Picking mushrooms

[blewitt]

Is picking mushrooms and leaving them upside down, or taking them home to identify and not eat considered bad form among fungophiles?

[KeenTeen17]

shouldn't be cos sometimes thats what needs to be done in order to ID, If its a really rare one I suppose it would matter,

[NickCantle]

Not at all. It's like picking a berry from a bush or a fruit from a tree. As long as the fungi are carefully removed from the ground without obliterating the mycelium, then there's no harm. Leaving them upside down is no crime (Mycologically speaking) as many animals in woodlands and meadows will happily consume any spoils left over from photographing/studying/examining. If you take a specimen home and do not eat it, I wouldn't say it's bad form. Where's the difference if you eat it or not?

[timhale197200]

Its ok with me to take fungi home to help with ID. To take more than 2 or 3 specimins for ID may be considered a waste. We all need to be careful to help maintain fungi stocks for the future. If you take them home to eat, just take what you need. To throw them away is a waste. I am just about to tuck into some boletus badius with my tea. Nice!