A selection for ID...again!;-)

[flaxton]

I would be inclined to agree with Nick and go for edulis.

Mal

[sunnydale]

Thanks everyone

Re pic 2.....It was on it's own, so I don't have pics of any others I'm afraid.
I never feel right about touching/picking them to photograph the underside. To get the gills, I only photograph ones that are already 'broken' or have been uprooted by something/someone else.
I know about the mirror trick though!


Any ideas on pic 1??

Tracey

[PMG]

Pic 1 looks like a Lactarius - but without a proper look its impossible to say!

You shouldn't worry about handling them - by the time they are in the state of number two - which I now agree does look like an old edulis (I'm losing it guys - short of practice in seeing the real thing!) but by the time they are that old they have done their job in releasing thousands of spores - and when you leave them behind on the floor they still release spores - so it does no harm!

If you're serious about naming stuff Tracey you will need to pick and handle - does the skin on russulas peel back and how far? Is the stem of something hollow or full? How does the stem attach to the cap? How are the gills joined to the cap or are they not joined at all? And so on - hundreds of questions that need an answer before you can get more sure and even then the powers that be at the very top of fungi ID (professors, Kew Gardens - all the big mycological gang!) are looking at plant DNA and changing their minds and the names of taxonomy faster than you can blink ........ some of this I suspect is a desire to leave behind talented amateurs and keep the gulf between them and us as wide as poss - (now who's showing her bias and insecurities?!) but that is a purely personal view and can be ignored To be charitable (which I find difficult when I come up against the professional brick wall) maybe they are like that just so that us amateurs will up our game and make sure that dodgy info does not go on record - there I've spit that from between gritted teeth and cos I'm going off topic and my soapbox is sliding out of its well guarded cuboard - I shall go and do some housework

Pauline

[flaxton]

Tracy
Very laudable sentiment but you are much less likely to get suggested identifications without at least some of the information given with an underneath shot. Do you pick brambles when you are out? That is almost the same as picking the fungi you find.
Your first photos are as has been suggested a white capped Lactarius. To get the best chance of identifying a Lactarius you need to know what colour the milk is (white in your picture but it can be clear white or orange). Does the milk change colour it can go yellow pink lilac or green. Dose the milk taste mild acrid or hot?
What is the texture of the cap? Dry, hairy or sticky (the well known kiss test comes into its own again). That's before you get to the microscope
I think yours could be L vellereus.White to cream cap depressed centre in-rolled margin finally funnel-shaped. Gills slightly decurrent to decurrent whitish chrome becoming clay-buff to dark brick when old or bruised.

Mal

[sunnydale]

Thanks Pauline and Mal for the advice. I know I'll have to do more sometimes to get ID's.

The trouble is, I'm very allergic to the majority of mushrooms, even ones sold in supermarkets!
I certainly daren't risk tasting/'kissing' anything I find growing in the wild, especially when many are actually fungi. I presume some will be highly toxic?....but not knowing that for sure, it's a risk I'm not prepared to take.
Even when I've moved a bit of grass or twigs out of the way so I can get a better shot, I use antibacterial hand gel afterwards. Not sure it's necessary....but it makes me feel better!

I have to admit that I simply like the look of them; the shapes, colours, sizes, patterns etc....and it's just nice to put a name to what I've seen.
I'm not a serious 'fungi hunter'!

Tracey

[PMG]

Just to slide slightly off topic again (sorry) but having typed something I may later regret I better make it clear that I have had no probs whatsoever from any fungi folk on wab - amateur, proffesional or any shade inbetween - I was harking back to early days (it must still niggle) somewhere else - and I shouldn't have - not here and now

Pauline

[PMG]

Originally Posted by sunnydale

Thanks Pauline and Mal for the advice. I know I'll have to do more sometimes to get ID's.

The trouble is, I'm very allergic to the majority of mushrooms, even ones sold in supermarkets!
I certainly daren't risk tasting/'kissing' anything I find growing in the wild, especially when many are actually fungi. I presume some will be highly toxic?....but not knowing that for sure, it's a risk I'm not prepared to take.
Even when I've moved a bit of grass or twigs out of the way so I can get a better shot, I use antibacterial hand gel afterwards. Not sure it's necessary....but it makes me feel better!

I have to admit that I simply like the look of them; the shapes, colours, sizes, patterns etc....and it's just nice to put a name to what I've seen.
I'm not a serious 'fungi hunter'!

Tracey

ooh thats going to be hell - being so interested and yet being allergic to the subject! Using the gel is no bad thing - it means your hands will be clean and not carrying much bacteria and if it makes you feel better then thats the criteria for you. I would consider a packet of those surgical gloves if you get to a stage where you want to know more about a fungi in front of you - you could then examine whatever it is and peel the gloves off inside out and place in a small plastic bag tied up ready for throwing away Again the smell of many fungi is important too and you may not want to sniff up spores if they are going to cause a reaction - but again - consider a facemask - you don't have to walk around the woods wearing it - just whip it on when you know you want to really look at, handle or smell something ..........

Pauline