![]() HABIT: In clusters growing from decaying wood on living and dead trees, often originating from a common base (cespitose). Downy at the very base.įRUITING PERIOD: Throughout the year but often fruits 2 or 3 times throughout the winter on the same log. STEM: Whitish and usually eccentric – meaning joining the cap near the edge rather than in the centre. GILLS: Decurrent, whitish at first, later very pale buff. (Image source: Pleurotus_ostreatus_-_Pleurote_en_huître_cropped_CCAG2.0_Īlmost everyone knows the oyster mushroom yet few have tried them from the wild – they are far tastier! Few also realise that they come with many health benefits, being protective for the heart, containing natural cholesterol lowering statins and (like all outdoor grown mushrooms) they are rich in vitamin D.ĬAP: Pale grey to slate grey, blue grey or even dark brown. This edible mushroom should only be gathered where it is plentiful due to loss of it’s preferred habitats. HABITAT: Unimproved grassland, pasture, meadows, parkland, churchyards.ĬONSERVATION NOTES: A fairly abundant waxcap. HABIT: Grows singly and in small clusters. No ring.įRUITING PERIOD: Autumn and early winter. ![]() STEM: Chunky, cylindrical but rarely straight. Widely spaced, decurrent, thick and waxy looking, often with visible ridges at right angles that join adjacent gills. GILLS: White when young, gradually more the colour of the cap. At first domed with a slight raised central umbo, becoming flattened and turning up at the edges with age. Waxy looking though dry to the touch except in wet weather. They require long cooking to cook off the juices so perhaps this is another reason that many people decide to overlook them.ĬAP: 2 to 7 cm across, sometimes much larger. Not many people eat them but I suspect this is more cultural than anything else. This is one of the commoner waxcaps, large in size and full in flavour. Hygrocybe_pratensis_CCA3.0U_H.Krisp, Commons) (Image source: Orangefarbene_Wiesen-Ellerling_Cuphophyllus_pratensis They like to cluster around fallen branches and old stumps.ĬONSERVATION NOTES: Currently not threatened and very common in conifer plantations. HABITAT: Under conifers, birch and beech – where they are most difficult to spot – in locally acidic soils, look for sphagnum moss. Often wrinkled and twisted.įRUITING PERIOD: Mid November to late January STEM: Yellow to yellow-brown, waxy, tubular and lacking a ring. GILLS: No true blades, rather ‘false gills’ which are wavy ridges, sometimes interconnected, at first golden ochre, later grey. (the one illustrated is particularly large)ĬAP: Small and convex, later funnel shaped, varying shades of ‘dead leaf’ brown. Blink and they are gone, you will have to find them all over again! ![]() They also blend in perfectly with their leafy surroundings making them very difficult to see. One of the most popular commercially gathered wild mushrooms throughout Europe. It takes a long time to gather any amount as they are very light. Look for the presence of animal dung and plenty of broad-leaved weed species.ĬONSERVATION NOTES: Though still quite common in the UK, loss of traditional pasture habitat is likely to significantly impact colonies in the future. HABITAT: Unimproved pastureland and parkland that is moist but not waterlogged. HABIT: In rings in grassland, saprophytic. STEM: Stout, flushed with blue-purple when fresh, no ring or vulva present.įRUITING PERIOD: Late November to mid January. TEN MUSHROOMS OF WINTER (from November to February in the UK) Fred Gillamįor a long time this mushroom has been in my top 5 and was my grandfather’s favourite! They have an exquisite depth of flavour but must be well cooked, as like many wild mushrooms, to consume them undercooked may lead to gastric upset.ĬAP: Pale cream-buff to dark tan, to 12.5 cm across.
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