Isn't there a fungus known as (very politically incorrectly) "Jews'
ears"? I
remember eating some when I was young after a mushroom hunt in
Cwmbran,
Gwent . . .

If I may refer to Belgian chocolates, or Boerewors, why may I not
refer to Jews'
ears?

Well I suppose it would be OK if they really WERE Jews' ears! Having seen
the shape and general look of the fungus, I'm not sure how I would feel if
it were called "Welshman's ears" . . . ! But then, as the man said,
political correctness does have a tendency to kill off plain discussion.

But more to the point, I always look out for them whenever I pass an
old elder copse.

Being a town-dweller, it's very rare to see anything like this round and
about. It's a pity people don't cultivate and sell the many different types
of edible British fungus, apart from the good old edible mushroom of course.
My mum took me on a 'mushroom forage' when I was very young, and I remember
it to this day, along with all the fungi we found. It was that foray that
enabled me to recognise the shaggy ink caps in my pots. It's no wonder towns
and cities are so depressing - such a lack of 'biodiversity' in our meagre
existence.

Andy