...But can I eat them?

[flower_hercules]

I have attempted mushroom foraging in the past and been too chicken to actually trust my identification of what I have found.

We went for a walk today and I brought a few of these home:

[img][img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/6782 ... 36c36a.jpg[/img]
IMG_1094 by flower_hercules, on Flickr[/img]

Just in case the image doesn't appear above, three pictures are on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75487290@N06/6782454550/I think they might be velvet shank, from what I'm reading. but here is a little more info:

* They are on dead wood in a deciduouswod, in semi shade at about thigh height. Impossible to tell what tree it is, its just a trunk now.
* They are growing out from under loose bark
* They are clumped together at the base
* No ring
* the stems are velvety brown
* I couldn't get a spore print but the spores on the wood and some of the caps are a clean white.
* They smell woody and sweet
* the cap is a couple of inches across, wavey, and the gills are free, no veil, well spaced, with shorter ones amoung the ones that run to the edge.
* the stem is long and brown, yellow towards the top.
* the texture is waxy and does not change colour when touched or cut.

I hope that is enough info! thanks to anyone who can give a helping hand!

[Carltonian Man]

First appearances, they do look like velvet shanks and the time of year/habitat is correct (haven't cross referenced with books or the internet though, I'm only running on memory). One key feature of velvet shanks to look for is the stipes should be almost but not quite figure 8 in cross section, as far as I'm aware the confusable baddies (mainly the deadly galerina marginata) doesn't have this feature. Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted how you get on.

[doofaloofa]

I feel your pain
Trying a new mushroom is always a leap of faith

Here is a technique that might put your mind at rest

1 Rub some of the mushroom on your elbow pit or some other soft/sensitive patch of skin. Leave for 15 mins
2 If no reaction rub on the external part of the lips. Leave for 15 mins
3 If no reaction rub on the internal part of the lips. Leave for 15 mins
4 If no reaction rub on tounge. Leave for 15 mins
5 If no reaction ingest a small amount of mushroom. Leave for 15 mins

Keep a sample for the paramedics, never do this on your own (have someone ready to call an ambulance/take you to the hospital)

If in doubt, leave it out

[flower_hercules]

Fantastic! I'm off to experiment.

If I don't post in the next week I may be dead from rubbing fungus in my armpit.

[doofaloofa]

Good luck

Hope you dont die

[Carltonian Man]

Please remember that fungal toxins are quite different to other plant toxins and can take hours before taking effect. I really wouldn't recommend any edibility test other than a 100% positive ID of the species in question. For example see death cap (Amanita phalloides); no adverse reaction until at least five hours and sometimes up to 24 hours after ingestion. Initial symptoms include severe gastric distress, sweating, thirst etc. and once they begin it effectively puts the stamp on your death certificate, there is no turning back after that point. Galerina marginata (confusable species mentioned above) contain the same amatoxins as death cap.

[flower_hercules]

I had been contemplating this death cap and its effects, so I haven't gone as far as any in mouth tests, ie putting inside lips. I figure it will probably seem perfectly fine until too late. I'm 99% sure its a velvet shank, but that's 1% too uncertain for my liking.

Cheers folks

[fungi2bwith]

I am 100% certain that these are velvet shanks. However, the important thying is for you to be sure.

The advice about rubbing it on various bits of your body is rubbish and potentially dangerous.

[Greg]

when you get velvet shanks remove the stems and put all the caps cap-up on a surface for an hour or so. They should all leave white spore-prints. If they are white then you have velvet shanks. If you have any other colour then DO NOT eat them. They could be Funeral Bells, which are even more toxic than death caps, supposedly.

Saying that, there's pretty much zero chance that funeral bells could make it through the winter. I've found frozen velvet shanks during the snow before and they still keep on growing. I'd be quite nervous about getting them in november/december, though.

Here's a video of someone eating a death cap. Don't do this at home. The guy in this video has trained himself to pass it through his system before the poison can take effect, but if I was there i'd still advise him against it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ1EQqldheI

[fungi2bwith]

Here's a video of someone eating a death cap. Don't do this at home. The guy in this video has trained himself to pass it through his system before the poison can take effect, but if I was there i'd still advise him against it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ1EQqldheI

The video only needs a pig flying by in the background to make it complete.