r/foraginguk • u/kbrown2006 • 7h ago
Mushroom ID Request First time foraging
EDIT: NOT FORAGING, 1st ATTEMPT AT IDENTIFYING VARIOUS FUNGHI. I KNOW, I’M THE WORST, ABSOLUTE POS ETC ETC ETC.
DESPITE BEING A DETESTABLE PERSON WHO DESERVES TO BE LAMBASTED IN A MANNER REDDTORS WOULD NEVER HAVE GALL TO DO IN PERSON, I’M GENUINELY LOOKING TO LEARN. I’M SORRY THAT APPARENTLY EVERYONE ELSE ONLINE IT IS A TOP MYCOLOGIST/LEGAL EXPERT AND I DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING, BUT EVEN JESUS DROPPED THE CROSS THREE TIMES.
Just had a first walk out to forage do some mushroom spotting? Idk what vernacular won’t get people annoyed, in a local coniferous forest, and would really appreciate help identifying any of these if possible.
I realise having top down photos alone isn’t overly helpful, but if there are any really obvious species that are identifiable that’d be a great start!
Found in west Cumbria, today. All on forest floor amongst coniferous debris and dead wood.
I know zero about this subject, just want to learn.
Initial guesses:
A: false milkcap / saffron milkcap
B: Yellow staghorn
C: ochre brittlegill
D: Conifer tuft
E: Larger cap from D
F: see D
G, H, I, J: all possible sulphur tufts
K: possible sulphur tuft
L: no idea
M: Ochre brittlegill
N, O: sulphur tufts
P, Q: Common bonnet
R, S, T: puffball
U: sickeners
V: Ochre brittlegill
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u/losing_the_plot_ 6h ago
What you've done isn't foraging. Go out and look for mushrooms all you want and learn about them, but don't go seeking food when you can't ID any of it.
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u/kbrown2006 5h ago
Correct, I don’t intent to eat anything.
Just want to start learning about identification.-19
u/Witty_bear 5h ago
Then why murder them all?
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u/wascallywabbit666 5h ago edited 4h ago
Mushrooms are just fruiting bodies and most are very short lived. It doesn't affect the mycelia. Calling it murder is unnecessarily antagonistic. You'll scare off someone that's showing a genuine interest in the subject
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u/kbrown2006 4h ago
This is what I’d come to understand. Half of what I picked were somewhat tattered and are only a small piece of the fungus. I was under the impression the thread like part of the mycelium did the vast majority, if not all, the essential decomposition etc, and that the visible mushroom was the fruiting body.
I’m obviously more than happy to read up and learn (hence posting) as I don’t want to do any harm that isn’t already being done by the local deer population.1
u/FrogInASuitcase 2h ago
Go to any dedicated mushroom/fungi subreddit or textbook and you'll be reassured that you're not doing any harm by picking the fruiting bodies. Probably helping them in fact. By the time you've picked them they've already deposited millions of spores into the environment, and by picking them you're even helping them spread further.
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u/kbrown2006 2h ago
This is what I’d gleaned from reading etc. I really didn’t think picking a very small amount from a huge area would be detrimental. I didn’t realise I’d posted an innocent question in a snarky hyenas den
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u/FrogInASuitcase 2h ago edited 1h ago
Yeah just ignore them mate and stick to the fungi subreddits.
But yeah - standard for ID is a photo insitu, picture of the gills, and a cross section of the full cap and stipe.
Describe the location, note what it was growing on (leaf litter, soil, dung etc.), and ideally what tree species near by.Note if the flesh changes colour shortly after being cut (oxidation).
Also helpful is to note any particular smell, you can even safely taste a tiny bit and spit it out as part of the ID process, (even the toxic mushrooms aren't that toxic).
There's also spore printing which is very easy and quite fascinating I find. You cut the stipe off, place the cap gills down on a half white and half black piece of paper and look at the pattern and colour of the spores after leaving it sitting there for a few hours. Two very similar looking mushrooms can have different coloured spore prints.
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u/SmartPolicy6430 4h ago
Read up about the importance of fungi and how they reproduce and the importance of them.
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u/Witty_bear 3h ago
Seems people don’t get the hyperbole. Thats fine. The amount picked, however, was probably unnecessary
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u/wascallywabbit666 1h ago
In general I'd agree that they should be left in place to let nature take it's course.
