The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:
On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 15:48:38 +0100, Rusty Hinge
wrote:

Sounds like Merasmius oreades. Don't eat them raw, but they are
excellent cooked in stews, or fried. They dry brilliantly, and on
rehydration are indistinguishable from fresh - apart from the absence of
the bitter almond smell.

Fairy ring Champignon?
Errr, no it doesn't.
The op mentions small, brown roundheaded toadstools.

Which is how M. oreades appears.

M. Oredeades spans about two inches max, and is distinctly buff in
colour with a small umbo ( central dome ). Most people would refer to
it as being white in its early stages.

Buff, brown, whatever, I always give some latitude for colour as a very
high proportion of men are colour blind to some extent.

However, I would never refer to the fruit bodies as white at any stage
of their development above ground.

Just make sure they *ARE* Merasmius oreades, and keep the area well
watered and thank The Lord for the natural harvest.

...and hope to whichever god you believe in that you don't them mixed
up with one of the very similar looking Clitocybes.

Most of which are either harmless or edible, though C. rivulosa is
deadly. Personally though, I can't see how anyone who knows M. oreades
could possibly confuse the two, despite many good handbooks warning of
the possibility. (I've been eating M.oreades since 1950 or thereabouts,
and I think I'm still alive.)

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
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