Which mushrooms are edible?

As fungal species bloom during a wet and cold autumn in West Gippsland, an expert in the field of plants has urged locals to never eat a field mushroom unless properly identified.

Dr Mary Cole, a plant pathologist and consultant mycologist to the Australian and New Zealand Animal Poison Centre, has been receiving 20 to 30 photos each week to identify and advise the edibility of fungi.

Due to the interest in identification and edibility of many species, Dr Cole has provided Gazette readers with simple explanations to help with identifying field mushrooms common in West Gippsland paddocks and gardens.

“You should NEVER eat a field mushroom unless it has been correctly identified by an expert,” said Dr Cole. “Some of our Australian species look similar to edible European species but are, in actual fact, poisonous.”

You should ALWAYS cook fruiting bodies as soon as they are collected even if they are not eaten immediately. They can be refrigerated or frozen.”

Her tip was, if you have not eaten a particular mushroom before and have not had it identified, it was advisable to eat a very small amount - just one teaspoon - and wait for 24 hours.

“If there has been no reaction then the cooked mushrooms can be eaten. Some people have allergies to the mushroom material or more often to bacteria on the fruiting bodies. It is still very important to have these mushrooms properly identified.”

Are these field mushrooms?

The field mushroom is recognisable as having a whitish cap, reasonably chunky size and shape, pink gills when young and dark purple brown when older. It is the spores that give the gills their colour.

There is a ring or skirt on the stem and the gills meet the cap, not the stem, so that the stem is easy to twist off the cap. The cap may be smooth or have brown scales over the surface.

Yellow stainers Chlorophyllum molybdites

Chlorophyllium molybdites look almost identical to the Lepiota species. The only difference is the spores are green at maturity.

This mushroom is poisonous and must not be eaten.

Field mushroom – EDIBLE. This mature specimen has purple brown gills because the spores are mature. Field mushrooms are good to eat, fresh or dried for soups.

Lepiota procera – EDIBLE. The Lepiota species are edible and delicious both fresh and dried.

Chlorophyllum molybdites – POISONOUS. These look almost identical to the Lepiota species but are poisonous and must not be eaten. Note the greenish gills.

Field mushroom – EDIBLE. This young specimen has pink gills because the spores are immature. It is edible.