HOW TO FORAGE FOR FUNGI

Mushrooms pop up in woods all over the place in autumn and – if you know what you’re looking for – make a tasty and impressive addition to a campsite meal. We’ve picked five of the easiest and safest to identify.

HOW TO SAFELY IDENTIFY MUSHROOMS

The best way to learn how to safely ID mushrooms is to go out with someone who knows them inside out, whether that’s a knowledgeable mate or a foraging guide. In lieu of that, study the mushroom minutely before eating – resist any gung-ho impulse to gobble it down. Let alone being your last, it might lead to some long painful hours on the loo or sweating in bed. Some of the most important aspects of the mushroom to study are:

■ GILLS: Does it have pores, gills or something else, eg a growth like a shelf from a tree?

■ COLOUR: What colour are the cap, gills, flesh and stalk (stipe)?

■ RING: Is there a frilly ring, like a skirt, around the stipe?

■ SMELL: After you’ve checked all the other features, give it a sniff. Most smell, as you would expect, mushroomy. But some can smell potently of petrol or glue.

■ WHERE IT’S GROWING: Check where it’s growing as precisely as possible.

On a tree or the ground? If on a tree, what is the species of tree, what type of soil is it in, and is the wood dead or alive? The birch polypore, for example, only grows on dead birch trees so this often provides a vital clue.

Ideally, take a spore print and multiple pictures and notes of the fungus to compare with a field guide. Some recommended books to start with are

River Cottage handbook No 1: Mushrooms by John Wright, and Food for Free by Richard Mabey.