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At one time there was a convention to
refer to edible cap-and-stem fungi as mushrooms and all poisonous,
inedible or doubtful ones, such as the lurid bolete shown here
(left), as toadstools. The trouble was, fungi were distrusted by
nearly everyone, and very few of the edible and wholesome fungi
were categorised as mushrooms. |
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Given the remarkably rapid appearance of quite large fruit bodies,
including field mushrooms like these (left), which could emerge
and change the landscape overnight following rain, it is
understandable that fungi have long been treated with suspicion.
The implication is that these 'toadstools' have something to do
with darkness and evil.
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Many good edible fungi are shunned by
people who think that they are 'toadstools' and therefore
poisonous. For example, provided it is properly cooked, Honey fungus, Armillaria mellea
(left), is an edible and wholesome fungus.
The term 'toadstool' has very little real significance today.
Even the words 'Mushroom' and 'fungi' need to be qualified with edible,
inedible, hallucinogenic or
poisonous if you really
want to ensure that the message is clear and unambiguous. |
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