The fungi in the photographs shown in The Last Word (New 杏吧原创, 27 November 2004) were found growing in the composted wood chip under my children鈥檚 garden climbing frame. The wood chip, which is a mixture of conifer and hardwood, was put down nearly nine years ago but has been topped up occasionally. A website and book search seem to suggest that the fungus with the nearest match to those shown in the photograph is 鈥渢he prince鈥� (Agaricus augustus). However, these usually have a much darker brown cap. Does the prince have a wide variation in cap and flesh colours? Can anyone confirm its identification? If it is not the prince, I would like to know whether it is edible.
鈥� If there is one thing I have learned from a lifetime of collecting and eating wild mushrooms, it is never try to identify a fungus from a photograph alone. Nor should you act on any advice you receive remotely and eat the thing.
For the record, given that the gills of the fungus in your picture are white, rather than the pinkish-brown of the prince, you almost certainly have a member of the genus Lepiota. However, it鈥檚 impossible to say from the picture whether this is one of the many inedible or deadly lepiotas such as Lepiota helveola, or one of the very, very few edible members of this family. Either way, eating it is not a risk worth taking.
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Daniel Jardine, Plano, Texas, US
鈥� The fungus is of the Agaricaceae family but is not the edible variety A. augustus, which has a large floppy ring under the cap and pinkish-grey gills. The specimen shown more closely resembles a member of the Lepiota genus, possibly Lepiota boudieri, and is almost certainly poisonous.
Some wild fungi are truly delicious, a far cry from the bland, commercial varieties. But if you want to take advantage of this free natural resource, first seek informed opinion, preferably that of a qualified mycologist, and then gather only identical specimens from the same type of location.
A good field guide is essential. Texture, presence or absence of a ring on the stem and gill characteristics all help identification. Some fungi may change colour when cut or bruised. And sometimes, due to age or damage, not all identifying characteristics of a mushroom or fungus will be present, so it is best to look for more than one specimen.
The rule is: if in doubt, don鈥檛 eat it.
Rhiannon Rual, Ruthin, Denbighshire, UK
鈥� Visual identification of fungi depends on a number of key indicators: spore print colour; the presence or absence of a volva (a cup-like structure around the base of the stalk); the presence or absence of a ring; and the general appearance.
鈥淪ometimes, due to age or damage, not all identifying characteristics of a mushroom or fungi will be present. The rule is: if in doubt, don鈥檛 eat it鈥�
The spore print is usually, but not always, similar to the gill colour. The fungus described in the question is not the prince because this has dark spores and gills (similar in colour to those of a commercial mushroom). The presence of a ring, the absence of a volva, and the white gills suggest a member of the Lepiotaceae family, maybe the inedible Lepiota alba. Some of these fungi are edible, but not all, and precise identification is not possible without further field study.
Eric Billett, Chellaston, Derbyshire, UK