There have been several mushroom identification apps / web sites around for a while. Some are:
Digital versions of an established key – for example the key in Roger Phillips’ Mushrooms book moved to a web site and an app with photos and descriptions. Roger’s app was around for many years but has disappeared.
Visual keys. The MycoKey MMI ® (Morphing Mushroom Identifier) is a great example. It is described as an innovative identification tool which models your fungus on screen as you enter the characters with automatic presentation of the most likely species. A more detailed version of MycoKey to install on your PC is also sold.
This category of mushroom identification apps perform identification based on a picture you take or upload. There have been apps before that have claimed to identify them from a photo alone, but experts have dismissed some as “potentially deadly“. You know that one random example of a particular mushroom species you encounter can differ from that wonderful specimen in a book . How young or old the specimen is, what the weather has been doing – washing out colours etc. all means this is a big ask.
A new web site / app takes mushroom photo recognition to a new level. In this blog post we try it out. Overall, I am very impressed. Yes, it needs to be used with caution and a good level of knowledge and use of several books is still wise. Might we make those numerous forum posts / emails – “I picked this, can I eat it?” a thing of the past? For more on mushroom identification look at this previous blog post of ours.
New Danish Website and App
This Danish website’s new tool and related app uses automated picture recognition and artificial intelligence (AI). It was trained on images from the excellent Danish Fungal Atlas. The system has been developed by Milan Šulc og Professor Jiri Matas from Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), Lukáš Picek from University of West Bohemia (UWB) and the Danish Fungal Atlas. The latter group includes the respected Danish fungi authors of an amazing set of fungi books I am contemplating (Fungi of Temperate Europe (2-Volume Set) usually £94.99!).
Warnings
The authors strongly warn that you should “be extra critical and always consult a good mushroom book”, warning:
Warning: Never eat a mushroom because the system indicates you have found an edible fungus. Always seek advice from experts if you are not experienced yourself.
and
Note that the system should be used with great care, and not as tool to identify edible fungi without involving knowledgeable humans with experience in fungal recognition.So please explore with curiosity and sanity.
If users do follow the advice then great, I am concerned that they all won’t.
Tests
I installed and had a quick play with the Android version of the app (Danmarks svampeatlas). It has plenty of disclaimers about not eating them based on the identification. As expected, you take a photo and it gives you suggestions. You can then drill-down into each to see photos and description. At the time of writing it is still partly in Danish including the species names.
Upload a photo and it gives you suggestions. The species names are English, though not always the same common name as we widely use in the UK. You can drill down for their photo and details but that is in Danish, but along side several fungi books it’s very useable.
Screenshot from the web version of the automated picture recognition on the Danish Fungal Atlas website. My uploaded Jelly Ear photo suggests a range of options, the first one being correct.
Drilling down on the first suggestion gives their image and description, but in Danish.
Results
I did some tests with some of my many mushroom photos, edible, poisonous and non-edible species. Most identifications were correct (first species suggested) but of course will depend upon your photos / specimen:
Correct Species
Fly Agaric
Death Cap
Candle snuff
Parrot Waxcap
Scarlet Hood
Bay Bolete
Parasol (photo from underneath!)
Dryads Saddle
Field mushroom (picked specimen on its side)
Scarlet Elf Cups
Cauliflower Fungus
Chanterelles
Stinkhorn (even though the top was covered in flies!)
Bearded Tooth
Collared Earthstar
Scarlet Caterpillarclub
White Spindles
Correct to Genus (Group)
Royal Bolete
Holly Parachute Mushroom
Oak Bolete
Wrong Species and Genus
Sandy stilt puffball
Snowy Waxcap
I did try and push it a bit further (it’s a bit addictive!) and interestingly:
An icing Fly Agaric of my 50th birthday cake was correctly identified!
It identified Hedgehog mushrooms in a basket of them and Autumn Chanterelle (they were in separate groups).
Mushroom poisoning can be life-threatening. If someone has eaten a poisonous mushroom (or plant), don’t try to treat them yourself – seek medical help immediately.
If someone has accidentally consumed poisonous mushroom, please see this information at the end of the blog post.
Disclaimer. I do not have a medical background so this blog post is purely for information and should not be relied on to decide if you require treatment or not.
This is written from a UK perspective and ignores poisonous species not found in the UK. It does not give detailed identification information.
Introduction
When I tell people that I pick and eat wild mushrooms, the usual reaction is to tell me that I'm brave. This fear of mushrooms, “mycophobia” is prevalent among British, the main concern being some mushrooms are poisonous if eaten. Mushroom poisoning means harmful consequences from consuming toxic substances present in some. Let’s put some perspective on this:
Globally, of 100,000 known fungi species about 100 are thought to be poisonous to humans.
In the UK, we have about 4500 species. Of these, about 200 are edible, 50 poisonous and the rest are inedible or tasteless.
Most mushroom poisonings are not fatal.
Fatalities are extremely rare, the most recent deaths from mushroom poisoning in Britain were in 2012 and 2008.
You will not be ill from touching a poisonous species. Don’t put your fingers in your mouth, nose, eyes etc and wash them before eating anything.
There are mainly five explanations as to why people get mushroom poisoning:
Misidentification – confusing a toxic mushroom with an edible species. Usually this is due to mistakenly eating a “look-a-like” with a similar appearance or a lack of knowledge
Consuming certain species while uncooked or undercooked.
Young children accidentally ingesting mushrooms while crawling on a lawn.
Individuals attempting suicide or homicide.
Individuals looking for a hallucinatory high.
In this post we concentrate on the first two reasons and help foragers avoid mushroom poisoning. We don’t want to put you off. By limiting yourself to species you can identify with confidence, eating picking and wild mushrooms is safer than walking down the road. Mushroom hunting is one of the greatest pleasures the countryside offers. The fact that many are poisonous, in my view, adds to, rather than detracts from the fun!
Avoiding Mushroom Poisoning
NEVER eat any fungus if you are not absolutely sure of its name and you know that it is safe to eat.
Familiarise yourself with the poisonous species such as the Death Cap and the Yellow Stainer.
Avoid picking young specimens, that have not developed fully, as they are more difficult to identify.
Stick to a selection of easy to recognise species that you feel confident about. Be aware of any possible “look-a-likes”.
Learn from a good field guide or, better still, by going out with an expert. We run day long fungus forays and 3 hour fungus walks with our focus on teaching identification skills. See also our blog post on Identifying Mushrooms.
All Amanitas - mushrooms with white gills, a swollen base or bag at the base of the stem and, usually, a large ring on the stem.
Any mushroom with brown spores.
Young mushrooms that are still at the “egg” stage. They are very difficult to identify. If eating Puffballs, cut them in half lengthwise. Young Puffballs in the edible stage have undifferentiated white flesh within; whereas the gills of immature Amanita mushrooms can be seen if they are closely examined.
Young mushrooms that are still at the “egg” stage are very difficult to identify. They are actually deadly poisonous Destroying Angels (Amanita genus) though could be confused with Puffballs.
In a bit more detail:
Unfamiliar Species: Check and re-check your identification, especially looking out for a similar poisonous species. If still in doubt, ask an expert or throw it away.
Examine each specimen. Always check each specimen in case a different species has got in amongst your collection of edible ones.
Keep your collections separate. Do not mix edible and non-edible species in your basket if you are collecting for the pot. It is a good idea if collecting for the pot to only collect edible species and not other species for identification purposes - the spores of some species can be deadly.
Check the spore print. A simple operation, leaving a cap on some paper and covering for an hour or so. This will help check your identification.
Do not eat raw wild fungi. Some wild fungi are poisonous if eaten raw, e.g. Morels (Morchella species) Wood Blewit (Clitocybe nuda), the Blusher, (Amanita rubescens) or species of Helvella. Always cook your collections. Heat destroys the toxins in these species, in the same way that it does for Kidney beans.
Retain an uncooked specimen. This is a very sensible idea. Keep one example of what you have eaten in the fridge. In case, you do poison yourself, this will help others identify what you have eaten and therefore know how to treat you. Different species contain different toxins; therefore, treatments will vary.
