On Sat, 15 May 2004 03:29:56 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

The message
from martin contains these words:

Isn't May a little early for wild mushrooms?

Depends on the variety. There are (about) 36 species of Agaricus in the
British Isles, 34 of which are safe to eat. If the base of the stipe
turns bright yellow *IMMEDIATELY* it is cut, avoid the mushroom, it
might make you ill.

You seem to know quite a bit about mushrooms, so I'm surprised you'd
offer a somewhat folkloric method of determining safe edibility. I was
taught that one should be able to reliably identify a wild-growing
mushroom in at least 2 detailed reference books, and/or the help of an
experienced expert. "Might make you ill" is a very mild description of
the symptoms of mushroom poisoning. :-)