On Sun, 16 May 2004 07:48:14 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

from Frogleg contains these words:

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

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. :-)

If you read carefully, you'll see that I refer to the genus Agaricus.
Assuming that a mushroom gatherer can identify a mushroom as from that
genus, the test of cutting the base of the stipe (of a fresh specimen)
is indicative of safety or not. Only the two which are poisonous (to
about one person in ten) show the instant yellow colour change. It is
invariable, and if another species seems to colour quickly and is
discarded on that account, that will harm no-one.

Sorry, but while the OP was merely complaining about lawn invasion,
there *were* posts along the lines of "just eat them."

"Assuming that a mushroom gatherer can identify a mushroom as from
that genus" is the operative phrase. And didn't seem likely from most
of the thread contents. The impression *I* got was that if a cut
mushroom didn't display the telltale yellow flag, it was safe to eat.
I wasn't reading carefully, to be sure, but I was more looking for a
warning about being *extremely* careful with wild mushrooms. There are
heaps of people who will remember "bright yellow" and nothing else
about the discussion, as you must know. :-)