This section of the First Nature website is about mushrooms and toadstools and the many other beautiful and fascinating fungi in Nature's least understood kingdom. Key sections include:

Use the drop-down menu at the top of this page for the many other interactive fungi features on this website.

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We have been photographing and studying fungi for more than 35 years... and yet we still find plenty to fascinate and puzzle us. In this section of our website you will find pictures, identification guides and help in organising a fungus foray. There are also sections on fungus facts, myths and the strange relationships between fungi and plants, trees and lichen. We also have quizzes, video films and animations to help you gain a broader insight into the fabulous kingdom of fungi.

Fungi for Food

On the subject of mushrooms that you can eat we stress, both in our Safety Guide and here, that just as some plants and trees are poisonous (don't eat the seeds of Deadly Nightshade or of Laburnum, for example) some fungi are also deadly poisonous. If you plan on gathering mushrooms for food then you really do need to be very careful. Take no risks: if in doubt, do not contemplate eating a mushroom, toadstool or any other form of fungus.

There is no simple way of knowing which fungi are edible and which poisonous (or even hallucinogenic). Ignore any suggestions that a cap that peels is safe, or that if animals can eat a fungus it must be safe for humans: these and many other myths have cost people their lives. Our advice is this:

• Get to know how to identify with certainty a small number of good edible fungi
• And even more importantly make sure that you can identify the most deadly of the poisonous ones
• Do not experiment; get expert advice if you are in any doubt
• Do not trust visual identification alone, whether from books or websites (including this one), as fungi vary tremendously in size, shape, colour and sometimes even in growing habitat
• Many edible fungi can cause stomach upsets if they are not thoroughly cooked; only a tiny minority are suitable for eating raw
• Just as people react differently to other kinds of food, so some folk can be upset by eating mushroom species that others enjoy without any problems; so always try a very small portion of a new species until you know that it suits you
• Remember that fungi tend to concentrate heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, and so eat them only as part of a balanced diet. Relying largely or solely on fungi for food is as unwise as relying solely on slow-growing fish (for example) or any other food sources that accumulate toxins from the environment
• Do not gather fungi (or berries for that matter) from polluted land or from beside busy roads where vehicle exhaust toxins can accumulate

First Nature cannot accept responsibility for poisoning if you eat any of the species listed as 'edible' on this website; the absence of any mention of toxicity must not be taken as implying that a species is edible.

That said, a few fungi species are both plentiful (so there is no real conservation concern as long as you take just a few rather than leaving the area bare!) and absolutely delicious. Mushrooms make a wonderful occasional treat.

Avoiding mushroom poisoning

• Follow these simple guidelines for safer food from fungi:
• Stick to well-known and easily identifiable edible species - see our list of 'favourites' below
• Collect only edible species - do not combine general fungi forays with gathering edible fungi
• Check all fungi that you gather and discard any species other than known edible ones that you (or an expert guide with you) can identify with certainty
• Discard any doubtful specimens
• Keep fungi in the fridge until you are ready to cook them

Our Favourite Edible Fungi

We love mushrooms, but for safety's sake we restrict our gathering to species that are both plentiful and easily identified. Our real favourites are:

• Boletus edulis - Penny Bun Bolete, Cep, or Porcini
• Agaricus arvensis - Field Mushroom
• Morchella elata and Morchella esculenta - Morels (a great springtime treat)
• Cantharellus cibarius - Summer Chanterelle or Girolle
• Cantharellus tubaeformis - Autumn Chanterelle or Yellow Legs
• Calvatia (Langermannia) gigantea - Common Puffball

There are many other good edible fungi including Blewits and Giant Parasols, of course, and you will find edibility details on the species pages in our identification guide.

The Deadly Killers

Here is a shortlist of some of the most deadly species; if yo9u eat them they can kill you unless you get very early professional treatment (sometimes the treatment involves kidney and/or liver transplants!). See also our web pages on Poisonous Fungi, Hallucinogens, and Imposters that masquerade as edibles...

Amanita phalloides - Death Cap - probably the cause of more deaths from eating fungi than all other species put together; but that is perhaps because it is such a common species and it can easily be mistaken for a field mushroom or other pale edible species. Get to know this one really well!

Amanita virosa - Destroying Angel. This causes the same problems as the Death Cap but is less common in Britain; it is very common in colder climes such as Scandinavia.

Cortinarius Speciossisimus and Cortinarius orellanus - treat all members of this group as seriously poisonous; some of them are just as deadly as the Death Cap. If a cap-and-stem mushroom leaves rusty brown spore deposits, do not even consider eating it.

Gallerina marginata - another relative of the Cortinarius fungi mentioned above, and just as seriously poisonous.

Amanita muscaria - Fly Agaric - hallucinogenic and possibly lethal to anyone with a heart or respiratory condition or other major illness.

Amanita pantherina - Panther Cap - generally considered more seriously toxic that the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria), so definitely not one for the lunch menu!

Most fungi are not poisonous, but those mentioned above are just a few that cause serious and possibly fatal poisoning. Many others can cause tummy upsets - sometimes very unpleasant - while others simply taste bad or are too tough to eat.

If you do gather some of the fungi that are recommended for eating, a good mushroom cookery book can help you make them into an appetising meal. Authors' names to look out for include Antonio Carlucci, John Wright, and Roger Phillips. Or you might like to try one of our menus from this website...

Other benefits of fungi

We now know that over 95% of plants live in symbiosis with fungi, via what are called mycorrhizal interactions. (The fungi link to and act as extensions of - in some instances actually invading the cells of - the fine rootlets of trees, orchids and most other plants.) The role of fungi as natural recyclers of dead plant and animal material is crucial to the survival of all other forms of life on Planet Earth. Apart from a few bacteria, fungi are the only thing that consumes the tough lignin material contained in dead wood. We also rely on fungi for many of our modern medicines, including antibiotics such as penicillin; and for the yeasts that are essential for the production of wine, beer and most kinds of bread. Some kinds of polypores have been used in dyeing of fabrics and for drying fishermen's artificial flies. The list of uses for fungi seems almost endless. Oh, and finally... in their diversity and beauty they certainly rival flowers!

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