Going to mushrooms is not a thing for beginners. Many species are fatal if ingested, while others cause permanent organ damage. There are tens of thousands of species of fungi in nature, many of which have not yet been studied and cataloged. Since the study of mushrooms and the ability to recognize them requires years of experience, this article is aimed at readers interested in collecting mushrooms for educational-scientific purposes, and not for consumption.
Steps
Step 1. Consider the big picture
When you are faced with a mushroom and want to identify it, start considering where it is placed. Make a note of the location and on what type of soil, wood or moss it grew. To determine the location, you can get help from a GPS.
- Does this fungus grow on a dead piece of wood, a live tree, soil, moss, or something else? Keep in mind that sometimes mushrooms seem to grow out of the ground, but in reality an old trunk may be hiding under the ground!
- Are there any trees in the area? If yes, what kind? Fungi develop interactions with some plants, but trees are relevant to identify them. If you are unable to recognize the type of tree accurately, at least take note of the family it belongs to: conifers, broadleaves, or both.
- Also make a note of the type of soil: grass, sand, moss, another fungus, or any other type of habitat. Before picking it up, take some pictures so you can have a detailed profile! The photographic material will help the expert to recognize the species to which your mushroom belongs, also thanks to the context in which you found it.
Step 2. Look carefully at every detail
- The color: be careful. Remember that mushrooms can change their color after drying or exposure to the sun. If possible, try to note the color before and after drying of all its parts, including the stem, the cap (in the center and along the edges), the gills (which change color, for most species, based on the life cycle), and the core. Don't trust the color! As it can change, due to several factors, you cannot use it as an identifier.
- Features in relief: Are there tubercles, scales, or folds on the hat? They can fade over time, so, like color, they are not reliable for recognition purposes, but if the fungus is young, they can help you identify it.
- Are the slats covered with a thin veil which, to the touch, recalls felt? Or does the surface resemble a thin cobweb? This superficial layer could break and go to form a sort of ring around the stem: this is definitely an excellent feature to look for, however, unfortunately, even this peculiarity can disappear over time. In fact, an old mushroom is very difficult to identify as it loses many of its qualities.
- Hymenium (fertile portion of the mushroom body) consisting of the gills: does the fungus you found have flat gills, ridges, a spongy surface, anything else? Does the mushroom have a hat or a kind of white ball?
- If you see the gills, cut the mushroom lengthwise (from top to bottom), and try to see how they join the stem: there are several possibilities, including, for example, if the gills join the stem and continue downwards, they can be "decurrent" or "sinuate", when they form an acute angle with the stem they are defined "annexed", when they do not touch the stem at all they are called "free". Unfortunately, this feature is also prone to change over time and the aging of the fungus! As you study the gills, also look at the stem. Is it hollow? Full? Does it contain a fibrous part?
- Check if the mushroom has a stem or not. Mushrooms that grow on wood usually do not have it, or they have one on the side rather than the center.
- When you pull it out of the ground, try to keep the stem whole, including the base! Don't pull, dig a little bit around the mushroom, and once you get it out, put the soil back in place. Pay close attention, some mushrooms have a particular characteristic, that is, they have an easily destructible pocket at the base of the stem.
- When you cut or crush it, does the mushroom turn darker? If so, what color? Does it release water when cut?
- What does it smell like? An indefinite mushroom smell or something specific like bitter almond smell? Garlic? Or flour?
- Get the spore print. Cut the hat and place the part of the slats on a sheet of paper. It will take several hours, even better all night. If the spores fall you will see a dust imprint on the sheet, and you can determine its color. The colors of the spores are well classified: chocolate, tobacco and rust; they are all brown, but totally different colors!
Step 3. Try to find similarities with other mushrooms
Since you don't have to eat them, there's no need to worry; however, if you feel like a taste, remember that some species are very similar to each other, what is edible in one place may have a dangerous "twin" in another! Take the example of Volvariella speciosa, a well-known and edible species in Asia, which can easily be mistaken for Amanita phalloides, found in Europe and North America, and is deadly.
Step 4. Mushrooms should be transported in paper bags or wax paper, in a rigid container
Plastic bags grind them to mush. Smaller mushrooms remain intact when placed in a small rigid container; used fishing baskets for bait are perfect!
Step 5. Take care to transport the mushrooms properly
Also, be careful of children and animals in the area: carefully avoid them coming into contact with each other.
Advice
- To collect the mushrooms, use a wicker basket (or similar), which has the weft open enough to allow the spores to fall back to the ground.
- Get advice from an expert on the subject, and don't hesitate to use photos to recognize mushrooms: many people have become intoxicated, so don't joke about it!
- Contact your local mycological center for expert advice, but remember to take multiple photos: a single shot may not be enough to identify the fungus. Try to immortalize the gills, hat and base by noting the features mentioned above, and take a spore print.
- Most mushrooms grow in the autumn period.
Warnings
- Before setting out on a mushroom hunt, check the regional regulations on the matter. In some areas a license is required, and a certain amount of harvest must not be exceeded! Furthermore, there are species of hallucinogenic mushrooms, declared illegal (containing psilocybin) in many countries, including Italy, for which it is absolutely forbidden to collect them.
- Several deadly or very poisonous mushrooms resemble edible species. Avoid the consumption of wild mushrooms without consulting an expert; the risks associated with ingesting these mushrooms are considerable:
- Persistent vomiting and diarrhea.
- Drop in blood pressure.
- Breathing difficulties which can lead to death when the insufficiency is particularly severe.
- Somnolence (falling asleep without being able to wake up), sometimes mistaken for a comatose state.
- Renal and hepatic insufficiency.
- Cancer (gyromitrin is a potent liver poison and carcinogenic molecule).
- Hemolytic anemia.
