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Mushroom identification - help please


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Yes, spot on there with Amanita muscaria. Sometimes the characteristic white spots on the cap are washed off with heavy rain, or when growing in grass like this, are simply brushed off the surface when the mushroom pushes up through the sward.

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Folks, I always thought you needed to see both the top and bottom for a proper mushroom ID.

 

Thanks for all of the responses folks. I have discovered that you probably do need to see the underside of a mushroom for proper identification, so a useful lesson learnt.

 

I'll just write that image off, labelled as wild mushroom/toadstool - unlikely to attract a buyer.

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Most likely Russula Lepida. Common. Dull red flattened cap with depressed centre. Gills creamy white and stem white. Edible. So my book says.

 

Won't guarantee it thought as there are some similar of the species.

 

Allan

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Yes, need the bottom, too - and a proper look at the stem - and nearby trees or forest type.

 

Also an applied pressure by two fingers to the hat to see whether it releases a white fluid from the gills - distinguishes russula from lactarius.

 

I'd say it could easily (but not surely) be either a sort of russula or lactarius. Inedible or unfit for eating.

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Being a noob, it looks like my earlier reply is now out of sequence with the thread, but it's Amanita muscaria, albeit a little past it's best, and lacking some of the more typical identification features. Generally it is best to get a good shot of the underside to help with ID - but even then, it is sometimes impossible to determine a species ID from photos alone.

Jus.

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I'd say that Phellinus is a better bet. Do you know what species the host tree was?

 

Think you might be correct. Unfortunately, I don't know the what the host tree was. Could have been some type of birch. Guess I should look for a guidebook to local (British Columbia) varieties. Thanks.

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Being a noob, it looks like my earlier reply is now out of sequence with the thread, but it's Amanita muscaria, albeit a little past it's best, and lacking some of the more typical identification features. Generally it is best to get a good shot of the underside to help with ID - but even then, it is sometimes impossible to determine a species ID from photos alone.

Jus.

 

Well spotted. You are right. The small white dots on the cap drew me in that direction, but these remnants are usually larger. The ring on the stem would have been nice to see.

 

Not categorized as exactly deadly, but poisonous and not edible - though the Vikings are told to have used it for berserk rages in their attacks. An old tall story.

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You are right Niels - I have often wondered about that too.

There are many well-documented effects of poisoning by Amanita muscaria (specifically ibotenic acid and muscarin), such as muscle cramps, vomiting, profuse sweating and distorted perception of size (hence, perhaps this mushroom's association with 'little people').

 

So, you would be going into battle twitching and dehydrated and assuming your foes to be midgets or giants! Not good preparation I would have thought.

 

I understand that there is a safer means of consuming this fungus, but it involves feeding it to a reindeer first.....

 

Cheers,

J.

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