Common Yellow Russula/Russula Ochroleuca
Otherwise known as the Yellow Brittlegill, it grows in mixed woodlands from August to November and this very common mushroom tastes hot and peppery when raw. It has a yellow/light tan coloured, convex cap, which flattens out with a depressed middle.
Fairy Ring Champignons/ Marasimus Oreades
Meadow Wax Cap/ Hygrocybe Pratensis
The Meadow Wax Cap is a common mushroom found growing in groups in grassland and pastures between August and November. It has a convex cap which flattens out with a wide umbo.
Shaggy Parasol/ Lepiota Rhacodes
This mushroom is found in mixed woodland and anywhere shady, particularly with conifers, from July to December. It grows in troops or rings but can also be found individually. It must be cooked, or it can cause gastric upset.
The Deceiver/ Laccana Laccata
Also known as Waxy Laccana, this is found in mixed woodlands and heathland
Beechwood Sickener/ Russula Mairei
This common poisonous mushroom causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. It can be found in beech woodland from September to November.
Brown Roll Rim/ Paxillus Involutus
Death Cap/ Amanita Phalliodes
This mushroom causes the most fatalities. The symptoms are severe vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pains, followed by a ‘full recovery’ for a few days before death from kidney and liver failure. There is no cure. It is found in most mixed woodland, particularly with oak and other deciduous trees, between July and November.
This mushroom is fatal, with the same symptoms as the Death Cap. It is also found in most mixed woodlands, especially with deciduous trees, between July and November.
Fly Agaric/ Amanita Muscaria
Otherwise known as the Fairy Toadstool, this is the famous toadstool depicted in many pictures and cartoons, including in The Smurfs, who live inside these toadstools. This common mushroom has hallucinogenic properties and can be found in birch woodland from August to December.
Inocybe Geophylla
Sulphur Tuft/ Hypholoma fasciculare
This fungus causes stomach pains, nausea, temporary paralysis and distorted vision and can on rare occasion be fatal. It grows in large clusters on most types of tree stumps all year.
The Sickener/ Russula Emetica
Yellow Stainer/ Agaricus Xanthodermus
The causes of this mushroom are abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. It is usually found in groups or rings in mixed woodland, grassland, and beside roads and paths, from July to November.
These are just a few of the many wild fungi found in nature, so if you are considering foraging, please seek other information and ideally use a foraging course if a beginner.
*Please note this is just a guide, please thoroughly research any fungi before consuming.
By Samantha Wright
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