Only eat good specimens. Many poisoning cases occur when edible species are eaten in poor condition – decaying / dirt. Only eat good specimens - microscopic fungi and bacterial infection can occur in decaying mushrooms. Food poisoning can be caused by collecting old or partly rotten specimens, collecting in plastic bags or closed containers, or through spoilage by incorrect long-term storage.
Keep your collections in the fridge. This keeps your specimens in good condition.
Experimenting. If experimenting and eating a type for the first time, only eat a small amount. Different people react to fungi in different ways and it is safer to test your own body out gently! A classic cause of gastric upset is Chicken of The Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus). Roughly 9/10 people get on with it, but about 1 in 10 is ill from it.
Alcohol. Avoid drinking alcohol with species you haven't eaten before and with certain species, e.g. the Common Ink Cap (Coprinus atramentarius)
Fear. Do not feed wild mushrooms to people who don't want to eat them. Fear can make people sick.
Susceptible people. Do not serve wild fungi to young children, old or sick people. Their resistance to mushroom toxins may be lower.
Greed. Do not eat large quantities of wild mushrooms in one sitting. This alone can make you sick.
Source: How to avoid mushroom poisoning (adapted from Shelley Evans' guidelines in Guides for the Amateur Mycologist - No.4 Guide for the Kitchen Collector: Preservation and Cooking of Fungi. British Mycological Society, 1994)
Types of Mushroom Poisoning
Each poisonous mushroom species contains one or more toxins, which may be classified based on the mushroom’s physiologic and clinical effects in humans, the target organ toxicity, and the time to symptom onset. The clinical spectrum and toxicity vary with the following factors:
Species consumed
Amount consumed
Season
Preparation method
Individual response to the toxins
A. Rapid Onset Mushroom Poisoning
With this category, symptoms appear within 6 hours of eating a mushroom. These are usually are not life-threatening; they may last a few hours, occasionally a few days. There are five basic types of rapid-onset mushroom poisonings.
1. Gastrointestinal
Species involved: Various
The most common type of rapid onset mushroom poisoning is usually gastrointestinal upset - vomiting and diarrhoea. Typically, there is no long-term damage. It is recommended that medical assistance should still be sought if this type of poisoning is suspected particularly in the case of children.
These mushrooms contain the toxin coprine, which causes an Antabuse-like reaction. Antabuse is a drug given to alcoholics to make them sick if they drink alcohol. Symptoms begin within minutes of ingesting alcohol (including medications) up to 5 days after eating the mushroom.
Fairy Ring Champignon (left) (edible) and Fool's Funnel (right) (poisonous)
The toxic substance is muscarine. Symptoms may include sweating, dizziness, muscle twitching, confusion, coma and occasionally seizures. With treatment nearly all people recover in 24 hours. Without treatment, death can occur in a few hours with severe poisoning. One fatality was recorded in Surrey in 1937.
Symptoms are delusions, euphoria or anxiety, altered space and time, and occasionally seizures, especially in children. These symptoms go away without treatment, and serious consequences are rare, so specific treatment is usually not needed.
They may be eaten intentionally or accidentally by humans and pets and should be suspected whenever the victim is described as "acting drunk”. The toxins are ibotenic acid/muscimol. Symptoms may include apparent intoxication, in-coordination, hyperactivity, muscle spasms, collapse, anxiety, visions, and finally, a coma-like sleep. Fly Agaric has been used ritually for thousands of years as an inebriant.
B. Delayed Onset Mushroom Poisoning
These are life-threatening, late-onset poisonings, where symptoms appear over 6 hours after ingestion. The results are organ failure potentially resulting in death. Serious symptoms do not always occur immediately after eating, often not until the toxin attacks the kidney or liver, sometimes days or weeks later. The types are based on the symptoms resulting from the toxin in the mushrooms consumed.
False Morel (poisonous). I got the photo from a library where they are free for commercial use. The photograph description said "Morels" - I hope the photographer didn't eat them!
Mistaken Species: False Morels have been confused with the highly prized mushrooms Morels (Morchella species).
The toxins involved are amatoxins. The first two species listed below are both members of the Amanita genus. While there are some edible members of this genus, our advice for beginners is to avoid them all. Another point is that young specimens of Amanitas at an immature or “egg” stage look completely different and are easy to confuse with other species. With the stem not developed and no cap yet, the mushroom is still entirely encased in their universal veil and you won’t be able to identify them with any confidence.
The Death Cap is the most dangerous and poisonous mushroom, responsible for 90–95% of fatal mushroom poisonings globally. Just one mushroom is likely to contain enough toxins to kill an average adult human. The toxins are not destroyed by cooking, boiling, soaking, or drying. It is widely distributed in Europe and has spread to Australia, Asia, Southern Africa, and the Americas on the roots of imported trees. I see it in the UK about 3 or 4 times each year. It is reported as being palatable (tasty).
There is no complete antidote for Death Cap mushroom poisoning – survival depends on early diagnosis and treatment. Vomiting and diarrhoea start in 6 to 12 hours. Sometimes the blood sugar level drops dangerously low. Symptoms subside for a few days, but then people develop liver failure and sometimes kidney failure. Liver failure causes the skin to turn yellow (jaundice). People with kidney failure may have reduced urination or may have stopped urinating. Sometimes the symptoms disappear on their own, but about half of the people who have this type of poisoning die in 5 to 8 days. People with liver failure may survive if given a liver transplant. IN 2018, a lady in Essex was hospitalised after eating Death Caps. She survived.
The toxin involved is orellanine. Vomiting and diarrhoea may last for 3 days. Kidney failure, with symptoms of flank pain and a decreased amount of urine, may occur 3 to 20 days after the mushrooms are eaten. Kidney failure often resolves spontaneously.
In the UK, there are cases of these being accidentally consumed leading to kidney failure including holiday makers in Scotland in 1972 as well as Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer, his wife and two other relatives. Evans had assumed they were Ceps but overlooked that the mushrooms had gills rather than pores. All four victims were informed that they would require kidney transplants in the future. Several years later, Evans received a kidney donated by his daughter. The other three eventually received transplants after some searching for donors, despite Charlotte having only eaten three mouthfuls of mushroom.
What to do in the case of accidentally consuming a poisonous mushroom
Being poisoned can be life-threatening. If someone has eaten a poisonous mushroom (or plant), don’t try to treat them yourself – seek medical help immediately.
If they’re showing signs of being seriously ill, dial 999 to request an ambulance or take them to your local A&E department.
Symptoms associated with serious poisoning include:
Call NHS 111 for advice if a person who’s been poisoned doesn’t appear to be seriously ill.
Helping someone who’s conscious
If you think someone has been severely poisoned and they’re still conscious, ask them to sit still and stay with them while you wait for medical help to arrive.
If they’ve been poisoned by eating a mushroom, try to get them to spit out anything that is remaining in their mouth.
Helping someone who is unconscious
If you think someone has eaten a poisonous mushroom and they appear to be unconscious, try to wake them and encourage them to spit out anything left in their mouth. Don’t put your hand into their mouth and don’t try to make them sick.
While you’re waiting for medical help to arrive, lie the person on their side with a cushion behind their back and their upper leg pulled slightly forward, so they don’t fall on their face or roll backwards. This is known as the recovery position.
Wipe any vomit away from their mouth and keep their head pointing down, to allow any vomit to escape without them breathing it in or swallowing it. Don’t give them anything to eat or drink.
Medical staff will need to take a detailed history to effectively treat a person who’s been poisoned. When the paramedics arrive or when you arrive at A&E, give them as much information as you can, including:
What mushroom you think the person may have eaten.
When the mushroom was eaten (how long ago)?
If it was cooked.
How much was eaten (if you know)?
Any alcohol consumed?
Had the patient consumed this mushroom before?
Is a specimen of the mushroom available?
Is a photograph of the mushroom available?
How long after ingestion did symptoms begin?
Details of any symptoms the person has had, such as whether they’ve been sick.
