mushroom i.d. anyone?

[Loobyloo]

Came accross this little chap whilst out brambling today. It was growing in a patch of clover in the middle of a field of cows. Anygood in a bolognese do we think? or certain death?

[Carltonian Man]

Roger may be able to help

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/

Mart

[Loobyloo]

Thanks for that Mart! Have had a quick look, there seem to be so many that look quite like it though.

Would value an opinion from anyone who might know?

[kit-e-kate]

I find that taking a spore print is invaluable when trying to identify a new find. I usually cut my find in half (like you have), take the stem off one half, and then put the cap (gills down) on a bit of paper (you're meant to use half black/half white but i don't always have black paper!) and then cover it with a glass. After a few hours you should have a little pattern of spores on your paper.
The colour of the spores is a great help in the initial identification (especially of vague mushroom coloured and shaped finds!)
You may wreck one of your mushrooms by doing it, but at least you can be certain of what you've found the next time you are out!
HTH
Kate :)

[Hedgehogpie]

LBJ's* are notoriously difficult to id with certainty and there are a lot that fit the criteria all with similar characteristics. In a field you might be looking for something choice and edible like the Fairy Ring Champignon (Marasmius oreades), but from the picture your specimen does not fit the bill. Try looking at the Mycenas in Rogers, it may well be one of them.

Meantime, it goes without saying if you can't be totally confident about your id then don't try eating your find.

*Literally - "Little Brown Jobs". Frequently one of the Mycena family, of petite, thin stemmed fungi and yes, you gueessed it - usually brown.

[Geoff]

Anygood in a bolognese do we think? or certain death?

Err...it's not the best picture, but there's a good chance that these are the ones which make reality go a bit strange. It's hard to be certain without a clear shot of the cap, but if I had to guess then I'd say this is a liberty cap.

[Loobyloo]

Anygood in a bolognese do we think? or certain death?

Err...it's not the best picture, but there's a good chance that these are the ones which make reality go a bit strange. It's hard to be certain without a clear shot of the cap, but if I had to guess then I'd say this is a liberty cap.

Hmmmm how interesting.....

Thanks Geoff!

[Geoff]

Anygood in a bolognese do we think? or certain death?

Err...it's not the best picture, but there's a good chance that these are the ones which make reality go a bit strange. It's hard to be certain without a clear shot of the cap, but if I had to guess then I'd say this is a liberty cap.

Hmmmm how interesting.....

Thanks Geoff!

It's been a bumper year for liberty caps. I haven't gone out deliberately looking for hallucinogenic mushrooms for a very long time now, but I do go rambling across pasture looking for edibles and this year I have come across quite a lot of them.

[Geoff]

Loobyloo,

I've only just noticed that you posted a second picture, showing the cap in profile. This is not a liberty cap. It is a Paneolus, probably acuminatus. Not edible.

Geoff