefined peculiar feature. Where to find: Usually found low on the trunk of old, living oak trees and sweet chestnut trees, and sometimes on their stumps. Recommended Reading/Guides: The vital role of fungi in the ecology of grasslands is becoming more widely appreciated, sparking an increasing interest in identification.Fungi are able to exploit most of the natural – and many of the artificial – raw materials of the world as nutrient sources; and to tolerate most of the environmental variables the earth can offer. Of all the natural habitats able to support life of any type, almost all are inhabited by some species of fungi. But whilst many genera of larger fungi certainly occur predominantly in one type of habitat, there are few that are wholly characteristic of individual types of woodland, grassland or other community. Nonetheless, there are certainly some fungal genera, and, more significantly, some associations of genera, that do give each habitat a characteristic mycobiota. Amanita, Lactarius and Russula for instance, which are mycorrhizal associates of trees, are predominantly woodland genera, while Hygrocybe is usually found in grassland. And a species list including Mycena capillaris, Russula fellea, Craterellus cornucopioides and Boletus satanas conjures up an image of a beech wood to a mycologist in much the same way as a list including bramble, dog’s mercury, foxglove, holly and violet helleborine might to a botanist. Woodlands Established permanent grasslands, meadows, commons, lawns and parkland are very different however. These are relatively undisturbed habitats, although the grass itself may be grazed or mown. The soil temperature is relatively uniform, protected by the grass swards, but may be prone to drying out in summer. Among major agaric genera, Agaricus, Clitocybe and Hygrocybe are especially frequent on these grasslands, and representatives of all groups that do not have an obligate mycorrhizal association with trees or that depend on wood as nutrient source may be expected. The sub-division of grasslands is less straightforward than that of woodlands, and although certain well-defined types can be recognised, there are less obviously characteristic mycobiotas in each. Among more local and restricted types of woodland with interesting mycobiota are those found mainly on wetlands, particularly copses and riverside plantations of willow or poplar, and especially alder carr. A surprisingly large number of fungal species are alder associates: Pholiota alnicola and Gyrodon lividus are among the most striking, while almost the entire genus Naucoria is found with alders, hence the English name aldercaps. The manifestations of a universal veil are somewhat different. Universal veils are not formed by all agarics but when present they envelop the entire developing ‘button’ and as the fruit body expands and matures, fragments of the veil remain as flakes on the cap surface, often in contrasting colour to the remainder of the cap. More significantly, however, the veil remains enveloping the base of the stem as a structure called a volva, the presence of which is characteristic of certain genera. The volva takes one of two main forms: when its tissues adhere closely to the stem base, it is called adherent and its surface may be loose and scaly, powdery or, sometimes, marked with characteristic concentric zones; when the volva envelops the stem base like a loose bag, it is said to be free and its tissues may then vary from very fragile to fairly tough and membranous.

Basic Guide to Identifying Fungi Basic Guide to Identifying Fungi

More kinds of macro-fungi are to be found in woodlands than anywhere else and every organised fungal foray will include a visit to at least one. Woodlands offer a rich and continuing nutrient source and a wide range of microhabitats (from the twigs and leaves of tree tops to roots many centimetres below the soil surface), a soil environment reasonably well buffered against extremes of temperature and a fairly moist environment all year. They are conveniently divided into the major categories of coniferous, broadleaved and mixed, with additional habitats provided by the woodland edges and by open, grassy areas or glades within the wood itself. In certain groups, application of one of the following reagents to the cap, stem or hyphae gives a characteristic colour reaction: Identification: A grey to fawn cap that is at first egg-shaped and then later bell shaped. The surface is smooth and splits into a few tiny scales from the apex, the edges are often wavy and split. Stem is white and hollow. Cap is around 4-8 cm across and stem is 5-15 cm tall.Add 8 ml concentrated sulphuric acid to 3 ml water and dissolve 1 g pure vanillin in this. A characteristic colour change occurs in some groups when this is applied to the stem. Concentrated sulphuric acid is an extremely dangerous chemical and the reagent must be prepared with the greatest care and only by those experienced in its use. Always remember that it is far better to identify with certainty ten species and so enrich your fund of knowledge and experience than return home wastefully with fifty or more unknowns, most of which there will never be any prospect of naming.