Take a sample of the mushroom and photographs with you for accurate identification. If there is any of the food left over take a sample of that too.
Medical staff may also want to know:
the person’s age and estimated weight
whether they have any existing medical conditions
whether they’re taking any medication (if you know)
There is an excellent Facebook group Poisons Help; Emergency Identification For Mushrooms & Plants. If you can post pictures of the mushroom (or plant) and give your geographic location (e.g. Dorset / UK) you will get a rapid identification from extremely knowledgeable people around the globe.
The below great quote on mushroom identification is saying that there is no easy way of telling poisonous from edible species.
“A toadstool has a cap and a stem and you can’t eat it; a mushroom has a cap and a stem and you can”.
If you want to pick and eat wild mushrooms, the way to avoid risk is to learn the physical features of each species. If globally, people that pick and eat mushrooms recognised 10 of the most poisonous mushrooms, the incidences of mushroom poisoning would decrease dramatically.
In the UK there are c. 4500 species of mushroom. Even experts can have difficulty identifying some species. For some complicated ones, identification of spores under microscopes or the use of chemical reagents are required. However, with the right approach and some practice, even without such techniques, you should be able to identify a good number of species of fungi.
1. Dangerous Myths
The first lesson is that there are no shortcuts to identifying a mushroom. There are lots of old wives’ tales and myths about safe eating of mushrooms. They are all misleading and dangerous.
Slugs can happily nibble this Fly Agaric. To humans, symptoms from eating it may include apparent intoxication, incoordination, hyperactivity, muscle spasms, collapse, anxiety, visions, and finally, a coma-like sleep!
I saw a slug / squirrel / deer / rabbit eating it so it must be safe. False
If the cap can be peeled it is safe to eat. False
Poisonous mushrooms turn a silver spoon / copper coin blue / black. False
If silver and copper coins boiled with them don’t change colour, they are safe to eat. False
All mushrooms growing on wood are edible.False
All mushrooms in meadows and pastures are safe to eat.False
All white mushrooms are safe.False
Poisonous mushrooms taste bad.False
2. Apps can be dangerous
Don’t rely on an app designed to identify mushrooms in the wild using just a smartphone photo. A recent newspaper headline read “Experts Call This Mushroom-Identifying App ‘Potentially Deadly‘”. There are some mushroom apps that are helpful however, see below.
3. Books
Mushroom books are great, I have quite a few and could happily buy many more. You can see some of our favourites here. They should be taken outdoors with you to use and not just left on the shelf. Yes, they’ll get wet or dirty, but they are invaluable in the field for correct mushroom identification. However, they need to be used correctly, justthumbing through pictures in a book is unlikely to work.
4. The correct process of mushroom identification
There are 4 stages to identify an unknown mushroom – observation, examination, using a key and finally, checking the answer.
a. Observation
You start WITHOUT YOUR BOOKS / APP – with observation about the surroundings of the fungus you are trying to identify:
What sort of habitat are you in?
What species are the nearest trees?
How it is growing? in rings? Singly? in clusters?
What is it growing on? Wood (if so what type of tree)? the ground? Dung? Other fungi? Woodchip?
Observations about the surroundings: this fungus has been found in grasslands, there are no trees near to it, it is one of a number in a circle and was growing on the ground.
b. Examination
Examine the specimen studying as many fine details as you can think of. Look at specimens in at least two stages of development. This is because they can vary in colour and shape depending on the stage of growth and maturity. The weather will make a difference too; rain will wash-out the colours and make a normally dry cap wet or sticky.
Always gently lever unknown mushrooms out of the ground and handle them with care. This will preserve important characters for identification.
This image shows some of the different structures found under the cap, gill attachment options and cap shapes.
“Mushroom cap morphology” by debivort is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Examine:
The cap – size, colour, shape (see above image), stickiness, scales etc.
What is under the cap? (see above image) gills, pores or spines/teeth
If it has gills, are they crowded or closely spaced ? (see above image) Are they attached to the stem or free? Do they run down the stem (decurrent)? etc.
Is there a ring on the stem? what is it like?
What is the stem like? Thickness, flexibility etc.
What is the base of the stem like?
Is there a colour change on cutting or bruising?
Does it have a smell?
What colour are the spores? In the field you may be able to determine this by seeing where they have dropped onto the cap of another specimen or on the grass / leaf / log below. Often, but not always, the spores are the same colour as the gills. The ideal approach for a definitive answer is to take it home to make a spore print.
Making a spore print
A spore print shows the colour of the spores of any given mushroom. To make one is very straightforward:
• Cut off the stem.
• Place the cap (gills downward) on a piece of paper.
• Leave the cap in place for a few hours.
There are many spore colours including white, cream, pink, purple, brown and black. If you wish to keep the spore print, you can "fix" them with spray glue or hairspray or laminate them. A selection of spore prints.
Examination of this mushroom (the same species as in section a above): • Cap – 12 cm across. Mainly white with large brown scales. Centre of cap brown and slightly raised. Not sticky. • Gills are crowded (not close together) and are not attached to the stem. • Large double ring with frayed margin. The ring can slide up and down the stem. • Stem – about 1.5 cm diameter and 14 cm long, thickening towards base, brown and white pattern a bit like a snake’s skin. Stem does not snap if bent. • No colour change on cutting or bruising. • Smell not distinctive. • Spores are white or pale cream.
c. Use a key to find out what it is
Keys are an easy to use, valuable tool that are not just used for mushrooms but also for wider species identification (plants, dragonflies, shells etc). The standard approach is to ask questions based on easily identifiable features. Dichotomous keys use questions to which there are only two answers. For example, “Is the cap bigger than 5 cm?”. The key can be presented as a table of questions, or as a branching tree of questions with one answer leading you to the next question. They will include some technical terms but the book will have a glossary to explain them. Some keys will get you to species level, others to the genus. Here is an a short extract from MushroomExpert.Com’s Key to Major Groups of Mushrooms
Question No.
Question
Answer / Go to question
1.
Mushroom growing on other mushrooms or the decayed remains of other mushrooms.
Mycotrophs
1.
Mushroom not growing on other mushrooms.
2.
2.
Mushroom with gills on its underside.
3.
2.
Gills absent.
5.
3.
Growing shelflike on wood (or, if not, then gills concentric rather than radial); mushroom very tough and leathery, corky, or woody (try tearing it in half); gills tough and hard, sometimes maze-like; cap frequently (but not always) with concentric zones of colour.
Polypores
3
Not completely as above.
4.
Another key approach is a visual one. The MycoKey MMI ® (Morphing Mushroom Identifier) is a great example. It is described as an innovative identification tool which models your fungus on screen as you enter the characters with automatic presentation of the most likely species. A more detailed version of MycoKey to install on your PC is also sold.
Most mushroom books have a key, people are often unaware that they are in the book or haven’t used them. There are some good App keys too, some being a computerised version of a book’s key. Note that any key will only include the species in that book, not all that you may encounter. For example, one popular mushroom book contains about 100 species of the 4500 or so found in the UK.
Identifying mushrooms can be difficult; individuals of the same species will vary with age and the weather, but a key makes the task a lot easier, far better than flicking though the pictures looking for one that looks right. Give them a go. We teach using keys on our courses and attendees soon get the hang of them, identifying many examples we find.
If you followed a key you would have worked out the the mushrooms shown in the observation and examination sections of this post is a Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera). MycoKey gives a number of possibilities and ranks how well they fit. You can then “drill-down” to read more about each suggestion.
Parasol Mushroom in MycoKey
d. Check the answer
Check the species that the key has led you to in as many books as you can. Use the pictures and the descriptions. Is every detail correct? Make sure that the descriptions, seasons, preferred habitats and the photographs all agree with each other. If it says only found in the Spring and it is Autumn, you are wrong. Similarly, if it says only found with Oak and you are in an area of just Pine trees, again you are wrong. They may mention “lookalike” species which are worth checking. An Internet search may help in finding more pictures – though there is no guarantee that any picture online is correctly labelled – I am aware of serious errors on reputable web sites!
