Tuesday 5 October 2010

Fungi Foray

We had a lovely wander through the rapidly changing woods near Rhododendron mile last week. There are no rhododendrons there at the minute though because they’re so invasive they’re cutting them all back and burning them out. They sound like fireworks when they burn fresh, much to the delight of my friend’s kids.

The mushrooms were out in droves and many, already on the way out. Penny buns were the big surprise as well as the fantastically looking, edible bright orange fungi. The major crop, although we were unsure at the time of edibility is the common yellow brittlegill mushroom.

Hidden amongst the silver birch were the magical fly argaric, which I harvested a few of for our new batch of flying ointment. It has been used as an external preparation for nerve pain but can also make you fly if properly dried and administered. It should not be mistaken for the brown version, the Panther Cap, which can apparently make you pretty sick.

The sweet chestnuts and the conkers were well on their way, so they be the next harvest.

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