Practical mushroom knowledge: how to tell edibles from toxic lookalikes, where and when to look, and how to forage safely. Written by foragers, for foragers.
The parasol is a rewarding mushroom for beginners, but confusing it with the death cap can be fatal. Four features: the snakeskin stem, the movable ring, the volva and the gill colour.
The porcini and the devil’s bolete only look alike from a distance. Up close the pore colour, the flesh reaction and the stem give it away. A practical guide to the tells that settle the question.
A chanterelle has ridges, not gills, and they run far down the stem. Neither the false chanterelle nor the toxic jack-o’-lantern can fake that one feature. A practical guide.
Porcini grow where the right trees meet moisture and warmth. Which trees they live with, when to go out after rain, and how to read the forest floor.
The mushroom season is more than September. From spring morels through summer chanterelles and porcini to autumn honey fungus and winter velvet shanks. A season-by-season guide.
Safe foraging comes down to a few habits: pick only species you are sure of, get to know the whole mushroom, trust knowledge over myths. Seven rules worth knowing.