If the answer given by your key is not like the mushroom your are trying to identify, revisit your key answers in particular any subjective answers like “small”, “bendy” or “sticky”.
One of my “go to” web sites for checking fungi identifications is First Nature. If you look at the entry there for Parasol Mushroom you can check the details of our identification.
If someone has accidentally consumed a poisonous plant, please see this information at the end of the blog post.
I don’t want to scare you or put you off but I’ve heard a few foraging horror stories recently. These are cases of mistaken identity, people consuming a poisonous plant thinking it was something edible. In this blog post, we look at the most common errors that are made, the identification of the poisonous species and some of these stories. This information is presented trying to avoid the same mistakes happening again. I’ve not gone that far back in time looking for these stories; a century or so ago they were more common place, and as treatments were less developed, the consequences often greater.
When I introduce people to foraging, plants or fungi, there are a few things that get repeated:
“If in doubt, leave it out” – if you are not 100% certain of what you are picking and that it is edible you shouldn’t eat it.
“Know your enemies” – don’t just know the good things to eat but be very familiar with the ones you shouldn’t pick and eat, that is the poisonous species.
If what you are picking is new to you, check the identification with at least two field guides. These are often better on identification then foraging books.
I strongly recommend that you spend time getting to know these four plants – the knowledge could save your life and the lives of your loved ones. Read and look at them in multiple books or online and track them down in the real world. Do not overly rely on online sources – some have errors!
Hemlock Water Dropwort (Oenanthe crocata)
Toxicity
Hemlock Water Dropwort is frequently described as ‘probably the most poisonous plant found in Britain’. No British wild plant has been responsible for more fatal accidents caused by identification mistakes. The whole plant, especially the roots, is extremely toxic with even a small amount ingested being deadly – you can be dead within 3 hours of consuming it. The mortality rate is quantity dependent but has been reported as between 30%–70%. If you a dog owner do be aware that a significant number of dogs die from eating it too.
The main toxic constituent of Hemlock Water Dropwort is oenanthotoxin. Symptoms of Hemlock water Dropwort poisoning include nausea, increased salivation, and vomiting. There may be tremor, abdominal cramps, and diarrhoea. Seizures can rapidly develop, blood pressure falls. Acute renal failure has been reported too.
If you come into contact with it wash your hands as soon as possible and avoid touching your eyes and mouth.
Identification
Hemlock Water Dropwort and the next plant, Hemlock, are Umbellifers – members of the Carrot or Parsley family. With around 60 family members growing wild in the UK they are notoriously tricky to identify to species level. The defining feature of plants in this family is that the flowers are in flat-topped or rounded clusters – an umbel.
A flat-topped umbellifer
A rounded umbellifer
Note that touching some umbellifers followed by exposure to sunlight, may cause phytophotodermatitis, a serious skin inflammation. Symptoms of which include redness and blistering.
Descriptions for umbellifers use the word “pinnate”. This simply means “resembling a feather” having parts or branches arranged on each side of a common axis, in a plant the stem. In a bipinnate (or ‘twice pinnate’ leaf), the leaves are also divided. This idea is extended into 3 or 4 times pinnate.
Pinnate (left) and bipinnate (right) leaf structures
Height: 1 – 1.5 m tall.
Stems: Grooved. Plant entirely hairless.
Flowers: July. Flower diameter c 2 mm. Groups or clusters c 5-10 cm (2 – 4 “) diameter.
Hemlock Water Dropwort Flower. Photo: H. Zell [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsLeaves: 3-4 times pinnate with toothed wedge-shaped segments. Dark green and look like flat-leaved parsley with a distinctive celery or parsley smell.
Leaves of Hemlock Water Dropwort
Roots: Distinctive. Cream / White, bunched.
Hemlock Water Dropwort drawing including roots
Habitat
Always found in wet areas such as streams, ditches, wet meadows, marshes, rivers and lakes. Note that following floods, the roots have been washed downstream onto beaches.
Hemlock Water Dropwort – always in or near water.
Edible Plants it might be confused with
The leaves look like flat-leaved Parsley. They can also be confused with other members of the carrot family such as Ground Elder, Alexanders and Common Hogweed as well as cultivated members such as Carrot and Parsnip. The roots known as “dead-man’s fingers” look a bit like cultivated parsnips or the roots of Lesser or Greater Water-Parsnip. The stems have been confused with Celery.
British and Irish examples of mistaken identify
Seeking Water Parsnip, consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
A lady on one of my recent foraging courses told me that her brother had foraged for ages but confused Hemlock Water Dropwort with Water Parsnips. I don’t know all the details, but his flat mate came downstairs to tell him he was off to work an hour early and found him on the kitchen floor. The air ambulance came, and his heart stopped three times but survived. He still forages!
Seeking Water Parsnip, consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
In 2002, a group of eight young adults who were on holiday in Scotland, consumed what they thought were Water Parsnips from a small stream in a curry. Over the next day there were seizures, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, sweating, and fever. While they were admitted to hospital a botanist identified the plant. Following treatment all were released from hospital. Source: British Medical Journal / BSBI News
Seeking Pignut, consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
In 1976, a man living and working on a farm in Northumberland ate some Hemlock Water Dropwort root, assuming it was Pignut. He survived thanks to a combination of three things; his own prompt action when he realised something was ‘awry’, the farmer being easily found to get him straight to hospital and the A & E registrar who consulted an expert at Newcastle University. Source: The Poison Garden
Seeking Celery, consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
In 1987 in Ireland, four Dutch holidaymakers mistook Hemlock Water Drop for Celery. They made soup with them. Seven hours after eating they all attended hospital complaining of nausea and vomiting; two suffered convulsions and one a seizure. Their symptoms were not, however, severe and all four were released from hospital after three days. Source: The British Medical Journal
Seeking Celery or Water Parsnips, consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
In 1987, a young couple had a meal of ducks’ eggs, Nettles, and the boiled leaves and roots of Hemlock Water Dropwort picked beside the River Thames. Forty minutes later, he developed nausea, abdominal pain and other symptoms. On admission to hospital, he experienced major seizures. After considerable hospital treatment he survived. She ate less of the plant and made herself sick. She was released from hospital after 3 days. Source: Postgraduate Medical Journal
Seeking Wild Celery, consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
“So I was down in my allotment out on the cliffs near the coast path. I’d just popped by for 10 minutes to water some seedlings. Was just about to leave when I heard a tap on the door. It was a woman who’d been on one of my courses a few months ago and a few of her friends. (who hadn’t been on a course) They had a bunch of Three Cornered Leeks and had been out doing some foraging. All great. Had a nice chat about foraging. Then she casually mentioned in the conversation they’d eaten and picked some Wild Celery… Alarm bells ring.
I immediately got her to take me to the plant shed eaten and confirmed my worst fears that it was Hemlock water dropwort. Apparently they’d eaten a few of the leaves and experienced a burning sensation in the mouth. Much to their horror and initial disbelief I explained the severity of the situation, wrote down the name of the plant and informed them to get to hospital ASAP. They went to the local A & E and were transferred to the hospital for monitoring. Ive heard from them this morning and thank goodness both are okay. One was discharged late this morning and the other was on a drip overnight but okay now. Apparently they’d picked more to enjoy in a salad when they got home.I’m so glad I was there at that specific time.”
Source: UK foraging teacher
Seeking Alexanders, nearly consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
“A couple of days ago the wife of my housemate asked how best to cook Alexander’s as some was on the way. Onions were frying in anticipation when the Hemlock Water Dropwort arrived!”
Source: UK foraging teacher
Seeking Alexanders, nearly consumed Hemlock Water Dropwort
In April 2017, a lady posted in a Facebook group her photo of the “Alexanders” she had gathered for a risotto. It was actually Hemlock Water Dropwort. Fortunately a foraging teacher saw the post. There was then a mad scramble to try to find contact details for her. The search was succesfull and the teacher managed to phone her before she ate it potentially saving the lives of her and her family!
