information please

[mushroom fairy]

i know it might sound a bit of a stupid but i'm new to the fungi world as in studying them ect, but there's two questions i would like to ask if any one could give me an answer i would be very grateful. 1st question.. when i have seen people pick mushrooms ect on the telly the majority cut the mushroom from slightly above the base of the stem leaving the rooting system in place. is there a certain reason to this ? 2ND question i have some little knowledge, that fungi and mushrooms have a wide net work of under ground roots, if a fungus or mushroom is pulled up from the earth and not cut from the base will the fungi grow again next year from the same root filaments that are left ?. i know that their spoors are carried in the wind ect to new areas .cheers to all mushroom fairy .

[flaxton]

The "reason" for cutting the stem just above the ground is so as to leave the mycelium undisturbed. The counter argument is that if you leave the base of the fruit body to rot away it may harm the mycelium.

It depends on you reason for taking the specimen. If you are taking it because you are trying to identify the fungus it is often important to see if there is a volval bag or a swollen base or even a deep tap root to aid identification. This is the main concern of most of the people on this site. If on the other hand you are taking a fungus (which you can confidently identify) for other reasons then it is less important to examine the base.

In my view, and as you say, the mycelium remains intact so is likely to reproduce fruit bodies next year whether you pull out or chop off the fungus.

Mal

[mushroom fairy]

thank you for the information i found it very useful and interesting cheers.