Topic: Anyone seen any St Georges mushrooms this year?

[GodfreyRob]

This time last year I was picking St Georges Mushrooms and Giant Puffballs (on Ilkley Moor). This year nothing at all. Anyone else seen any where you live?

[froglets]

I have something which looks like a Morel in my garden, but I'm no expert.

Do you have a picture of a St George's mushroom?

[GodfreyRob]

I had one somewhere (the ones I picked last year) but its dissapeared :(

[redimp]

I have something which looks like a Morel in my garden, but I'm no expert.

Do you have a picture of a St George's mushroom?

Have you tried Alta Vista images (much better than Google images btw but not suitable for classroom use :o )

Never heard of them myself.  What do they taste like GR?

[GodfreyRob]

Well I am not sure as I cooked both the St George and the Giant Puffball  together in a lasagne and it was not easy to tell what the taste of each one was. My partner hated it!
One of them was very strong but I liked it. Not much help really!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Apparently they normally appear between June and September, so last year was exceptional!

[PurpleHeather]

I just wish I knew what was edible with mushrooms and what was not. I often get fungi growing from wood chippings that we use for the paths for the allotments, they look lovely and white and have gills, they produce black juice but I am scared to eat them.

[GodfreyRob]

Depending on where you live there are local 'fungus groups' who will happily take you on their forages. In West Yorks we have the 'Mid-Yorks Fungus Group' who have a program of forages and a social too. Having someone with experience tell you a mushroom is safe (or not) is very reassuring.
A lot of the groups are affiliated to the Association of British Fungus Groups who can give you a contact number/email of your local group:
http://www.abfg.org/groups.php

[redimp]

Apparently they normally appear between June and September, so last year was exceptional!

My book says May to June :-\ followed by "In this season when there are few mushrooms, C gambosa can be recommended..."

Also GR, it says "mild taste" so the strong one must have been the other one. :)

[froglets]

Hi redclanger - your picture didn't get past the firewall ( work kit so not able to fiddle about with it)

but I did find this link that shows a picture.

http://www.fungitobewith.org/Spring%20Fungi.htm

The mushroom I have is deffo a morel, growing in a horse manured bed next to a bark chipping path in the "woodland" corner of the garden.  All the puffballs that suddenly appeared last year will hav ecome through the same stable manure - perhaps I should be putting it into small bags & flogging it for big money   :)

[redimp]

I can't see the picture now either so I should think the originating site has blocked it due to copyright issues. ::)

[tishop]

Cheers Godfrey for posting!

I've eaten it! Back in the mid 1990's I lived in the west midlands and found this mushroom growing a week late (it's famed for it's lateness, but usually by only a week or so, by what I've read). The ones I found were unmistakable by their appearance (I had gotten into 'wild fungi' about a year before and had acquired some decent books on them - a must if anyone's thinking about doing the same). Worth the trying, but nothing special from my experience. To date my favourite wild mushroom is the penny bun (Boletus edulis). No surprises there.. closely followed by a blewit (Clitocybe sp.). This goes without saying.. Only try a wild fungi if you're personally 100% certain of it's identification.

tishop Tim
http://plot61a.blogspot.com/

[jjt]

Yes, seen some today in a wildish garden in Exeter. Also ladies smock in flower.