Source: UK foraging teacher
Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Toxicity
Hemlock is deadly poisonous with no antidote to the toxins in it. Famously, it was used to put Socrates, and other prisoners, to death in the Ancient World. Chances of recovery increase markedly if it is diagnosed early. The toxins in Hemlock are alkaloids which cause vomiting, headaches, abdominal pain and muscular paralysis, leading to seizures, coma, respiratory failure and eventually death. Only a tiny amount of Hemlock can prove fatal. The toxins can also be absorbed through the skin, so if you come into contact with it wash your hands as soon as possible and avoid touching your eyes and mouth.
Identification
Height: 1.5 – 2.5 m tall.
Stems: Thick, smooth green stem, hairless, usually spotted or streaked with red or purple on the lower half of the stem (older plants are spotted).
Leaves: Main leaves twice pinnately divided, broadly feathery. Up to 50 cm long and 40 cm broad.
Hemlock stems and leaves. Photo: MPF [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]Smell: “Nasty” – often described as mouse-like, musty or like parsnips.
Flowers: The flowers are small, white, clustered in groups up to 10–15 cm (4 – 6”) across.
Hemlock flowers. Photo: Mick Talbot from Lincoln (U.K.), England [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)] via Wikimedia Commons
Habitat
Mainly wet places – on poorly drained soils, particularly near streams, ditches, and other surface water. Also, on disturbed ground such as roadsides and the edges of cultivated fields.
In 2001, a leading neurosurgeon and his companion were both seriously ill and hospitalised after eating what is believed to be Hemlock. The male was unconscious by the time he reached hospital in Inverness. He regained consciousness a day or so later and his condition, which had been life-threatening, was described as stable. His companion was released from hospital after a few days and he fully recovered over a long period.
In 2018 in Dorset a forager accidentally consumed Hemlock when he hoped to find Wild Parsnip. It is not known what part of the plant, how much was consumed or if it was cooked. Shortly after eating it, he identified that his heart was racing and phoned his girlfriend to tell her what he had done. He asked her to ring him regularly and if he didn’t answer to call 999!
Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum)
Lords and Ladies is known by many different names including Cuckoo Pint and Wild Arum.
Toxicity
Consuming the leaves and berries of Lords and Ladies give an immediate burning sensation to lips and throat followed by significant swelling which can result in difficulty breathing.
The berries are one of the most common causes of accidental plant poisoning based on attendance at hospital accident and emergency departments. These are most often consumed by children. Usually the immediate burning in the mouth means they are rarely ingested.
Identification
Lords and Ladies (Wild Arum / Cuckoo Pint) – Photo by Sannse, 24 April 2004, Essex, England.
Height: Up to 40 cm tall.
Flowers: Chocolate coloured poker-shaped “flower” partially enclosed in a leaf-like hood.
Leaves: A larger leaf is arrow-shaped to triangular and has rounded, backward facing lobes – a bit like an arrow head. Younger leaves do not have the lobes but still have prominent veins. The leaves may have blackish / purple spots.
Lords and Ladies leaves at varying stages of growth (light green leaves to near left and right edges of the photograph are another plant).
Berries: In Autumn a cluster of bright red berries
Lords and Ladies berries (Arum maculatum) – Paul Henderson [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons
Habitat
Woodlands, hedgerows, gardens and shady places.
Edible Plants it might be confused with
Sorrel. The backwards pointing lobes on Sorrel leaves are pointed (like cut with scissors), on Lords and Ladies they are rounded. Lords and Ladies leaves also have irregular edges and many deep veins. Sorrel is a plant of grassy fields, Lords and Ladies more shady places.
Sorrel (left) and Lords and Ladies (right). NB Sorrel lobe tips have curled upwards but are V -shaped.
Wild Garlic. Smaller Lords and Ladies leaves can look more like a Wild Garlic leaf, but the veins should still be obvious. They won’t smell of Garlic! Wild Garlic leaves are long, pointed, “spear-shaped”. They do not have veins – just a prominent central mid-rib (looking like an extension of the stalk).
In the below photograph we have – from left to right:
1. Lords and Ladies – rear
2. Lords and Ladies – front
3. Wild Garlic – front
4. Wild Garlic – rear
Leaf comparison – Lords and Ladies and Wild Garlic (see below).
British and Irish examples of mistaken identify
Seeking Wild Garlic, consumed Lords and Ladies
In April 2018 in the UK, a whole family were hospitalised for confusing Wild Garlic with Lords and Ladies.
Seeking (Common) Sorrel, consumed Lords and Ladies
I am personally aware of cases of inexperienced foragers eating young Lords and Ladies leaves when they were hoping to find Sorrel. The immediate burning sensation on the lips and mouth means it was spat out and they realised their mistake. There are many similar tales on the Internet.
Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)
Toxicity
Symptoms of poisoning from consuming Dog’s Mercury appear within a few hours; they can include vomiting, pain, gastric and kidney inflammation, and sometimes inflammation of the cheeks and jaw and drowsiness. Larger doses cause lethargy, jaundice, painful urination and coma before death.
Identification
Dog’s Mercury
Height: Up to 40 cm tall.
Stems: Downy / hairy
Flowers: Clusters of small cream / green flowers on upright, tassel-like spikes.
Leaves: Spear-shaped, toothed, fresh green leaves
Habitat
Woodlands and hedgerows where it can form a dense carpet.
Edible Plants it might be confused with
The main risk is accidentally gathering some when picking Wild Garlic or Nettles which it can grow amongst. Dog’s Mercury has however been confused with Ground Elder and Brooklime, furthermore, it could also be mistaken for a member of the Goosefoot genus.
Dog’s Mercury in amongst Nettles
British and Irish examples of mistaken identify
Seeking Ground Elder, consumed Dog’s Mercury
In April 2017, a runner paused to take a break. Mistaking Dog’s Mercury for Ground Elder he ate a handful of the plant. The result was an increase in saliva and a feeling of nausea. He eventually vomited and was able to expel the plant from his body.
In 1983, a couple washed, boiled and ate a large quantity of Dog’s Mercury leaves after mistaking it for Brooklime. Both of them were hospitalised complaining of nausea, vomiting, and severe pain and presenting signs similar to an allergic reaction. They recovered after treatment and two days of rest and continuous observation and monitoring.
In 2017, a lady picked some Dog’s Mercury and ate it in a salad. Luckily, she didn’t feel happy with it and only ate a little, but that was enough to cause her lips, mouth and throat to burn. This was followed by a feeling of shaky weakness and a need for the toilet.
Being poisoned can be life-threatening. If someone has eaten a poisonous plant (or fungus), don’t try to treat them yourself – seek medical help immediately.
If they’re showing signs of being seriously ill, dial 999 to request an ambulance or take them to your local A&E department.
Symptoms associated with serious poisoning include:
Call NHS 111 for advice if a person who’s been poisoned doesn’t appear to be seriously ill.
Helping someone who’s conscious
If you think someone has been severely poisoned and they’re still conscious, ask them to sit still and stay with them while you wait for medical help to arrive.
If they’ve been poisoned by eating a plant, try to get them to spit out anything that is remaining in their mouth.
Helping someone who is unconscious
If you think someone has eaten a poisonous plant and they appear to be unconscious, try to wake them and encourage them to spit out anything left in their mouth. Don’t put your hand into their mouth and don’t try to make them sick.
While you’re waiting for medical help to arrive, lie the person on their side with a cushion behind their back and their upper leg pulled slightly forward, so they don’t fall on their face or roll backwards. This is known as the recovery position.
Wipe any vomit away from their mouth and keep their head pointing down, to allow any vomit to escape without them breathing it in or swallowing it. Don’t give them anything to eat or drink.
Medical staff will need to take a detailed history to effectively treat a person who’s been poisoned. When the paramedics arrive or when you arrive at A&E, give them as much information as you can, including:
what plant you think the person may have eaten
when the plant was eaten (how long ago)
if it was cooked
how much was eaten (if you know)
Details of any symptoms the person has had, such as whether they’ve been sick.
