The Shroom Room

Mushrooms often share many characteristics, and it can be difficult to differentiate between two based purely on the features of the mushroom itself. One key part of identifying a mushroom is taking a spore print, which can often help to narrow down your search. In order to take a spore print, you need to collect the mushroom and take it home with you. It's important to note that depending on where you are, collecting mushrooms may or may not be allowed. If you're in a park or similar, there is usually a sign at the entrance with the bylaws, should it be illegal. Additionally, it is illegal to pick wild food anywhere in the UK with the intention to sell it, and should only pick as much as you require. Even while taking these things into account, I still think we should be as mindful as possible about the nature around us. Fungi play a vital part in the ecosystem. With that in mind, I always try and protect the environment around me as much as possible, following a few simpl

Fungi are such a diverse group of organisms that often it's difficult to believe what you're looking at is related to the mushrooms we use in the kitchen. I have stumbled across many a fungus that sparks this kind of reaction in me, one of which is King Alfred's Cakes , or Daldinia concentrica. They are extremely bizarre-looking, forming large black lumps on dead wood. Where there's one, there tends to be multiple. Their name is derived from the story of King Alfred, who allegedly hid in the house of a peasant woman whilst the Vikings were wreaking havoc. The woman asked Alfred to watch her cakes in the oven; however he was so distracted by his problems that he let them burn. And I suppose these fungi are what the cakes looked like in the end. Rather fitting, too, as they feel smooth, hard, and if you tap on them, they sound hollow inside. In fact, if you were to cut open one of these 'cakes', what you'd find inside is zones of shiny circles. Alth

Bracket fungi are the most difficult to identify for me. I find they all look rather similar and I'm aiming to work on this in the future. There is one bracket, however, that I never fail to identify - the Turkeytail , or Trametes versicolor . These are probably one of - if not the - most common bracket fungi. I have found them everywhere: on stumps in front gardens, logs in woodland and wooden posts in town. If there is wood, there is probably Turkeytail. It has been disputed whether there are multiple species under the name 'Turkeytail', or whether they simply come in an array of colours. I read somewhere that 'true' Turkeytails are slightly hairy to the touch, whereas 'fake' Turkeytails are smooth, however elsewhere I have also read that the texture of Turkeytails depends on their age. Therefore, I'm going to leave the species debate to the mycologists and continue with the assumption that all colours come under the 'Turkeytail' brack

Rain is usually a consciously-avoided element of mine; however after the dry spell we've been having, I welcomed it with open arms this week, hoping that it might encourage some fungi to emerge. I was not disappointed! In an attempt to expand our mushroom-hunting horizons, Matt and I have been researching new areas to go. On Saturday, we drove to Cwm George and Casehill woods in Dinas Powys for an early March stroll. This wood is over 500 years old and it's beautiful. We had a great time walking around and found loads of different species of fungi. I've chosen today to focus on one in particular: the Velvet Shank , or Flammulina velutipes (the scientific name is fun to say out loud!) These lovely fellas are out from autumn til spring, so I've seen them around quite a lot in the last few months. They like to grow in small groups on dead wood, and most of the ones I've found have been on stumps. They have an orange cap which is often sticky to touch, and the

Discovering a fungus that I don't know the name of is an excitement I can't quite explain. Knowing that the organism in front of me has an important part to play in its environment and being there to witness it is something quite special. But of course I, like you, am a curious human who wants to know what it's called, whether I can eat it and how it fits in with the eco-system. I like to put the final piece of the jigsaw together to put what I'm looking at into the context of the wider world. Identifying fungi is no mean feat. It's important to note that many fungi look alike, and some edible species grow alongside identical-looking deadly ones. Always cross-reference using multiple sources (I have included some of my favourites at the bottom of this post) and never eat a mushroom you've found without confirmation from an expert that it is edible. I am not an expert. There are many factors that should be considered when trying to identify fungi. I will

I am a creature of habit. I always tend to go to the same spots when I go for walks, whether in search of mushrooms or not. Last Sunday, I decided to expand my horizons to a nature reserve hidden in a corner of Cardiff, that I had heard was a lovely place to go. Although it was a 30-minute walk to get there, it was definitely worth it. As soon as I pushed open the gate to enter the wood, a sense of calm and quiet washed over me. This was helped by the fact that it was the morning, and nobody was around. I saw only a couple of dog walkers in the entire time I was there. It was as though I had the whole space to myself; my little secret. I was not expecting much in the way of fungi, due to the time of year and the fact that it had been dry for a few days. Nevertheless, I scanned the ground for signs of fungal life, all the while enjoying the sounds of birds, watching the bees and taking pictures of the hidden daffodils and snowdrops. Whilst walking down a less-beaten path, a flash