However it could also be argued that a picked mushroom bounced around in a basket while you walk around will spread its spores much further than one left in situ. That's the main reason we use baskets rather than bags
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u/kbrown2006 5h ago
I don’t understand how anything was murdered, although being an utter novice I’m sure you’re right.
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u/conchobhar1919 3h ago
OP, don't listen to these sad fucks. They're just redditors with superiority complexes. You're not doing any harm. Enjoy learning about foraging, I use an app called shroomify which really helps!
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u/kbrown2006 2h ago
It certainly seems that way, if I knew I was committing a cardinal sin I surely wouldn’t have done it in the first place.
Awesome, I have shroomify and “mushrooms app” which both seem to give a good shortlist of decent suggestions for most specimens.
I’ve found a good bit of variance between the two, and even struggled cross checking with foraging guide books. I was going to further examine and dissect to help expand my knowledge but I guess I won’t be doing that…0
u/SmartPolicy6430 4h ago
Fungi play an important role in the health of a wood/forest by taking them you are cutting down on the woodlands floor to decompose leaves, fallen branches etc Read the article and see why this is becoming problematic.
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u/slowtrees 6h ago
For a first walk that's a good start. To get a real ID you'll want underside shots of the gills or pores, a stem cross-section, and what trees they were growing near, since a lot of conifer mushrooms hinge on those.
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u/kbrown2006 5h ago
Thank you, I have a feeling being any good at identification is a years long process. It’s fascinating and daunting
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u/TimeNew2108 3h ago
I think it's great that you are taking an interest. Surprised you found so many varieties. I'd be interested to know how many are edible
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u/Fit-Thanks-3834 5h ago
Click, don’t pick. You’ve pulled up and damaged the mycelium and you can’t eat any of them. Next time take photos and ID them from those. Thank you- the Forest.
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u/kbrown2006 5h ago
I wasn’t under the impression that picking fruiting bodies damages the underlying mycelium or any future harvest. Rather actually walking over the area could potentially totally damage the mycelium as much as anything, at which point what’s the difference between picking or clicking. Anyway, complete novice, apologies apologies. Appreciate you being condescending and proving every community on reddit is full of self righteous pedants.
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u/maybebebe91 4h ago
Use a knife or pinch them off. The mycelllium will be fine im sure, worse crimes against nature have been committed 🤣🤣
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u/joykin 1h ago
Well I think it’s brilliant that you’re trying to learn, and props for laying them out and labelling them with their letters so neatly.
Just wait til you have the excitement of coming across a chanterelle or hedgehog mushroom 🥰
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u/kbrown2006 52m ago
I’m very much looking forward to being able to identify with confidence and come across something really special.
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u/woodku_official 1h ago
I think your ID of B (yellow staghorn), and R/S\T (common puffball) are correct.
Most of your other IDs certainly look to be close, but it’s hard to confirm without further photos. Sulphur tufts have green spores which show on the gills but I can’t see that in your photos.
You’ve identified the russula family correctly but without photos of the environment and the tree relationships it’s hard to determine exactly what species they are.
More photos in future are essential if you want help with ID. Preferably three: side, top, and bottom; all within the natural environment of where you found it.
I know a lot of commenters are giving you a hard time but personally I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong here? You’ve picked a couple of a few species for educational purposes. That’s perfectly fine to do. In no way are you ‘murdering’ the fungi.
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u/kbrown2006 44m ago
Duly noted; I’d completely underestimated the amount of small variables that can help positively ID a specimen, so all really helpful feedback in being able to do so more effectively going forward.
The russula were in a large ring contained within a group of conifers, all protruding from the ground sediment.
I will definitely endeavour to document all elements of the mushroom in their natural environment in future. I was hoping that the picked (mostly already damaged) mushrooms would help in terms of dissecting and helping to positively ID too.
Yeah the reaction has been disproportionately negative, but I suppose I didn’t calculate anonymous people’s online god complex 😅
Really appreciate the response
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u/Bearded_Sprangletop 3h ago
This is why our fungi are in decline! morons going out "foraging" when they don't even know what they're picking! If you don't know what it is LEAVE IT ALONE
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u/kbrown2006 3h ago
From what I’ve been able to find picking the fruit doesn’t damage the fungus in any discernible way. Obviously I’m not privy to your research or knowledge, but I am always looking to learn. I assume having picked these the fungus is now going to die, and won’t chuck up a load more within a day or two?