Take a sample of the plant with you – as many parts of the plant as you can for accurate identification – e.g. leaves, flowers, fruits, stem and roots. If there is any of the food left over take a sample of that too.
Medical staff may also want to know:
the person’s age and estimated weight
whether they have any existing medical conditions
whether they’re taking any medication (if you know)
There is an excellent Facebook group Poisons Help; Emergency Identification For Mushrooms & Plants. If you can post pictures of the plant / fungi and give your geographic location (e.g. Dorset / UK) you will get a rapid identification from extremely knowledgeable people around the globe.
I like soup, a lot. I probably have soup for lunch two or three times a week. When I had a “real” job, I regularly took soup to work to heat up in the microwave and other users of the office kitchen were always keen to know what the “weird” soup of the day was.
Spring is a great time for fellow soup lovers that forage, there are lots of great wild ingredients around that you can experiment with. Spring being the season of new growth and greenery, it is wild leaves that we make use of. You can follow the same basic recipe and easily and cheaply produce lots of different versions using either a single type of leaves or a combination. Adopt the basic recipe as you like with other ingredients or not blending it etc. The soups can be eaten hot or cold (gazpacho) and all freeze well. I use washed out plastic milk bottles to freeze them in.
As always, check the plant identification as there are some poisonous plants that it is possible to confuse with these.
Leaf Choices
Nettles (use scissors and gloves, cut the top 2 or 3 inches including the stem. Do not use when they get older as they get fibrous).
Wild Garlic (best before it flowers).
Common Hogweed (NB Avoid Giant Hogweed, and wear gloves if you have sensitive skin)
Ground Elder (best before it flowers, double check that it is not Dog’s Mercury)
Chickweed
Watercress (must be cooked if “wild”)
Dandelion
Alexanders (really check the ID, other umbellifers can be deadly!)
Sea Beet
Hairy Bittercress
Common Sorrel (mix with some lettuce, skip the garlic. Beware of Lords and Ladies which is confused with this).
Hop Shoots (beware of Black Bryony)
(Table scrolls right and left on mobiles, click on the photos for bigger / zoom-able versions)
Nettles
Wild Garlic
Common Hogweed
Ground Elder
Chickweed
Watercress
Dandelion
Alexanders
Sea Beet
Hairy Bittercress
Common Sorrel
Hop Shoots
Alternatives to a clove of garlic
Wild Garlic leaves
Three Cornered Leek – stem or leaves
Few Flowered Leek – stem or leaves
Garnishes
A few edible wild flowers e.g Primrose, Wild Garlic, Three Cornered Leek
Chopped herbs such as Crow Garlic
Crow Garlic – looks like, smells like and tastes like Chives
Ingredients
Serves 6:
1/2 a carrier bag or a few large bunches of leaves – see above
A little oil
1 large onion – chopped
1 clove of garlic – crushed (or a handful of an alternative – see above)
1 carrot – optional
2 pints good stock (vegetable or chicken). I use Marigold Swiss Vegetable (or Vegan) Bouillon Powder.
2 medium potatoes – peeled if you like (not really necessary), chopped into large pieces
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cream or crème fraiche (optional)
Garnish (optional)
Small bunch of Crow Garlic
A little extra cream or crème fraiche
Method
Wash all leaves thoroughly.
Melt butter in a pan and sweat the chopped onion and garlic until soft but not brown (c. 10 minutes).
Add stock, potatoes and all the leaves.
Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
Season with salt, pepper and add the cream.
Put the soup mixture into a blender a bit at a time and blitz it.
When I ask a group of guests on a seashore foraging course “who has eaten seaweed before?” it’s usually about half that put their hands up. I ask if it was crispy seaweed and for most it was. However, on most occasions, it’s not seaweed that they were actually given but deep-fried spring greens – a type of cabbage! Those that have really eaten seaweed have usually done so in either Japanese restaurants or in the Welsh dish Laverbread. Almost everyone will have however eaten seaweed regularly as extracts from it are used in a wide variety of food products. For example, it keeps ice cream smooth and creamy, is used in beers for a more stable and lasting foam and in wines to help clarify the colour. As a thickener or stabilizer, it appears in sauces, syrups, and soups, mayonnaise, salad dressings and yoghurt.
Seaweeds are most popular in East Asian cuisine (Japanese, Chinese & Korean). Nearer to home, there is a long history of using some species in Ireland and Wales. Seaweeds are rich in minerals especially iodine, proteins and vitamins. One has 10 times the calcium of cow’s milk, twice the vitamin C of oranges, and 50 times the iron of spinach!
Foraging for Seaweed
Gathering seaweed
Seaweeds are probably the least foraged wild food group, however, there is lots of good news for the forager:
Of the 500 or so species in British waters about a dozen are eaten, so learning them is a lot easier than plants or fungi.
There is only one poisonous species, but you won’t encounter it being only found in very deep waters, like midway across The English Channel.
If you like East Asian cuisine, we have many of the same or equivalent species on our coast.
Seaweeds can be preserved for future use.
Some of the species of edible seaweed
The coast is perhaps the most dangerous foraging environment with more ways to come a cropper than other environments. I won’t go into detail here, but among the dangers are being cut off by the tide, hit by a landslide, slipping on rocks and getting stuck in mud. Take care!
The best time to gather seaweed is as the tide is falling and the best months are May and June. You should look in areas away from sources of pollution such as sewage outfalls and where rivers come to the coast. So your seaweed gathering has minimal impact, you should always cut it with scissors and not tear it off the rocks. Do not cut too near the holdfast (“root”), leaving a third of the length and it will happily grow back. You should generally, only gather seaweed that is still attached so it has not deteriorated. As with all types of foraging, take a little here and a little there.
At the coast, rinse it in seawater to remove any sand, shells or creatures. The easiest way is to put a handful into a bucket / large bowl of water, give it a good swirl then put into a colander to drain. If it is sandy, give it multiple washes. Once cut and washed, put it in string bags (e.g onion sacks) to let the water drain. I strongly recommend that you put each species in a separate bag so you don’t need to spend hours at home sorting them out! If you’re collecting on a warm day, use a cool box to keep the seaweed chilled until you get home. If it becomes too hot it will start to break down and get mucilaginous and slimy.
The Law
The usual law that applies to foragers, The 1968 Theft Act, covers fruit, fungi, foliage and flowers but not seaweed. You should be okay collecting it for personal use but technically you need permission from the owner of the foreshore (Council, National Trust or private landowner). Below the High Water Mark, the landowner is usually The Crown. John Wright’s Edible Seashore book includes excellent coverage of the legal aspects of seashore foraging.
Seaweed in The Kitchen
The key thing for cooking with seaweed is that you need to appropriately use each species. It’s not just a case of boiling any of them as you would a vegetable, each has its own role in the kitchen. They are more versatile than you would think, besides being used in soups, starters and main courses, they can be used in puddings, breads, cakes and drinks. On our “Seaweed and Eat It” day long foraging course, learning about their roles is our focus. There are, however, simple ways that you can easily add seaweed to your regular diet and enjoy the health and taste benefits.
Dried seaweed flakes, here Gutweed.
It is easy to produce a jar of dried seaweed flakes. This is one or more of Dulse, Sea Lettuce, Laver (Nori), Bladderwrack, Gutweed and, optionally, a little Pepper Dulse. These seaweeds are washed thoroughly and then have been dried (below) and ground / flaked (below). The result is stored in a glass jar where it will keep for a long time (though once you get the flavour you will use it regularly!). You can:
Sprinkle on cooked vegetables, salads, eggs, noodles, pizza or pasta dishes, popcorn, soups and sauces.
Put in a salt shaker with sea salt and using as a condiment.
Add when making bread / savoury scones etc.
Mix into soft butter for Seaweed butter, optionally adding lemon or lime juice, chilli flakes etc. Serve on bread or with fish, vegetables, noodles or pasta. This can be frozen.
