The message
from martin contains these words:
On Sat, 8 May 2004 11:07:55 +0100, Kate Morgan
wrote:


My other half picked some mushrooms from our garden yesterday and ate
them, said they were very good

When is the wake? :-) or perhaps :-((( ?

Isn't May a little early for wild mushrooms?

I dunno, we always have them this time of the year and hubby is fine,
cutting the lawn as I speak :-)

Aren't they fungii, rather than mushrooms?

Fungi which have a cap and a stipe are mushrooms - all of them. They are
toadstools too. The terms are completely interchangeable. 'Toadstool'
derives from the Germanic languages, specifically Old Norse, and
'mushroom' derives from the Old French.

Fungi, OTOH, are divided into three groups, Phycomycetes, (Like algae,
but colourless) Ascomycetes (Cap fungi, morels, yeasts, ergot) and
Basidiomycetes, (bracket fungi, mushrooms/toadstools. Gasteromycetes
(puffballs, earth stars etc) are a subset of basidiomycetes

There is another group which goes under the name of 'Fungi Imperfecti'.
This refers to imperfect knowledge of them rather than any imperfections
in the organism....

HTH

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Kate Morgan contains these words:

Todays Western Daily Press magazine, West Country Life contains a
article by Chris Rundle, he writes that St.George has delivered his
usual crop of mushrooms,indeed he has.

I have a big bag of them downstairs. Now there's a mushroom that would
have many screaming "Toadstool!"

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Lazarus Cooke contains these words:

Incidentally. xanthodermus is poisonous, but only some people are
affected.

As are A. pilatianus and A. semotus, though some people classify the
former as A. xanthodermus sub species pilatianus.

But it's a good idea to be damn sure that you know exactly
what it is you're eating. If you don't know how to differentiate
between these, and don't know what I've been talking about, you
shouldn't be eating them.

Yes, though they are unlikely to do any more harm than an upset stomach.

What is more worrying is that people who seem unaffected by them and who
habitually eat them may suddenly be subject to an intolerance of all
fungi. (Which is why I don't eat them, though I have done in the past.)

I don't know how far the intolerance goes, but it might possibly lead to
a bad reaction to penicillin-type antibiotics.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

On Sat, 15 May 2004 04:11:38 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

The message
from martin contains these words:

When somebody says they have giant mushrooms in their garden and I ask
if it isn't a little early for them, the common name does matter. It
doesn't matter whether they are edible or not, because we know that
they are, OP said her husband ate them.
There are a very limited number of edible fungi referred to as
mushrooms.

There are literally thousands of fungi which are referred to as
'mushrooms', and not all of them are edible, and some are poisonous.

I was going by what are claimed to be web sites of edible fungus
experts. They stand corrected :-)

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. :-)

In article , Frogleg
writes
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.

That wasn't a folkloric method. Rusty was talking specifically about
Agaricus, and warning against the Yellow Stainer, one particular species
of Agaricus.

If he'd been saying 'if a fungus stains yellow it's poisonous, but if it
doesn't stain yellow it's safe' then I'd agree with you comment, but he
wasn't!

Mind, I think I'd take issue with him on the assumption that the OP
knows it's a mushroom (ie an Agaricus). I'd never advise anyone to eat
anything they found growing in their lawns, on the basis that there is
at least one poisonous fungus that is commonly found in lawns.

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.

I'd always tell someone else to seek an expert, and for myself I make
sure I can identify it in two books, ad that there aren't any poisonous
species that I could confuse it with - which cuts down my variety of
mushroom eating somewhat, but a least I'm still here!

"Might make you ill" is a very mild description of
the symptoms of mushroom poisoning. :-)

I think that was deliberate understatement. A british form of humour
which doesn't work very well across usenet ;-)

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

The message
from martin contains these words:

There are literally thousands of fungi which are referred to as
'mushrooms', and not all of them are edible, and some are poisonous.

I was going by what are claimed to be web sites of edible fungus
experts. They stand corrected :-)

So they should be. May I refer them to such real experts as Dr. John
Ramsbottom (Late curator of Mycology, British Museum of Natural History)
and Roger Phillips, whose excellent book Mushrooms and Other Fungi of
Great Britain and Europe (ISBN 0 330 26441 9) was recommended to me by
the British Museum.

Dr. Ramsbottom wrote (inter alia) Mushrooms and Toadstools, Collins New
Naturalist Series. (Pre ISBN)

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Frogleg contains these words:
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. :-)

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.

The test is not folkloric, it is a recognised indicator of the two dodgy
Agarici. Agaricus xanthodermus and A. semotus (some distinguish A.
xanthodermus var. pilatianus as a separate species, but the test still
holds.) Poisoning by these is mild by the standards of some other
mushrooms such as Amanita phalloides, Entoloma sinuatum (aka E.
lividum), Paxillus involutus, etc.

Mushroom poisoning per se is varied, and ranges from hallucinations,
stomach upsets, through no symptoms before liver failure, and severe
symptoms of guts-ache, nausia, headaches, diarrhoea, convulsions, and an
agonizing death.

But Agaricus poisoning is only really dangerous to someone with a
general mushroom allergy, and as such, the species consumed is probably
quite irrelevant.

Please note: many older books refer to Paxillus involutus as edible. It
is deadly, but the poison is cumulative, and it took famine in Poland
during the war, when there was a glut of P. involutus and little else to
eat, to alert people to the danger.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Kay Easton contains these words:

/snip/

I'd always tell someone else to seek an expert, and for myself I make
sure I can identify it in two books, ad that there aren't any poisonous
species that I could confuse it with - which cuts down my variety of
mushroom eating somewhat, but a least I'm still here!

Very wise. It took me twenty years of collecting Amanita rubescens,
being absolutely sure, and then not eating them because of their close
resemblance to A. pantherina, before I actually did. And I never miss a
chance now. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

"Might make you ill" is a very mild description of
the symptoms of mushroom poisoning. :-)

I think that was deliberate understatement. A british form of humour
which doesn't work very well across usenet ;-)

No. That's about as strong as Agaricus poisoning goes. Around one person
in ten is affected, and the symptoms are nausea and sometimes,
diarrhoea.

However, I have found some evidence that the intolerance of the two
dodgy species can be acquired if they are eaten continually, and may
then result in a total intolerance to any mushroom. I would advise
anyone to leave them alone, even if they have been eating them with no
ill effects. (They are very easily confused with the horse mushroom.)

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

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. :-)

In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from Kay Easton contains these words:

/snip/

"Might make you ill" is a very mild description of
the symptoms of mushroom poisoning. :-)

I think that was deliberate understatement. A british form of humour
which doesn't work very well across usenet ;-)

No. That's about as strong as Agaricus poisoning goes. Around one person
in ten is affected, and the symptoms are nausea and sometimes,
diarrhoea.

Yeah. I realised after I posted that you wee still talking purely about
Agaricus, and not fungi in general. My misunderstanding. Sorry.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm