I'm just back from a lunchtime foray...

[adamaki]

And this is what I came back with. Can you help me to identify them please?

1. Pretty sure this is a beefsteak fungus:



If it is then I'll be having it for my tea!

2. There were plenty of these growing up through the moss with a slightly slimy cap. Swamp brittlegill?



3. Amethyst deceiver? These are all first guesses having not looked any of them up, by the way!



4. Porcelain fungus?



5. Pretty sure this is a death cap. I'll be happy if I'm right because then I won't end up picking it by accident!The cap was more yellowy than in the photo.



See the volva at the bottom of the stem:



6. Looks like a devil's bolete to me. Aren't these meant to be rare?!

[fungi2bwith]

I'm very jealous, I took the dog for a walk at lunchtime and all I found was a rusula someone had kicked over and a few dried up chanterelles! Not even any non-edibles.

1. agree, beefsteak.
2. Yes looks like a russula (brittlegill). Difficult to say for certain which one. I always taste russulas and if not hot they get eaten!
3. Yes agree amathyst deceiver.
4. Looks like porcelin fungus to me (they normally grow on beech).
5. No this is not a death cap but is from the amanita family. This almost certainly a false death cap. An ID tip is it should smell of raw potatoes.
6. Not sure, would need to see pores and check in a book.

[darkbrowneggs]

Does no 5 look a bit like a Parasol Mushroom?

Should I look out for the vulva thing. I don't want to eat something by mistake, and I usually feel confident with Parasol Mushrooms.

[adamaki]

Hey I did pretty good! Sorry to make you jealous, fungi! I have found a cracking little wood close to my work though and it's full of mushrooms!

I'll have a taste of the beefsteak tomorrow and see how I like it. The porcelain fungi were growing on beech. You're right, it is a false death cap! I remember it from my guide book. Darn, I still need to successfully identify a death cap! I didn't want to disturb the potential devil's bolete as it's on the red list.

Darkbrown - it doesn't look like a parasol to me. You should definitely look out for the volva as I think only the amanitas have them and many are deadly.

[darkbrowneggs]

Thanks for that - I shall. Having said that Parasols are my favourite, and probably once you have found, picked, prepared, cooked and eaten quite a few you get a feeling of what they are like. But on the other hand it is always, always best to be 100 percent certain