are my mushrooms edible ?

**Capsid** · 20-07-2008, 09:28 AM

Take some pics of the underside, if the gills are dark then it could be a field mushroom. However. I wouldn't ever take the risk unless an expert has identified them. There are some very mushroom looking like toadstools such as the death cap, that as the name suggests, are very posionous.

**Two_Sheds** · 20-07-2008, 09:39 AM

Any mushrooms that appear in a lawn should be removed ~ some are edible, but some can be fatal, esp. to children. fairy rings and turfgrass damage

**lynda66** · 20-07-2008, 10:05 AM

awwwwww you can't dig them up, where will the fairies sit when they have their tea parties?

**rainbowbrite** · 20-07-2008, 10:13 AM

i've just come home from holiday and noticed a lot of mushrooms on the lawn, was gunna post this exact question, spooky! i have never had mushrooms before, does anyone know why they have sprung up? ie what can i do to avoid them in future

**Rhona** · 20-07-2008, 10:18 AM

We have them springing up from wood mulching. They look like Judges Hat/Wig types but they vanish the next day - they just dehydrate into nothing. Very odd. Can't say I've fancied eating them though.

**Flummery** · 20-07-2008, 12:16 PM

You can eat the Lawyer's Wig types - although one type reacts badly with alcohol - it contains antabuse which will cause severe nausea with alcohol. However, if you don't feel you can tell one from another, don't have wine with the meal or anything else that day. The do deliquesce rapidly (I think that's the word - my O levels are 40 years old!) but if yo get them fresh they are gorgeous. I've cooked them fried gently in butter then added a little cream. Whoopi-doo.
You do need a very good fungus book and even then there are some I wouldn't try as they can be confused with poisonous ones. In France you can just take them to the pharmacist who will tell you if they're edible (then sell you somthing to stick up your @rse if they aren't - why is all French medicine inserted rather than swallowed?)

**Demeter** · 20-07-2008, 06:52 PM

There are lots of things I'd take a chance with - but fungus isn't one of them

(I trust myself to recognise a field mushroom as we collected these by the hatful when I was a kid, but that's as far as it goes...)

**SlugLobber** · 21-07-2008, 11:40 AM

Unless you're sure, discard. If you do eat any, always keep one, so if anything goes wrong then a toxivologist can identify what poisoned you!

The common field mushroom is distinguishable from the Angel Death Cap by the frill half way down the Death Cap's stalk. Also, scratching the Death Cap's stalk will produce a yellow bruising to the flesh.

The little fungus books (~�5) are useless. I use mine for little trips into the woods, but don't trust it for edible Vs poisonous reasons.

**djhs196** · 21-07-2008, 12:11 PM

Yes, books are good, but the best bet is to join a couple of mushroom forays and learn from the experts "in situ". You can also bring along ones that you've got for indentification!

**terrier** · 21-07-2008, 01:56 PM

Fungi are very fussy about where they grow and it's highly unlikely you will find Death Caps growing on your lawn. Very few fungi are poisonous (as in 'deadly'), most just taste so bad that you wouldn't want to eat them (death caps taste 'orrible, so I'm informed). Even so called edible mushrooms can have bad effects on some people. So the safest way is to leave them be, they won't stick around for long, most will disappear as the weather changes.

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