Seaweed Soda Bread
Seaweed Butter
Savoury Scones
Drying Seaweed
Your technique will depend upon how much time you have, the size of the seaweed and the weather. Natural drying in sunlight and fresh air is the traditional approach but if it is too windy or wet you may have to rethink – garage, conservatory or greenhouse (ideally not the house – you will get complaints!). If drying flat, turn them occasionally. Whatever your approach, they want them to be totally dry but still pliable. Dried seaweed can then be stored for years in sealed plastic bags or glass jars in a cool, dry place away from direct light. Some are used dried; others are rehydrated before using.
Options:
Sunny windowsill
Cake cooling racks
Clothes drying rack
Dehydrator – 40 degrees C so the nutrients are not damaged. You can use this for drying mushrooms, fruit and veg too. C. £40
Mushroom trays
Sheets / tarpaulin
A very low oven (40 degrees C) overnight.
The washing line / a rotary drier / a sock drier
Drying Gutweed in the green house – a bit windy for outside!
Flaking Seaweed
To flake the seaweed, you may need to crisp the dried seaweed removing all moisture by either:
Putting on a tray or ovenproof fish in a hot oven. Check it every minute or so to see if it can be crumbled; put back if not. The time required will vary with the thickness of the seaweed and how thinly you have spread it.
Placing in a grill pan with a piece of greaseproof paper over the seaweed to stop burning. Put well away from the heat, turning the seaweed occasionally checking if it is crisp.
When it is crisp you can crush it, your method based on whether you want flakes or powder:
Pestle and mortar
Freezer bag / rolling pin
Rub between the fingers (carefully as some seaweeds may have sharp edges)
Food processor / Coffee (Spice) grinder (shorter time for flakes, longer for powder)
Learn More
Join us on our “Seaweed and Eat It” day long foraging course. You will find most of the edible species, understand harvesting and preserving them as well as working together to prepare, cook and eat a three-course meal with seaweed in every course. Afterwards we will email you lots of information including the recipes.
There are a good number of books on seaweed foraging and cookery with some wonderful recipes. You can browse and order some of our favourites here.
Yes, it’s February as I write this. These wonderful plums, also known as Mirabelles, are ready to pick in around August, but there is good reason for mentioning them now – they are in flower. The pretty blossoms are distinctive, there’s nothing else to confuse them with at this moment and you can spot them as you drive past at 60. If you track them down now, you can head back later in the year for their fantastic fruit. Get your skates on though as the Blackthorn will be out before too long. Yes, it’s still worth knowing where Blackthorns are for your Sloes, but Cherry Plums are less common. The focus of this post is telling them apart. One blog I found gives one possible way:
The simple way to tell the difference is to plunge your arm vigorously into the bush and wriggle it about. If it is covered in bloody scratches when you retrieve it, odds are it was a Blackthorn…
You will be pleased to know that there are other, pain-free ways of telling them apart, admittedly they are a bit more complex.
Cherry Plums
Cherry Plum blossom – 16 February 2019 (note the open leaves are on Honeysuckle. One unopened Cherry Plum leaf visible middle left.
Flowering period: Can flower as early as late January, but can carry on into March and April
Twigs: The young twigs are hairless and distinctively green. Bark dark grey. No spines.
Flowers / leaves: The leaves develop at the same time as the flowers.
Habitat: Scattered, but locally frequent and easily overlooked when it grows in hedges with Blackthorn but given away by the early flowering. Can make a small tree (up to 8 metres). They are non-native, and sometimes used for landscaping or highways planting.
Appearance: Distinctly wispy with slender branches and twigs.
For more information on identifying Cherry Plums see this Woodland Trust page.
Blackthorn
Blackthorn blossom – 16 April 2018
Flowering period: March – April
Twigs: The dark brown / black bark is smooth, and twigs form straight side shoots, which develop into thorns / spines.
Flowers / leaves: Flowers appear before the leaves start to show.
Habitat: Grows naturally in scrub and woodlands, but commonly used in hedges. Can grow to 6 or 7 metres tall.
Appearance: Usually an impenetrable mass of very spiny straight-branched bushes.
For more information on identifying Blackthorn see this Woodland Trust page.
It was very saddening to read a recent newspaper report of the deliberate taking of the rare Bearded Tooth (formerly Lion’s Mane) fungus from three locations in The New Forest. This is one of four species of protected fungi listed under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act as they are endangered. Most offences are punishable on summary conviction by six month’s imprisonment and/or a fine.
According to the newspaper article (not available online), they were taken by “unlicensed foragers”. There is only one licensed forager in The New Forest (it’s a long story!). Collecting wild fungi for commercial purposes requires landowners’ consent, without it such collection is theft (1969 Theft Act). The Forestry Commission in The New Forest do not give consent for commercial collection and their fungi picking campaigns of the last few years are aimed at commercial collectors (though this is not at all clear from their signage). Whoever took it you have not done any favours for legitimate people foraging for personal consumption. You are not representative of the rest of us, like football hooligans, a small minority may well tarnish the reputation of the law abiding majority. The Police, Natural England and The Forestry Commission are investigating the thefts. Anyone with information is encouraged to share it with the police via 101 or The Forestry Commission.
I have seen Bearded Tooth only on one occasion knowing immediately what it was and whooped for joy at being so fortunate to see it. It is a stunning species looking like melted wax cascading out of a fallen tree. Only photos and memories were taken.
With a mycologist friend I returned to that spot this year and there was no sign of it. Poor memory was blamed for forgetting the exact location but I now wonder of this was one of the spots where it had been taken.
The name refers to the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish and not the big cat. The species is edible – “a superb seafood-like taste compared to crab or lobster” but clearly should not be eaten from the wild. If you are keen to try it, it can be cultivated so you can buy it in Asian grocery stores, online and occasionally in supermarkets. Alternatively, your can try to grow your own with plug spawn. It is also sold as powders, supplements and extracts from some health food shops being revered by Native Americans and East Asian cultures where it is traditionally known as an immune booster, memory booster and styptic (stems flow of blood).
As a member of The Association of Foragers, I have been active making sure our legal right to pick wild fungi for personal consumption is allowed to continue. As Hedgerow Harvest, I organise educational fungus forays and walks in The New Forest and pay for a permit from The Forestry Commission to run them. The events are undertaken following strict rules as to what and how much we can pick and as well as teaching identification and safety do emphasise sustainable and legal picking. We are privileged, The New Forest is one of the best places for fungi in Western Europe and is home to rare and protected species as well as good numbers of much more common species.
It may be that this illegal picking was ignorance of the law rather than deliberate targeting. Some fungi books list Lion’s Mane as “edible” without mentioning the legal status, however, such “ignorance of law excuses no one”. To try and educate people I have tried to put together a guide to protected fungi species. To read the interesting background to these lists (e.g. the politics), Peter Marren’s excellent book Mushrooms is highly recommended. (According to a review in The independent it is “The greatest book about mushrooms you’ll ever read”).
Legal Protection
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 it is an offence to pick, uproot or destroy any wild plant listed. “Wild plant” means any plant (including fungi) which is or (before it was picked, uprooted or destroyed) was growing wild and is of a kind which ordinarily grows in Great Britain in a wild state. This means that picking these critically endangered species is strictly forbidden. Most offences are punishable on summary conviction by six month’s imprisonment and/or a fine. The four species of protected fungi listed are:
Royal bolete is known mainly from grassy areas under broadleaved trees in ancient, deciduous woods, particularly hornbeam or beech woods but also oak, on calcareous or acidic sandy soils. It is an ectomycorrhizal species which depends on old host trees. Many of its known host trees are old oak pollards. It has attractive, edible fruiting bodies which generally appear between May and September, although it is not known how reliable its fruiting is. The fruiting bodies are reddish in colour with a cap 6-15 cm in diameter.
In Britain, this species is only known from southern England. There is very little information on its historic distribution in Britain. It may always have been rare, but some experts suggest that it may have declined over the last 40 years. In recent years, it has only been seen at three sites: the New Forest, Ashgreen (Surrey) and Windsor Forest. Elsewhere, this species has been recorded in scattered locations across central Europe.