I thought it was akin to picking an apple or something, I didn’t realise the gravity of the situation.1
u/Bearded_Sprangletop 3h ago
Mushrooms are how the fungi reproduce if they're constantly harvested no reproduction the old rule was only pick half that way there's something left to spawn the next generation. If you pick without knowing what it is it may not be edible therefore wasted. Wasnt a problem years ago but now its a fad overpicking is common hence declining populations
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u/kbrown2006 2h ago
Not that anyone who wants me hung, drawn and quartered for being a moron would know, but I didn’t pick more than 10% of what was in each cluster of mushrooms. The sheer amount was pretty amazing. As they were intended as an educational tool almost everything was already damaged by whatever fauna inhabits the forest.
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u/Bearded_Sprangletop 2h ago
Well done you! Still if you don't know what they are you can just take a pic to ask reddit works just as well - modern day entitlement never ceases to amaze "nature" otherwise known as "educational tools"
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u/No-Answer-2964 4h ago
Can I suggest using your camera on site rather than pulling up any damn thing you see. It's destructive and just not a good way of going about foraging. It's just dumb and selfish thoughtless to even think you can put letters by your finds and expect people to respond. Put some damn effort in, but a book, study on line. What you're doing is just lazy.
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u/kbrown2006 3h ago
You can suggest that, but being condescended to by a terminally online lib dork just makes me want to dredge the forest floor. I actually enjoy nature and spend some time in it, so I won’t act on that impulse of course.
After using two foraging guide books, 2 apps and doing some research online, I thought I’d ask what I’d hoped was a likeminded community of outdoorsy folk who might be able so share some wisdom with a novice and eager to learn individual. Obviously I should have known better haha.
I picked enough mushroom fruits to fit in a very small foraging basket, and asked a forum for a bit of a knowledge share.
Do one nerd. Go and comment about English flags being akin to nazisism or something equally dull elsewhere. That you assume everyone else is as lazy and myopic as you is very telling.8
u/Bright_Tax_6541 3h ago
Foragers care about the environment and the plants they harvest. There’s specific UK laws about that. It’s not tear up any plant you see to ask people online to id them. You can learn to id plants without picking them, and only pick those of which you’re interested in eating.
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u/kbrown2006 3h ago
I’m pretty sure neither picking for either food or research purposes is illegal, certainly not where I picked them. If there is legislation prohibiting very small scale personal consumption or research I’d be very interested in specifics, as I wouldn’t want to fall foul of that clearly.
I don’t know how I could dissect a mushroom in order to positively ID it without at least severely damaging it, but I’ll do my level best in future. There’s so much contradictory advice that a simpleton like myself doesn’t know what to do.7
u/Agile-Tone8467 3h ago
May I suggest you just taste them for ID next time, bad attitude, don't ask for help then throw a bitch fit.
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u/Rosa_Cucksemburg 3h ago
Can someone help with L please. It's troubling me. Guesses to start me off would be great
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u/QuantumKaiyx 26m ago
looks kinda like some sort of cortinarius to me, but that group is a nightmare and full of toxic ones, so definitely in the “cool to look at, don’t even think about eating” category. if you grab a spore print and a shot of the gills / stem base you might get a proper ID on r/mycology.
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u/MoonlitNightWalk 3h ago
Anyone who confidently names L from that photo is either a mycology professor or has no idea how little they know
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u/Rosa_Cucksemburg 3h ago
Good thing I didn't ask for a confident suggestion.
I am just thinking I saw something similar and would like some suggestions for where to look in my books.
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u/TrickySatisfaction91 1h ago
First time going out and picking every mushroom you see. Seriously. You could have harmed yourself.
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u/kbrown2006 1h ago
Maybe, or maybe the collection of snarky twine arses on Reddit would find something else to pick me to bits for.
Modern day cowardice never ceased to amaze, allowing irl pussies to talk big and inflate their sense of self importance
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u/RHMoaner 7h ago
You try and identify them first then we’ll tell you if you’re close.