Hericium erinaceum grows mainly on the wounds of old living trees and on the ends of felled trunks in deciduous woods. It often grows high up on its host trees which are usually beech, but may also be oak. This species has an extremely local distribution in Britain, possibly because it is restricted to areas of woodland where there has been a long continuity of old trees. Fruiting bodies appear in late summer to autumn. Techniques are available for cultivating this edible species, and it is now being sold in supermarkets as a fashionable addition to cuisine.
This species is scattered but locally common in southern England, rare in the Midlands (only one record from Herefordshire) and is absent from other parts of the British Isles. There are 12 records from approximately seven sites since 1960. Recent records include sites in the New Forest, Windsor Great Park and Oxfordshire.
The stunning Bearded Tooth in The New Forest is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and picking this critically endangered species is strictly forbidden.
This species causes brown rot in mature oaks or on recently dead oaks, but never on any other species. It mainly occurs in wood pasture habitat where there has been a continuity of mature oak trees. The fruiting bodies which are edible, but have a very bitter taste, generally appear between May and December.
In Britain, this species has been recorded at Sherwood Forest and from approximately five other sites in Derbyshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Oxfordshire and Herefordshire. There is no evidence for a historic decline in this species.
In response to International moves to help reduce or halt the significant losses in global biodiversity, the UK, like many other countries, has summarised the most threatened or rapidly declining habitats and species and created detailed “Species Action Plans” for their conservation. As well as priority habitats, action plans have been created for birds, plants, fish, fungi and other groups. Following devolution there are now priority lists for England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK BAP priority fungi species
Note that lichens have been omitted. Includes rusts and smuts etc. U = unknown
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), founded in 1965, has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. With its strong scientific base, the IUCN Red List is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological diversity. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.
A Red Data List of Threatened British Fungi was produced in 1992 and 2006 by the British Mycological Society (BMS). However, neither of these achieved official approval by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, thereby diminishing their effectiveness in conservation decision-making.
Preliminary Assessment: The Red Data List of Threatened British Fungi – 2006
To remedy this, the family Boletaceae (Boletes) was chosen in 2012 to establish a template for fungal conservation status assessments. The aim was to facilitate production of British Red Data Lists conforming to international standards set by the IUCN and published by JNCC.
Working with Natural England, the Association of British Fungus Groups and the British Mycological Society and a team at Cardiff University, Kew mycologists produced this first official (pilot) fungal Red Data List for Great Britain, which was duly published by JNCC in 2013. Of the 68 Boletes studied, 13 were assessed as threatened and 37 are now ‘red-listed’. Even now, in late 2018, no further families have been added.
Red List of Fungi for Great Britain: Boletaceae. A pilot conservation assessment based on national database records, fruit body morphology and DNA barcoding - 2013.
As I write this in late November you could be forgiven for thinking that most foraging opportunities are finished for the year but this is far from the truth. There are still some wild greens and fruit about and while most fungi finds are slowing up, with a frost or two already past, it becomes time to hunt for Wood Blewits. They can be found from September to January or February. While not as well known as other “top table” fungi like Ceps and Chanterelles, these are right up there for flavour and versatility and used to be sold in markets in this country.
Habitat
Many woodland fungi are mycorrhizal. This means that the mycelium (underground web of fibres making up the majority of the body of the fungus) grows on the roots of trees. It takes up water and nutrients to pass to the tree in exchange for sugars. Wood Blewits are saprophytes. They feed on dead or decaying organic matter such as leaf litter. The name suggests that they are only found in woodland, however, some of the best places I know are nice, old (unimproved) grasslands, including along the coast where agriculture is often less intense. Here they can be found growing in huge rings. They are also found under hedgerows (linear woodlands), in gardens (including mine occasionally!) and on road verges.
Ring of Wood Blewits in unimproved, coastal grasslands.
Identification
We strongly recommend you check identification with several books.
Wood Blewits are violet when young but become light brown / tan with age. I could identify one blind-folded due to their distinctive smell, described as floral, aromatic, sweet, perfumed or best of all, “frozen orange juice” according to one source!
You need to be very careful that you do not confuse them with some of the larger purple species of Cortinarius fungi which can be of a similar colour. The Wood Blewit has pink spores and all Cortinarius fungi have rusty brown spores. A spore print will confirm their colour.
Spore print showing brown spores. Produced by cutting the stem off, putting the cap on a piece of paper with a glass over it (to stop draughts), then waiting a few hours. A darker piece of paper will help show lighter coloured spores (e.g. pink)
The genus name Cortinarius means “curtained”. A young specimen will have a “cortina” between the cap and the stem. A cortina in this case, is not the United Kingdom’s best-selling car of the 1970s, but a “veil”, a web of threads between the mushroom stem and cap. Remnants of it may be seen on older specimens.
Good view of the Cortina (veil) of a Cortinarius and brown dust of the spores sticking to the cortina and stem.
Another species that you will head off the path in pursuit of, thinking from a distance it is a Wood Blewit, is The Clouded Agaric. A closer inspection will reveal the lack of violet and the distinctive smell. As they make most people that eat them ill, you will soon learn to despise Clouded Agarics.
Preserving
As Wood Blewits can be found in good numbers they can be preserved for later consumption. While drying is an option, I usually fry them and then put the cooked mushrooms into freezer bags and the freezer with the amount I would need for a meal in each bag.
Wood Blewits can often be found in quantity.
Cooking
Wood Blewits must be cooked before consumption. Raw they can cause indigestion or stomach upsets. A minority of people find even thoroughly cooked Wood Blewits indigestible so it is recommended you should try a small amount the first time that you eat them to check they like you.
They can often have a lot of water in them so when you cook them, you may need to drain off any surplus liquid so you fry them and not boil them. They are very good sautéed and served with a range of meats or poultry. They can be one of a number of mushrooms in a risotto or pasta dish.
Elderberries are far from the most foraged berry. This is a bit of a shame, used the right way they are a great wild food ingredient. They make a good jam or jelly, but you wouldn’t really want a pudding with them “neat”. Adding another fruit like Blackberries improves the flavour. Where they do come into their own is in drinks, one of the best wild fruit wines, a great spirit-based infusion (think Sloe Gin but with Elderberries and Vodka or Whisky), or most commonly as Elderberry Syrup. This is one of my favourite fruit syrups and can be used in a number of ways.
Uses for Elderberry Syrup
Most will go in the freezer to reappear when the winter colds or flu strike. Defrosted then a little in a mug of hot water (squeeze of lemon juice or a drop of whisky are optional extras) will relieve the symptoms of colds and flu. I add cloves to mine and the fruity/spicy remedy soon starts to work wonders. The combination of certain acids, vitamin C and anti-oxidants has proven in trials that “Symptoms were relieved on average 4 days earlier …. in those receiving elderberry extract compared with a placebo“. The medicinal benefits have been known since the Ancient Egyptians and Greek. You can today buy cold remedies with Elderberry in, but why, when you can make your own cheaply. I use the recipe in Roger Phillips’ excellent Wild Food.
I’ve known people use it as a no-alcohol version of mulled wine. The spices, such as cloves, ginger and / or cinnamon, make it fill the role very well.
You can drizzle a little of the syrup on to ice cream, pancakes, rice pudding or similar.
Pick the fruit on a dry day. Wash well and drain thoroughly.
Strip the fruit from the stems (with a fork) and put into a pan, adding just enough water to cover.
Simmer for 30 minutes until the berries are very soft.
Strain through a jelly bag or muslin and measure the juice. Allow 450g sugar and 10 cloves to each 600ml of juice.
Heat the juice gently, stirring in the sugar until dissolved. Boil for 10 minutes and then leave until cold.
The syrup may be frozen in small quantities (I use well-cleaned old milk bottles) or packed into small screw-topped, soft-drink bottles which have been sterilized.
Quality assurance and bottled ready to freeze.
Elderberry Risks
Please note that Elderberries do need to be cooked before being consumed. Eating raw berries or juice may lead to nausea or more severe symptoms.
